Team USA and Team Stikii

The 2012 London Olympic Games are upon us! Stikii just LOVES a good competition, and the Olympics top their list of all-time favorite competitive events. It is wonderful to watch the United States work together toward a common goal while forming strong bonds and promoting positive messages for the nation’s youth – not unlike how we do things here at Stikii. The Olympic Games date as far back as the time of the Ancient Romans, and have since become a global phenomenon. Athletes from various countries around the world train their hardest for a chance to compete for the coveted Olympic Gold Medal and the opportunity to hear their country’s national anthem played over the loud speakers for an audience of millions. The Olympic Games are a part of nearly every country’s history, and for that, they deserve a blog of their own!

According to early historical records, the first ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BC and were dedicated to the Olympian gods and staged on the prehistoric plains of Olympia. The Games caught on and continued to be played every four years for nearly 12 centuries, until the then Roman emperor Theodosius I, a Christian, banned them based on their pagan influences. It took over 1500 years for the games to be revived. The first Olympic Games coordinated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) took place in Athens, Greece in 1896.

The 1986 Summer Olympics were held in the Panathenaic stadium and brought together 14 different nations and 241 athletes who competed in 43 events. After the first Games, the IOC decided that the modern Olympics would rotate internationally. They were to occur every four years, dependent upon the season of the Games (the Winter games would take place every four years, as well as the Summer, with a two year interval between the two). The Winter Olympic Games were created to feature snow and ice sports that could not take place during the Summer Games based on weather forecasts. Such sports included ice hockey, figure skating, and other events fit for cold temperatures.

The 1936 Summer Olympic Games, held in Berlin, Germany, were the first to be televised to local audiences. The 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy were the first to be broadcast internationally. The Olympics is now one of the most largely viewed events on television! Athletes and teams have become symbols and role models for their countries. Children and young adults look up to these athletes and aspire to be just like them someday. Athletes have risen to celebrity status, starring in commercials, signing autographs and even being pictured on cereal boxes!

Besides athletes, there are many other symbols used to represent the Olympics. The Olympic symbol, or the “Olympic Rings” consist of five intertwined rings representing the unity of the five inhabited continents. The Olympic Flag depicts a colored version of the rings set against a white backdrop. The color of the rings (blue, yellow, black green and red) was chosen because every nation had at least one of them on their nation’s flag. In anticipation of the Games, the Olympic flame is lit in Olympia months before the Games commence and reflects the ancient Greek rituals. This initiates the Olympic torch relay, which carries the flame to the host city’s Olympic stadium and plays an important role in the opening ceremonies.

The Olympic Games (both the Summer and Winter Games) consist of 35 sports, 30 disciplines and almost 400 separate events.  A medal ceremony is held after each Olympic event is completed, and consists of three award levels. The winner, second and third place winners stand upon a three-tiered podium to receive their medals. First place receives the gold medal, second the silver, and third the bronze. The same goes for team sports as well. During this ceremony the national flags of each medalist are raised and the national anthem of the gold medal winner plays over the speakers.  Some event favorites include gymnastics, swimming, track and field, basketball, figure skating, volleyball, and diving, among others.

The 2012 Summer Olympics, the Games of the XXX Olympiad, will be held in London, England from July 27 through August 12. The event will be centered on the Olympic Park in eastern London, which now hosts a number of new sports venues. Main venues include the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, and Velodrome (cycling track). Famous London venues like Wembley Stadium, the All-England Club in Wimbledon and Lord’s Cricket Ground will be used for events as well.  The scale of the 2012 Games is (courtesy of www.olympic.org):

• 26 sports in 34 venues
• 20 Paralympic sports in 21 venues
• 10,500 Olympic Athletes and 4,200 Paralympic athletes
• 20,000 press and media
• 9 million+ tickets

This year’s Games are sure to be a spectacle! Stikii cannot wait to cheer on Team USA and support our fabulous country. There is nothing like the camaraderie of a solid team and the thrill of reaching one’s ultimate goal. Don’t forget to tune in to the Opening Ceremonies on Friday, July 27! From all of us here at Stikii, we are proud to be Americans – GO TEAM USA!!