Olympic Athlete Research Packet

OLYMPIC ATHLETE RESEARCH PACKET

SECTION ONE:

ATHLETE & HOMETOWN/REGIONAL INFORMATION

Athlete’s name:
Sport:
Draw pictogram:
Position (if applicable):
Athlete’s academic record/past competitions:
Country:
Draw a picture of the country’s flag:

Hometown:
Population:
Birthdate:
Time Zone
What is the time zone near your athlete’s hometown?
How many hours’ difference is this from Beijing, China?
Religion (or common religions of the area/country):
Give a brief description of the main beliefs of each.
Language
Name of language(s):
Common phrases:
Common recipe
Name of recipe:
Story behind the recipe/interesting fact:
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Holiday traditions:
Name and describe one holiday tradition common to the athlete’s culture.
Natural Resources:
How do/might these influence daily life?
Landmarks:
Role Models
Does the athlete name any role models?
If so, who and why?
If not, who are some leaders/athletes from this country that could be role models to this athlete?

OLYMPIC ATHLETE RESEARCH PACKET

SECTION TWO:

COUNTRY INFORMATION

Location
On which continent is your athlete’s country located?
What are its surrounding neighbors?
Government:
Currency
What is your athlete’s country’s currency called?
What is its exchange rate to Chinese yuan?
Country’s History:
Highlight important dates/events.
Map:
Draw the basic shape of your athlete’s country. Also, mark and label your athlete’s hometown.
Major Exports & Imports:
Concerns about Olympics
Has your athlete’s country expressed opposition to having the Olympics in Beijing? If so, why?
Environment
What are some environmental concerns in your athlete’s country?
What has been done in the recent 10 years to address these concerns?
Innovation & Technology
What are some recent technological advancements in your athlete’s country?

OLYMPIC ATHLETE RESEARCH PACKET

SECTION THREE:

SPORT INFORMATION

Origin
When was your athlete’s sport first played?
When did this sport become an Olympic competition?
What are the general rules of this sport?
Competitors
What other countries is your athlete’s team expected to compete against at the Summer Olympics?
Which countries have won medals for this sport at the past 2 Olympics?
Training
What does your athlete have to do to train for this sport?
Who pays for this training?
Other Sports
What other sports is your athlete’s country expected to compete in at the Summer Olympics?
Competition Schedule
On what days is your athlete’s sport scheduled to compete?
Competition Venue
Where is your athlete’s sport scheduled to compete?
What does this venue look like? Draw a picture of it:

Uniforms/Jerseys
What do your athlete’s team’s uniforms/jerseys look like? Draw a picture (front/back).

OLYMPIC ATHLETE RESEARCH PACKET

SECTION FOUR:

OTHER INFORMATION

What other information about your athlete/athlete’s country/athlete’s sport do you think is important or interesting to know?

OLYMPIC ATHLETE RESEARCH PACKET

SECTION FIVE:

INTERVIEW

Use another sheet if you need more space! 

Questions
What questions do you think would be interesting to ask you athlete?
Answers
Based on your research, how do you think your athlete would answer these questions?
This Summer
How do you predict your athlete will perform at the 2008 Olympics?
How do you think your athlete will react to being in Beijing?

OLYMPIC ATHLETE RESEARCH PROJECT

The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held this August in Beijing, China. Your job is to research a specific Olympic athlete that will compete in the summer games. This packet is to help you organize information as you find it. Your final project will be to organize information about your athlete, your athlete’s country and your athlete’s sport into a four-page magazine layout. As a class, we will put together a “sports magazine” that will contain information about all of our athletes. These magazines will be displayed at the Maymester Community Learning Fair on Thursday, May 29th.

Some things to keep in mind as you research:

The games’ theme is “One World, One Dream”
The games are being centered around three main concepts:
Green Games: environmental protection and sustainability
High-tech Games: technological/scientific innovation
People’s Games: cultural exchange among nations

Some dates to keep in mind:

Athlete page due Fri, May 16
Sport & country pages due Thurs, May 22
Mock interview page dueWeds, May 28
All pages should be done by Weds, May 28
Maymester Community Learning Fair Thurs, May 29
Mock Olympics Fri, May 30

Some helpful websites:

Note: A rubric is attached at the back of this packet.

Please refer to this when you are conducting your research

and putting your layouts together!