By Michelle Carbery, Corporate Wellness Specialist, Independent Health

Even though this year’s Summer Olympics have been postponed until 2021, there are still ways to engage in some friendly and healthy competition right at home. Simply use some creativity to commemorate and enjoy your own Summer Games with your family.

Here are some ways to celebrate the tradition of the Olympics in your own yard and neighborhood:

  • Get the competitive juices flowing by hosting a family tournament featuring a traditional Summer Olympic event, such as badminton, table tennis or basketball. If you don’t have the right equipment, substitute your kitchen table for some table tennis or a laundry basket for a hoop.
  • If you’re a fan of track and field, have a 40-yard dash. Create a start and finish line, and then use a whistle or your hands to make a loud noise to start the race. If you have a Frisbee, you have a discus. To replicate the shot-put competition, all you need are some bocce balls. Place your starting point and record the distance to see who can throw each the farthest.
  • Have a pool in your backyard? If so, try a triathlon consisting of swimming, followed by a bike ride and then a walk or jog.
  • Partake in a hula-hoop-a-thon to see who can keep their hoops moving as long as possible. You’re eliminated when your hoop touches the ground.
  • Grab a corn hole set and have a bean bag toss. Assign points by each bean bag made in the hole and each bean bag that lands on the board.
  • Make up your own Olympic competitions and challenge friends or neighbors from a distance. Who can put together a 500-piece puzzle the fastest or balance on one foot the longest? Since exercising your brain is also important, see who can name all 50 states the quickest or who knows the most when it comes to Olympic trivia?
  • Use the Internet to find all the creative ways to make your own Olympic rings, medals and gymnast ribbon. After all, it’s amazing what you can do with empty toilet paper rolls, markers, paper plates and streamers.
  • Instead of opening and closing ceremonies, celebrate all of the countries by painting garden rocks with colors from each country and scattering them through your flower beds. Make flags from different countries with construction paper and crayons. Turn it into a game of who can match the flag with the country. Or hang them up to create your own Olympic village.

While we may have to wait until next summer to watch our favorite Olympian athletes compete, you can still have fun this summer – while staying physically, mentally and socially active – by creating a new yearly tradition of your own. Let the Games begin!