Planning a Fun-Filled Olympic Trials Watch Party
The highly anticipated, and COVID-delayed, Olympic Games are just around the corner. With the United States Olympic Trials slated to begin on June 13 (Wave II), there’s no better way to get hyped than by celebrating (safely) with teammates, coaches, friends and family. Why not host an Olympic Trials watch party? Here are some ideas to get you started for your epic celebration, as well as some suggestions and modifications to ensure safety for all party goers during the pandemic.
Set Up an Epic Viewing Station
A watch party could be the perfect excuse to finally invest in a larger television or a new entertainment system to ensure you and your guests enjoy the highly awaited event. Setting up additional chairs and places to sit will also ensure everyone can watch with utmost comfort.
Covid-Safe Option: For a cheaper and more Covid-19 friendly option, hanging a large white sheet from an outside space, such as a garage door or side of a house, and asking them to bring their own chairs and blankets, means more people can watch and enjoy without worrying too much about safety protocols or being as conscious about social distancing. Plus, those in attendance can work on their tans as they watch.
Grab Some Snacks and Get Creative
Photo Courtesy: The Daily Dot
Nothing brings people together like food. There are multiple fun directions you can go with food options for watch parties, especially if those in attendance are swim fans. On one hand, you could do snacks and offer calorie-dense meal options like pizza to allow a cheat day for all those in attendance. Or, you could go for healthier options like sandwiches, fruits and salads to keep everyone in good and healthy spirits to watch the competition. If you want to get really entertaining, you could purchase and plan a menu based on some Olympics diets. It will require a bit of research and shopping, but in the end it would definitely be a unique and memorable take.
Covid-Safe Option: Ask everyone to bring a pre-made and pre-packaged snack that was either made or purchased to avoid the sharing of utensils and minimize touching common surfaces.
Get Hyped and Represent Your Favorite Athletes
There are a variety of ways to represent those you’re rooting for. Maybe you have a teammate who qualified for Trials and you want to dress in your team apparel to represent your connection to them. Maybe you have a favorite returning Olympian and want to wear apparel that makes you excited to cheer them on. Maybe you want to get excited for the Olympics in general so you wear an Olympic themed outfit. Whatever your jam is, inviting your guests to come dressed is a great way to promote high morale and get everyone ready to cheer on their favorites.
Covid-Safe Option: If you’re not comfortable being around people to see their outfits in-person, organize either a virtual fashion show or a social media group chat specifically for this task, and ask your close friends to send pictures or videos of their cheering outfits so you can still feel close to them while keeping your distance.
Plan Some Games
In case guests get bored, organizing some games could be a good fallback plan. If the location you’re organizing the party at has a pool, maybe you will want to do your own relay races or swimming events. You could hold an exercise challenge, where every time a certain action occurs, everyone must do a corresponding action or exercise. For example, if an American record is set, everyone must do 10 situps. These are just some ideas, and you can definitely do your own brainstorming and research to plan some games best suited for your guests.
Covid-Safe Option: Plan some virtual games! They’re definitely not the most ideal, but in a time of staying safe and being conscious of those around us, they’ll do the job for sure. To make everyone feel included, do a poll of your guests beforehand and see if there are any standout suggestions or favorites.
Don’t Send Guests Home Empty-Handed
Give your guests a little party favor to take home as a piece of remembrance and a thank you for attending. Swim-themed ideas are always good, such as personal swim caps bought with each person in mind, or a bag tag for swim bags (you can create custom ones online).
Covid-Safe Option: Send the party favor right to their house. Snail mail is again not ideal but it does the job for the world we’re currently living in.
Regardless of how you plan your party, remote or in-person, following these tips or not, as long as everyone has a good time, that’s all that matters.
A watching party? How about USA Swimming enables a parent to get tickets to watch their child swim? This current system is a joke and cost prohibitive.
So true!!!
LOL…Covid much? We are all so proud for my nephew to be a fist time Olympian, we are looking past the less than ideal climate for celebrating and focusing on his accomplishment.