The Five Olympic Values
Update: Unfortunately Cincinnati did not get the bid to get the 2012 Olympics. Maybe there will be hope for the future.
Last summer I had the chance to attend the first Olympic Regional Academy, in Cincinnati. I stayed for one week, and learned the 5 Olympic Values. During the course of that week, we learned that the Olympics are more than a bunch of athletes competing to be the best. Olympism is a philosophy of life--encompassing the mind, body, and spirit, blending sport with culture nad education. Olympism seeks a way of life based on joy found in the effort.
Three of us from my school went to the Academy, along with three mentors. After the Academy we had to brong the Olympic Ideals back to our community and share them to help make a better community. One of the things we decided to do was speak at the local Rotary Club, and mentor at the Intermediate school. One of our mentors wrote the following poem to express the Ideal of Vision:
Vision
From the first day of school the teachers have said
You see with your eyes in front of your head.
But what I have found
In this short weekend
Is something amazing
and I must make amend
For the vision I've had
Way deep down inside
That vision is easy
So easy to hide
Keeping is secret
away from the world
Makes is so much sweeter
when your plan is unfurled
See, Olympic dreams
find somewhere to start
That vision begins
straight from the heart
I know it seems silly
most people won't care
But believe in yourself
and you're already there.
Vision
by: Rollin Bone
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
OLYMPIC SITES LINKS
Cincinnati 2012
Inspirational Quotes
