From left, Sofia Possehl, Alison Harvey and Landon Hodges draw Olympic-themed pictures during an Olympic event at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Davenport July 24.
By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — Five round tables representing the five Olympic rings were “home” to five teams for the St. Paul the Apostle Youth Ministry Olympic Games July 24 in Denning Hall.
Twenty-three youths from incoming eighth-grade through high school attended the 3-hour event that mixed faith, sports and fun together.
Teams of four or five youths picked a country to represent at the Olympic Games and wore buttons depicting that nation’s flag. Brett Adams, director of discipleship at St. Paul’s, led the event with help of several adults.
Each team entered Denning Hall carrying an inflatable torch as the Olympic theme song played. Each team performed a small skit before circling the hall.
Adams gave the youths four pillars (goals) for the evening: safety first, play fair, stay positive and have fun.
The evening’s schedule included events such as Master of the Games (naming the 45 official sports of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris); Rock, Paper, Scissors Relay; Cup, Cup and Away; Rhythmic Gymnastics and more.
Participants could engage in additional activities whenever they weren’t competing. During I Believe I Can Fly, youths made paper airplanes and flew them as far as possible. Adults marked the distance with sticky notes to determine the winner. Puzzle Power challenged participants to reassemble Olympic photos that adults had cut into 18 pieces. Adults recorded how long it took each individual to complete the puzzle. Youths could also participate in an art contest by creating their own Olympic-themed picture. Adults judged the winner based on originality, attention to detail and use of color.
The Olympic gathering was “an opportunity for youth to get together, build fellowship and have some fun,” Adams said. The event allowed youths to meet each other — especially incoming eighth graders — and “get a bit more plugged in and connected with other kids. They shared friendly competition and got into the Olympic spirit.”
