Promising pageantry, spectacle and plenty of Samba dancing, tonight’s Opening Ceremonies kick off the 2016 Rio Olympics. For the next two weeks, we’ll be captivated by this all-you-can-watch buffet of sports, awestruck by the athletes’ unique gifts of natural talent, strength, speed, and focus.
If you, however, are less of a viewer and more of a doer, consider creating your own Olympics right in your backyard.
We have some suggestions to get you started on fun events for a friendly neighborhood competition.
Diving—Combine the inflatable Floating Jungle Gym with this body-launching attachment at the lake. It will launch a person sitting on its surface into the air when another person jumps on the inflatable, providing airborne fun for somersaults, flips, cannonballs and belly flops. The commercial-grade jungle gym itself is strong enough to support leaps from the apex, too.
Table Tennis—This table tennis table features an integrated 2,800-watt audio system and LED lighting to impart thrill and excitement to any tournament. Connecting to smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth for music, the table also includes a microphone input and volume and track controls that allow ambidextrous karaoke enthusiasts to sing a victory song while delivering a game-winning backhand or for an announcer to add color commentary to each volley. 
Pickleball—Though not an Olympic sport – yet – pickleball is among the fastest-growing sports in the country. This complete pickleball kit sets up in minutes for fast-paced fun for two picklers. This unique gift is available exclusively from Hammacher Schlemmer and sets up on any hard surface. The game combines the volleys of tennis with oversized paddles, a badminton-size court, and a perforated plastic ball. Balls travel at one-third the speed of a tennis ball, making the game easy to learn and fun to play for all experience levels.
Award Ceremonies—Close our your games and present your winners’ medals around this handcrafted replica of the Athlete’s Village Fire Pit Globe from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The unique globe-shaped design, with cutouts in the shapes of the continents, evokes the international spirit of the Games. The fire pit is forged from heavy-gauge carbon steel with an iron oxide patina to last for many Olympics to come.
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