How to Host Your Own Office Olympics

The tradition of the Olympics originates in ancient Greece and has evolved into an event for athletes from over 200 countries to gather to compete. Beyond the competition, the Olympics have a deep social and economic impact. The athletes inspire us to be our best and we learn the value of perseverance and dedication.

As people around the world watch the Games, corporations take advantage of significant sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Only a handful of large multi-national companies have the marketing budget to be an Olympic Partner sponsor, but there are other ways, like holding an office Olympics party, to join in on the fun and excitement of the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. 

How do you celebrate the Olympics at work? 

Celebrating the Olympics at work is a great way to encourage team-building and learn about the cultures and diversity in your office.  The opening ceremonies are on July 26th, 2024 at 1:30 PM Eastern and 10:30 AM Pacific, right during the workday. Decorate the office and learn about your coworkers during a viewing party. You may not know you have a team member with ties to another country or a colleague who used to pole vault in college. 

To boost team spirit and office camaraderie, host your own Office Olympics just like they did at Dunder Mifflin. The Office Olympics are all about team-building activities and fun games with office supplies or whatever is on hand. Just be sure to have an awards ceremony for your team, even if they’re gold medals made of chocolate!

Fun Fact! The writers of The Office got the idea for this episode from the creators of the cartoon King of the Hill, who used to hold their own real-life Olympics in their offices! 

The Best Office Olympics Ideas for Your Game Events

The first thing you need to do when hosting your Office Olympic Games is decide on the events you’ll hold. During the “Games of the 1st Dunder Mifflin Olympiad”, Jim and Pam organize events from games their coworkers already play in the office, like Toby’s Dunderball. They also make DIY games with what they have on hand like Flonkerton (racing with boxes of paper strapped to your feet) and guessing who will be in the elevator. 

Remember this is all about having fun. We’ve put together some fun and easy game ideas for your office Olympic Event.

1. Office Chair Races

Like the chariots of ancient Greece, desk chair racing is a staple for office Olympics. Depending on your floor plan you can do straight dashes, circle desks, and cubicles, or have partners pull the chair rider to really get the ancient Olympic theme. The first to cross the finish line wins! If you have too many participants you’ll have to run in heats. You can have people timing the races or do a bracket-style chair race for 1st place. 

2. Pens in a Cup Challenge

Dwight Schrute’s coffee mug is the inspiration for this challenge. Jim and Pam tossed things into his cup to spark the idea for the Olympics in The Office, so it is only fitting for this event to be part of your office Olympics too. This event can be teams or head-to-head matchups. It’s really easy… set the distance and try to toss pens into the cup. The most pens in wins! 

Need branded mugs or pens to supply your Olympic games? We’ve got you covered, shop our promotional pens and coffee mugs. 

3. Paper Airplane Throwing

Test the ingenuity of your team as each member is tasked with designing their own paper airplane. Once everyone has made their plane it’s time for takeoff! The plane that flies the longest wins. We also love giving awards for the coolest design and funniest flight pattern. 

4. Scavenger Hunts

Have your staff solve clues to gather and find items around the office. This activity promotes teamwork and you can hide company swag among the items as bonuses for solving the puzzles. Keep a scoreboard of the teams’ progress throughout the workday to encourage friendly competition. 

5. Rubber Band Archery

See who has the best aim with a rubber band. Participants use rubber bands to hit a target or shoot rubber bands through a hole in a piece of paper. Points can be scored based on where the rubber band lands or if it gets through the hole. Grab custom logo rubber band balls to supply your archers. 

6. Conference Table Ping Pong

This activity requires some extra equipment but it’s worth it. Find a table or two in the office and either use objects like books in the office to make a “net” or purchase a table tennis net that clips to the table. Then you can start your office ping pong tournament. 

4AllPromos can add your logo to custom ping pong balls for the occasion.

7. Office Relays

Relay races are another feature of the Olympic games. In your office games, instead of passing a baton, you can pass a water bottle or portable stick charger. Participants can race from the front desk to the break room and around the water cooler. 

8. Invisible String

This game is kind of like limbo but the limbo bar is invisible. The object here is to put up an invisible string somewhere in the office and everyone has to dodge it all day. If you forget and get caught by a coworker, you get a point. The winner is the person with the lowest amount of points at the end of the workday.

9. Pencil Javelin

Sharpen your pencils and get ready to launch them towards a piece of paper. When the pencil hits the paper it will make a mark and let you easily know where to score the toss. The participant can sign their mark and you’ll have a record of all the throws. 

Let your employees choose their javelin when you get an order of cheap promotional pencils to toss in the event. 

10. Keepy Uppy 

Keepy Uppy is a simple but fun game to engage your team. You can split the office into teams and the goal is to keep a balloon from hitting the ground or furniture by “dooting” it in the air (yes this is the technical Keepy Uppy term!). This game is easiest when played with a balloon to give it more hangtime, but you can doot a crumpled piece of paper or a stress ball when you don’t have a balloon.

When the game has been going on and needs to become more challenging,  you can announce no dooting with your hands! 

11. Trash Can Basketball

Throughout the workday whenever an item needs to be thrown out or recycled, it can be shot in the waste basket for points. Employees are allowed to block shots if they see a coworker getting ready to toss an item out. It’s a foul if someone throws away a recyclable item in the trash bin, the opposing team has the option to “resort” the item and shoot it into the recycle bin. 

Office Olympics Activities for Remote Teams

If you work with a remote team you can still host virtual office Olympics! What are some good virtual office Olympic ideas? There are plenty of online games to use or DIY some of your own to engage your work-from-home employees. Some game ideas for WFH teams include:

• Slack Games — Did you know there are apps on Slack to play games? You can add games for the team to play and challenge each other. 
• Olympics-Theme Trivia — Hold an online trivia event with questions about the Olympic Games, sports, and modern Olympic pop culture references. 
• At-Home Scavenger Hunt — This one can be fun because you don’t know what everyone has in their house. You can create a list of items that team members need to snap a picture of like their favorite sunglasses or a company logo item. 
• Drawasaurus — This game is a free, online game (opens in a new window) for up to 16 people at a time. Players guess what is being drawn as quickly as they can to gain points. 

Awards & Closing Ceremonies

Awards are a must for Office Olympics. Pam made medals from yogurt lids and paperclips, and while Michael Scott wore his medal proudly, Ryan threw his in the trash. Order medallion beads to hand out to all participants or if you want to avoid medals in the trash, consider other incentives for employees to make the games worthwhile. Let them compete for branded beanies, power banks, blankets, or insulated tumblers.

Celebrate the Games With Olympics-Themed Team Building

 The Olympics are a global symbol of hard work, cooperation, and peace. Just as they provide a break from everyday routine, holding an office Olympics can offer the same break. Holding team-building activities will cultivate a positive workplace culture, stimulate creativity, and help everyone get to know each other better. 

Give your employees a break from routine during the 2024 Paris Olympics by holding your own Office Olympic Games!