Growing up with one television and 3 main channels, I learned to enjoy watching sports programs with my father. He always tuned in to the Olympics and we cheered on the medalists from the USA.
I remember amazing athletic skills and record-breaking performances. I especially enjoyed watching gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and horse jumping and dressage.
With the 2020 Olympics finally set to begin later this month in Tokyo, Japan, here’s the scoop on what you'll need to enjoy the games from home. Also, why not fill in the downtime between now and then, or between events, by checking out Jasper County Library’s books and DVDs on The Olympics [1], Olympic athletes [2] like Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas, or find out more about Tokyo and Japan [3]?
The Tokyo Olympics [4] will begin on Friday, July 23, with the opening ceremony at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium. The opening ceremony will take place at 6 a.m. Central Time so you’ll have to get up early to catch it live.
The Tokyo Games will feature 339 events across 33 sports. Although some thought the Tokyo 2020 Olympics might be postponed for another year, it appears at the time of writing this, that the Olympic games will go forward but with many modifications made due to Covid-19, including a ban on all live spectators [5].
Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Central Time, so when it is evening in Japan, it is morning in the US. Many key events will be held in the evening in Tokyo so that will be early morning for us. However, swimming will take place in the morning there, so you will be able to watch those events in local prime time.
NBC, who has exclusive coverage rights of the games in the U.S., has announced plans to broadcast some events on tape delay and live-stream many events in real-time. They plan to have more than 7,000 hours of coverage on their various stations, so take a look at their schedule https://www.nbcolympics.com/ [6] so you can view or record your favorite events.
There will be six new sports at the Tokyo Olympics, four of which will be making their Olympic debut: Karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing. The other two sports, baseball and softball, are returning after previously being cut.
There will also be several new events in existing sports, such as 3-on-3 basketball and mixed-gender relays in swimming and track and field, among other sports. You are sure to find something that will be fun to watch.
We hope you have fun making memories with your family watching the games, and we encourage you to enrich your Olympics [7] experience by checking out items from Jasper County Public Library!