Winter Olympics Plays for guided reading

I have just updated my Winter Olympics Guided Reading Plays
to 2018. The 7 scripts are:

1. 2014 & 2018 Winter Olympics
2. Russia Winter Olympics 2014
3. Canada Winter Olympics, 2010
4. A History of the Winter Olympics 1924 – 2010
5. Memorable Moments from Past Olympics
6. Winners and Record Breakers
7. What it takes to be a winner. This latter is this is a collection of 5 plays based on P.R.I.D.E. which stands for: POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE, RESPECT, INTELLIGENT CHOICES, DREAMS AND GOALS and EFFORT AND EDUCATION
The original set of scripts was written on the Winter Olympics up to 2010. The updates are thus 2010 Canada, 2014 Russia and 2018 South Korea.
Sample Texts:
Play 1: 2014 & 2018 Winter Olympics
Cast:
Narrator
Speed Skater
Figure Skater
Skier
Snowboarder
Curler

Narrator: Quick catch up! Oh, how the years fly by!
Speed Skater: Especially if you’re travelling at speed!
Narrator: So, let’s just have a quick recap on the last Winter Olympics – in Russia, 2014!
Figure Skater: The host country topped the medals table with 33!
Skier: Eighty-eight nations took part.
Snowboarder: Including Malta, for the first time!
Curler: With two thousand eight hundred athletes taking part!
Speed Skater: Ninety-eight events took place.
Figure Skater: Just loved those three animal mascots!
Skier: What, you mean, the Polar Bear, Alpine Hare and Snow Leopard?
Narrator: Just one mascot for South Korea this year
Snowboarder: The White Tiger!
Narrator: Soohorang!
Curler: And how many events this year?
Narrator: One hundred and two! Always good to have new sports added on!
Curler: Hear! Hear! We’ll have mixed doubles curling for the first time!
Play 2: 22nd Winter Olympics, Russia, 2014
Cast
Narrator: Welcome to the Winter Olympics, 2014!
Speed Skater: Host country – Russia!
Figure Skater: Number of participating countries – over eighty!
Skier: Number of sports – fifteen!
Bobsledder: Number of events – 98! Twelve more than the last Winter Olympics in Canada 2010. And of these, women are taking part in Ski Jumping for the very first time!
Curler: Number of previous Winter Olympics – twenty-one!
Narrator: Any idea which country will walk away with the most medals this year?
Speed skater: Well, I don’t know about walking away with any medals! More likely to skate
Figure Skater: Dance
Skier: Ski
Bobsledder: Bobsled
Curler: Or ‘curl’ away with them!
Play 3 Canada Winter Olympics, 2010
Skier: Faster, Higher, Braver!
Bobsledder: I’m not sure about ‘Higher’, but I certainly strive to be faster and braver every time I go out!
Curler: (Thoughtfully) Hmmm. I’m not sure about Faster, Higher or Braver in my case! I’m not exactly putting my life on the line every time I go out!
Narrator: But it still requires huge courage to actually go out there and compete! I get butterflies in my tummy just thinking about it. I totally admire you guys for going out there every time and giving it your all. That’s asking a huge amount of anyone.
Speed Skater: You’re right. It does take a lot of courage to compete – whether you’re hurtling along on skates like me
Skier: Or on skis like me!
Bobsledder: Or steel runners like me!
Figure Skater: And dancing on ice can be anything but safe!
Skier: (Sarcastically) Right! Really scary compared with my sport!
Bobsledder: Or mine!
Speed Skater: Or mine!
Narrator: Hold on! This isn’t the kind of competition we were talking about!
Play 4 A History of the Winter Olympics 1924 – 2014
Narrator: I’m sure we wish them the very best of luck. It’s always fun to watch something a little different.
Curler: As long as it’s from the safety of a nice padded sofa, firmly and securely placed in front of the television!
Narrator: Ah! The arrival of television! Now that did make a difference to us spectators!
Curler: 1956 was the first time the Winter Olympics were televised.
Speed Skater: And 1968 was the first time they were watched in colour!
Skier: And 1998 was the first time there was snowboarding!
Bobsledder: And the first time ice hockey was played at the Games with women! Despite men having been competing since 1920!
Skier: Huh! That Canadian ladies ice hockey team sure showed ‘em! What a victory in 2010! Up til then the men’s Canadian ice hockey team had totally stolen the limelight!
Curler: And women are at last going to be allowed into ski- jumping this year! Though sport isn’t just about having the courage to go faster or higher, you know.
Play 5: Memorable Moments from Past Olympics
Narrator: And how wonderful for everyone there, to witness such an act of sportsmanship! Another amazing moment that should be recorded in all Winter Olympics history books!
Skier: Oh! And don’t forget ‘The Flying Tomato’
Narrator: Pardon?
Skier: That’s the nickname for Shaun White, the world’s best and most spectacular half pipe snowboarder! Winner of gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada. He sure can do a mean tomahawk!
Narrator: I beg your pardon?
Skier: That’s a double McTwist 1260! Only he can do it! It’s non-stop thrills with this guy around!
Curler: Yes, very exciting. Bit like my sport.
Skier: (Laughing) What? Curling?
Curler: Indeed. We may not achieve the adrenalin rush of some of you athletes who leap off mountains and speed around corners at death-defying speeds! But we still provide great entertainment.
Narrator: Quite right. And may I just say, the Olympics have also produced heroes who haven’t won a thing!
Skier: Like Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards from Great Britain – who came last in both the 70 and 90 meter ski jumps at the 1988 Games at Calgary, Canada.
Narrator: And did that make him any the less a hero?
Skier: Far from it! If anything it had completely the opposite effect! Never before had an athlete been mentioned in a closing speech and had their name chanted
Play 6 Record Breakers (to 2010)
Narrator: Well, it’s not just about time. It’s more about recognizing that nobody is safe!
All 5 athletes: (Together, in alarm) What?
Narrator: Sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm you. What I meant was, nobody stays ‘the best’ forever. So whoever holds a world or Olympic record at the moment, may well lose it during this, our next Winter Olympics Games.
Bobsledder: Oh! I see what you mean!
Curler: Had us worried there for a moment! I for one don’t do ‘unsafe’!
Narrator: I was just making the point that all records are there for the breaking! So from that point of view, nobody is safe!
Speed Skater: Oh, that’s all right!
Figure Skater: Yes, we’ve all been trained to do our best.
Skier: It’s part of our training to never get complacent.
Bobsledder: You can never assume victory.
Curler: Sometimes it comes in the most unlikely shapes and forms! And of course you never know what will happen on the day.
Speed Skater: You can train and train … and still lose.
Figure Skater: You can be winning one minute; and then lose everything in a flash!
Skier: You can be the best – but have the worst luck!
Bobsledder: You can prepare for most things – but not everything.
Curler: You just never know – that’s sport for you!
Play 7 What it takes to be a winner
1. POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE
2. RESPECT
3. INTELLIGENT CHOICES
4. DREAMS AND GOALS
5. EFFORT AND EDUCATION
The cast in this set of plays differs from the previous four, in that the Narrator’s role is taken by the Coach, and the Curler is replaced by a fan.
This set of 5 group readers is intended to promote the concepts behind PRIDE – standing for Positive Mental Attitude, Respect, Intelligent Choices, Dreams and Effort (Education). In short, the promotion of healthy, positive self esteem among young people, highlighting the fact that ‘being the best’ takes time, effort and all round commitment.
POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE
Cast:
• Speed Skater
• Figure Skater
• Skier
• Bobsledder
• Fan
• Coach
Fan: Excuse me! Could I have your autograph?
Speed Skater: Yeah! But make it quick. Coach will be onto us!
Figure Skater: No time to lose
Skier: Not in our training schedule.
Bobsledder: Hours and hours of hard work!
Fan: But you’ve already got the skills! You don’t need to practice!
Coach: (Snorting) Oh really?
Fan: Yeah, really! You guys are, after all, the best in the world. Course, for the rest of us it’s different. It wouldn’t matter how many hours I spent practicing, I’d still be bottom of the heap! My school mates always said I was rubbish and they were right!
Coach: So. Let’s talk about the real issue here.
Fan: Which is?
Coach: Positive mental attitude.
Fan: Sorry. You’ve lost me!
Coach: Seems to me more like you’ve lost yourself.