Care home sports

Sport has been severely affected by the current pandemic, with many major events either having to be postponed or played behind closed doors. Although many of our favourite games or events won’t be back to normal for a while, that doesn’t mean sport itself is cancelled.

With 7.2million older people in England classified as physically inactive the emphasis on the necessity of physical fitness and a healthy mindset is greater than ever.

114 care homes across the UK – run by not-for-profit Anchor Hanover – are leading the charge and will be hosting their own sports tournament this month, encouraging their residents to take on a series of fitness challenges together while developing a positive attitude towards exercise.

The week-long event, Summer of Sport, will be held from Monday 20 July to Sunday 26 July: the same week the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics would have taken place.

The UK-wide sports tournament will see care home residents taking part in daily one-minute sporting challenges including basketball, cricket, football, table tennis, golf and rugby. All care homes have been provided with sports equipment specifically adapted for people living with dementia, so residents can get involved.

Aston spoke to Cath Holmes, Summer of Sport co-ordinator at Anchor Hanover to discuss how its care staff is co-ordinating the Summer of Sport tournament for residents up and down the country, and can explain how colleagues and the public can get involved in the initiative by commiting to a sporting challenge of their own and sharing their efforts on social media.

Photo by Tevarak Phanduang on Unsplash