Hundreds Compete In One of the UK’s Biggest Care Home Sporting Events
With the Paris Olympics now here, a group of Suffolk care homes hosted their own Games – featuring breakdancing.
The one-of-a-kind event was held at Care UK’s Mills Meadow, in Framlingham, with more than 100 residents and team members from 11 different care homes going for gold in a series of Olympics-inspired disciplines.
The day kicked off with an opening ceremony, which saw each home performing their very own chant and showcasing their chosen theme or country – including France and Ancient Greece.
For the main event, residents competed in a special weightlifting competition with foam weights, followed by a team rhythmic gymnastics contest and a shot-put competition using mini sandbags. It was up to team members to pull their own weight next during tug-of-war, before hopping into a sack race.
Betty Dunne, 90, who lives at Mills Meadow, said: “I enjoy seeing people enjoy themselves and everybody is doing what they want to do and having a good time. There’s nothing better than a little competition – although it’s the taking part that counts.”
The event has been running for seven years – but this year saw the special addition of breaking (or breakdancing), the latest addition to the list of official Olympics disciplines. After a performance by international breakdancer and choreographer Nadir Josi, residents also got to break a sweat and bust a move in a hip-hop workshop, led by the Blair Academy.
Jessie Slater, 88, from Mildenhall Lodge care home, said: “I was so excited for the breakdancing. That was my favourite part!”
In the end, the team at Cedrus House, from Stowmarket, brought home the gold after being crowned overall winner.
A Cedrus House resident, Betty Cowell, 95, commented: “I loved the dancing and all the sports – seeing our home win is always good fun. I’ve enjoyed the races and it’s nice to get out for the day and see different people.”
Jennie Rodger, Regional Director for Suffolk at Care UK, said: “There’s been an amazing buzz ahead of the Paris Olympics among residents, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to take part in their own Games.
“Many residents have incredibly fond memories of past Olympics, so our event gave them a great opportunity to reminisce and share their highlights from previous years. We even added breaking to the mix, as this year’s newest Olympics discipline, which was a hit with residents. They’re all keen ballroom dancers – but it’s safe to say they’d never done anything quite like it before!
“Competition was fierce, but there could only be one winner – congratulations to team Cedrus House. We’re already looking forward to our next event; who knows, we might event try and host our own Winter Games!”
The event comes ahead of the launch of the The Big Care UK Sports Day, which sees over 130 Care UK homes across the UK host sports days for the local community and showcase what life in a care home is really like.
To find out more about The Big Care UK Sports Day, please visit: careuk.com/care-uk-sports-day
