By Jed Lanyon
There’s been an Olympics buzz in the air for the past month as Australians used their extra couch time during lockdown to follow their favourite sports at the Tokyo Olympics.
The residents of a Healesville aged care home took their Olympic fever to another level by hosting their own events to keep active and entertained during an otherwise difficult time.
Holmwood Aged Care residents took part in several events, including shooting thanks to some toy Nerf guns, discus using frisbees, virtual swimming, a miniature basketball tournament, bean bag shot put and even quoits.
Holmwood’s lifestyle coordinator Ben O’Brien said the residents “loved” the Olympics action.
“We downloaded the 7 Plus apps on as many TVs as we could so they all could have the opportunity to browse whatever sports they were interested in,” he said.
“Obviously we’ve all been enjoying the Olympics on TV and we wanted to take it one step further and bring the Olympics to the residents.
“A lot of them have sporting histories, so it was perfect for them, instead of just watching the live events, we delivered it to them.”
For those who served in the army, the shooting was quite popular, while many who competed with or owned horses enjoyed the equestrian events.
“They loved it. We had residents from all over the building coming to the main dining room, which had become our Olympics hall. We had residents, rather than competing on the day, would assist other residents and help coordinate the events with the staff.”
Mr O’Brien said it took a bit of creativity and craziness to come up with the unique events to keep the residents entertained.
“It’s something that is very, very important. I get to go home at the end of the day, but our residents are here all day during a lockdown. Making events out of the small things is something we take pride in and helping to bring the outside world to them where every activity gives us a chance for people to smile and join in, that’s what we try to do everyday.”
