Young and old team up for gold at mini-OlympAge Games
Poster information
Posted on: Monday 08 April 2019
The first ever inter-generational mini-OlympAge Games event was held at Halo’s Ogmore Valley Life Centre recently.
School pupils and older people from Ogmore Valley teamed up to compete at a range of Olympic-themed activities, such as chain relay, bounce ball, target throw and new age kurling.
The fun-filled activities, which took place in teams of eight, represented countries that compete in the real Olympics. All the games involve simple, inclusive, colourful activities aimed to improve mobility, fitness and social interaction.
It’s great to see events like this in our local communities. It’s a fun way of encouraging participants to stay active and gives them the chance to socialise with people of all ages.
We are all aware that as an ageing population, it is important that we keep active and stay as healthy as we can. There are also mental benefits of being active, which can prevent people from becoming isolated or even ill and in need of hospital care.
It has also been great to see the children from the local primary school joining in with the activities, having fun and enjoying the team challenge!
Mayor of Bridgend County Borough, Councillor John McCarthy
By introducing gentle exercise through fun and personal interests, it has proven to have a direct impact on the day to day lives of the older people taking part.
Jack, a pupil from Ogmore Vale Primary School said: “I really enjoyed the games this morning. My favourite game was new age kurling – I hit the 100 target!”
Mary, aged 94 said: “We’ve had a really enjoyable morning with the children. They have been very polite and well-behaved and have also helped out with the games. There’s been a great team spirit and I’ve enjoyed seeing everyone laughing and having fun.”