By Joanne Rodgers, Bruce Peninsula Press
On August 7, for Day 2 of the Golden Dawn 2024 Olympics Games, 37 residents of long-term care, 2 volunteers, 4 staff and family support members were all out on the Golden Dawn patio to participate and/or support the residents in the Fishing Derby and Target Shooting tournaments.
The four day event started on July 31 and will culminate on August 21 with an Awards Ceremony. Every resident will receive a participation award, along with the trophies and medals awarded to the winning teams.
Vicki Caudle, Life Enrichment Manager, thought an Olympic-styled event would be appropriate since the Summer Olympics was being held in Paris during the time. The staff was thrilled with the proposal and Caudle says “the ideas flowed”, as the staff planned the many interesting and creative activities designed to cater to the physical and cognitive abilities of the participants. Caudle says the event is all about “inclusion”. A summer staff member, currently in an Arts Program, designed the signage and score board.
The scoring was based on a point system and at the end of Day 1, which included Rocket Launch and Air Hockey, the team standings stood at:
–Team Blue – 7 points
–Team Red – 10 points
–Team Green – 13 points
–Team Yellow – 21 points
Day 2 brought out the sharpshooting abilities and fishing skills of the residents with team members cheering for their respective team while staff and volunteers led a cheering wave and acted as cheerleaders waving ribbons and pom poms in support of the athletes
Day 3 of the Golden Dawn Olympics will be held on August 14 and will feature two events: Bocce Ball and Bean Toss Bag.
The residents of the long-term care facility have been watching the summer Olympics on television every morning. They say that their very own Olympics have been a wonderful event. With their fellow residents/volunteers cheering them on, the participants were good team players and stepped up to the challenges. Many say they surprised themselves with their good performances and were thrilled with their accomplishments.
