Table Tennis England The Winning Edge Issue 8 | Page 15

PADDLING THROUGH RETIREMENT W The project has been sustained by peer volunteers from the retirement living schemes, who are mentored by the peer coaches. Paul explains: “Deighton TT shows age is just a number, improving your hand-eye coordination while having fun playing a childhood game.” e know that being physically active throughout life supports good health and well-being, and nowhere is this more true than with older people. With falls, immobility and isolation being more prominent in older age, coaches can play a role in inspiring and supporting older people to be more active within their local community spaces. The participants have created mini leagues and have become highly competitive, which has increased the amount of times they play each week, resulting in being more active more often. As coaches we should think about how we can develop appropriate, sustainable and enjoyable community opportunities that support older people to be active more often. One way of achieving this is to consider looking at utilising alternative spaces for community-based activities such as the local library, doctors surgeries or local village halls, and to take the activity to the groups who already exist but may not be providing physical activities, such as luncheon clubs and coffee mornings. Meanwhile, eight miles away in Slaithwaite, something altogether less competitive was taking place: chair-based physical activity…in a fire station. Another way in which coaches can extend their reach is to build relationships within local councils, organisations and existing projects that support older people, such as the exercise referral scheme, or by linking with local schools and providing intergenerational opportunities. I want to share two examples of how the Kirklees Sports and Physical Activity Development team (SPADT) has supported local projects to do this – and what’s more has trained, supported and inspired volunteers and non-traditional sports venues to play a part. Deighton Table Tennis Club is a well-established sports club in Huddersfield, which reaches out to every individual no matter what age, ability or personal circumstances. Club founder and coach developer Paul Simpson wanted to extend the reach of the club further to engage older people to start or revisit table tennis as a way of being more active. He worked closely with Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing (KNH) and SPADT to provide coached table tennis sessions across 15 retirement living schemes. The club sourced local funding to train peer coaches and invest in portable table tennis equipment to support the hugely successful programme, which has resulted in over 100 older people playing the sport over the last year - people who wouldn’t have considered playing in a traditional sports club environment. 15 You read that right – West Yorkshire Fire Service (WYFS) and SPADT joined forces as part of a Safe and Well project, aimed at providing fire safety education, reduce social isolation and reduce accidents in and around the home. Slaithwaite Fire Station opened its doors to provide Movement and Games in Chairs sessions – wonderfully shortened to MAGIC – for the local older people as part of a successful pilot. Dale Gardiner, Station Manager in Huddersfield, told me: "Traditionally our visits to people’s homes were focused around fire education and being safe in their homes. WYFS has a trusted position in the community, which enables people to feel confident in coming to the station to take part in gentle physical activity. For us it’s a winning situation, as being active helps to keep people more mobile, reduces falls, and ultimately keeps them safer in their home.” The station hosts a weekly session, followed by tea and coffee, delivered by a volunteer and fire officers, trained and supported by the sports and physical activity team at Kirklees. The pilot has been a huge success, with 20 local residents, who would not have attended a traditional sports or leisure setting, attending weekly. Kirklees Council and WYFS plan to roll the pilot out across further fire stations in Kirklees over the next 18 months. The session has become a staple in the weekly calendar for all involved, and has increased activity levels, provided a social opportunity and brought a strong sense of community cohesion to the local area. WE Getting older people active: Coaches can… Ask and look around their local area – what events and activities are going on? Speak to your local council – do they have projects which address a lack of physical activity in older people? Consider local facilities – are there well-known, trusted centres which could host activities and games? Reflect on your own skillset – you may not consider yourself a coach of older people, but where is your expertise? Is that a sport or activity that can be adjusted to suit people with limited mobility? Use the UK Coaching community – starting a new project and working with other organisations, from a council to a retirement home, can be daunting, but you won’t be the first coach to have faced this. Access thousands of colleagues through the ConnectedCoaches forums or contact our participation team. For more information on these projects in Kirklees, contact SPADT - [email protected] / 01484 234141 – and Paul Simpson - [email protected] / www.deightontt.club This feature was previously published in magazine. Edited for publication in The Winning Edge by Ian Slattery.