Gold Coast seniors get active
Bolton Clarke residents and at home support clients on the Gold Coast have come together again to celebrate fun, fitness and healthy competition at the annual HiJinx Games.
Residents from Winders, Darlington and Galleon Gardens residential aged care communities and Gold Coast At Home Support Services clients competed in events including pool noodle tossing, darts, bowls, cooee calling and tunnel ball.
Designed to be inclusive for all abilities and fitness levels, the games encourage movement, participation, socialising and lots of laughter.
Galleon Gardens Diversional Therapist Gwen Bonney says the HiJinx Games are much more than just a day of sports.
“The games are a highlight of our calendar and promote exercise, movement and help with falls prevention among our residents. We spend months training and preparing with bi-weekly training sessions. It is a great way to build fitness and get everybody involved,” she said.
“It keeps participants motivated and gives them something lovely to look forward to. Even if residents can’t or don’t wish to participate they enjoy watching and cheering along.”
A highlight of the day is the Slip Slop Slap Race, where employees and residents team up in a relay of racing to don a t-shirt and applying sunscreen and a hat in line with the well known sun safety campaign.
“The residents are absolutely in stitches watching this – they love it and they yell lots of encouragement as we do it,” Gwen said.
Winders Diversional Therapist Sue Todd says it’s a great opportunity for social interaction between residents from Bolton Clarke’s different communities and services.
“We are lucky here on the Gold Coast to have four services so close together – we enjoy visiting one another and having combined social events,” she says.
“The HiJinx Games are definitely a favourite of all our residents and we know we look forward to them every year, as much as our residents and clients do.”
The Gold Coast HiJinx Games are now in their eighth year and have grown to become bigger and better at each annual event. This year, the Gold Coast At Home Support Services team took the top prize from Galleon Gardens and will have bragging rights until the next HiJinx Games.
