By William Moncrieff, Communications Officer
Boccia bringing people together, the power of sport and socialisation.
The Orchard Care Centre, located in Tullibody – are currently exploring new and exciting sports to help benefit their residents in multiple ways. This has resulted in them delving into the sport of boccia.
One reason that The Orchard are looking to start delivering boccia to their residents is due to the role that sport can play in bringing people together and creating a social environment. Sandra Curl, the Wellbeing Coordinator at the Orchard, explained that, “I think it is just a bit of fun to be honest.”
“It can be played in quite a small place, it can be interactive with the staff members, we can get a bit of banter going. Some residents can just join it on a social aspect”, Sandra said.
The Orchard is excited to provide new opportunities to enable residents to socialise in new settings and the centre is continuing to find new ways to heighten this aspect. “We have been working intergenerationally with primary schools”, continued Sandra.
“The children have all been really good with the residents and encouraging them.”
The work has resulted in the two groups spending more time together and using sport to create bonds. “It’s amazing to see them interact and encourage each other, the joy that children bring to the residents is phenomenal”, remarked Sandra.
Although the children help create an interactive and social environment, Sandra believes that these sessions help to teach the children core values. “For me, the children are learning a lot about respect. They learn from the residents so much.”
A further reason that The Orchard is starting to provide boccia is due to the nature of the sport being accessible for all. Sandra explained: “We are doing quite a bit of bowls, like carpet bowls, but we are finding that the difficulty is quite hard for some of the residents, just because the bowls are too heavy.”
“So, we were looking for some alternatives and boccia obviously can be underarm, overarm, footwork anything at all, so it ticked the boxes for everybody. Everybody is able to do it basically,” Sandra said.
On top of using their intergenerational work to create this social environment, The Orchard is trying to encourage others to get involved and try boccia. “I am trying to get one of our sister care homes along to arrange a tournament, then getting the children in weekly also.”
Along with the sport offering many benefits, Sandra explained the way in which it impacts her. “I have a massive amount of passion for what I do, I love to see them happy,” Sandra said.
“Yesterday there was a big parachute out with the balls, and the nursery children were there, three- and four-year-olds, and the fun and laughter that came out of that room yesterday was just brilliant.”
Furthermore, sport and physical activity can have physiological benefits, which Sandra commented on: “Everything has a positive effect, any stimulation whatsoever is good for the residents.”
To find your passion for physical activity and sport throughout your region, contact your Regional Development Manager. Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) also have a range of Parasport festivals coming up, which provide school children the opportunity to engage and participate with multiple sports in one location. So, make sure to have a look at the SDS website to find out more information and stay up to date on all opportunities throughout Scotland, by following Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, Instagram and X.
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