It is a highly anticipated day, with residents and staff working together throughout the year to plan and prepare. Cate Ball, Regional Manager for Cygnet Social Care Midlands, said: “We have been hosting this event since 2016 (except for a couple of years due to COVID) and it has always been a great success. The residents talk about it for a long time afterwards and look forward to it each year.”
In attendance were staff and residents from Cherry Tree House, Pines, Broughton Lodge, Conifers, Marion House, Elston House, Long Eaton Day Services, Willow House, Beeches, Toller Road, Ashbrook, Chaseways, The Fields and Walkern Lodge.
As the teams arrived, each group were proudly sporting personalised t-shirts they had designed themselves. They also displayed their Olympics themed team flag, which they designed for the flag competition. When everyone was ready, instructions for the day were given and then the day of sports began!
Around the stadium were different sporting activities to take part in, including; archery, water balloon tossing, inflatable dart football, target throwing, penalty shoot-out, long jump, ring toss, tennis, and a crowd favourite, the 100 metre water race. Services took part in their groups to try the activities and rotated sports throughout the day so everyone could have a go at everything.
The day was also attended by special guest Lerrone Richards, a former World Champion Boxer, who the residents were very excited to meet. He got involved with the day and took lots of selfies with the teams using the Sports Day selfie frame.
Throughout the day, mocktails were on offer at the Olympics-themed cafe area the team set up. Many enjoyed relaxing here with a refreshing drink in between the sporting activities. At lunchtime, having worked up an appetite, food began to be served to the hungry attendees, which included a jacket potato with a large choice of toppings to choose from and salad. For a sweet treat, there was a selection of ice creams and lollies available at the ice cream van which was enjoyed by everyone in the sunshine.
The final event of the day was the highly anticipated relay races. There were a few rounds of resident races, as so many wanted to take part, followed by the famous Cygnet staff race. With cheers from the crowd as everyone crossed the finish line, this event was a fantastic way to finish a brilliant day.
To thank everyone for taking part, certificates and medals were presented to each of the services in a ceremony which was led by Operations Director, Michael Semilore.
The winners of the flag competition were also announced, with first place going to Pines, second place to Marion House and third place to Beeches. The flag competition was judged by Cate Ball, Richard Lee and Michael Semilore who all agreed that the entry from Pines fully captured the event along with this year’s Olympic theme.
Cate said: “I would like to thank our CEO, Gareth Williams for continuing to support this event along with our amazing managers and staff teams that make this happen for the people we support each year. We look forward to continuing this event each year along with our sensory festival. The beaming smiles from our residents and staff is what it is all about and the reason why we all show up each day.”
Richard Lee, Service Manager at Beeches, said: “I think it went very well and hopefully it continues to grow with more services attending in future years. Everyone appeared to enjoy the day and it allowed the residents to fully submerse themselves into a community event. The flag competition promotes self-efficacy as it enables the residents to see their contributions to the event itself. The event would be nothing without the hard work and dedication of the staff members who really show the passion they have for the job at events like this.”
Overall the day was a great success, with everyone having a fantastic time. We are already looking forward to attending again next year.
