The province of B.C. has provided a $150,000 grant to a seniorsâ gymnastics program in the city of Delta, encouraging local seniors to socialize, work on their mobility and boost their daily activities.
âWeâre super excited that we are able to expand this program through this provincial grant,â said Ana Arciniega, director of the Delta Gymnastics Society, on ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel Wednesday.
Arciniega said her organization had piloted the program a couple of years ago through a federal grant initiative, but said the expansion answers âthat always fun question, âWhat if?â -- what if we have seniors doing gymnastics?â
Different from the sport of gymnastics famous for the tumbling, flexibility and high-flying feats of human elasticity, Arciniega and her team offer âthe activity of gymnastics,â which is âthe foundation for all sports.â
âWe teach the ABCâs of sports â agility, balance, co-ordination and strength,â she said.
Arciniega said that the program has âproved to have more benefits than we initially expected,â saying that participating seniors experience âcamaraderie and laughterâ while âencouraging each other.â
âWeâre not only building confidence in movement and the competence in regaining those [mobility] skills but the motivation to continue to come,â Arciniega said. âWeâve had seniors come who were lonely and now they come every week and they love it.â
The next steps for the program are twofold -- create a course manual to provide to other gymnastic facilities who want to replicate the program, and the roll-out of other pilot programs in other B.C. communities.