An RUOK Day event is coming to Epping to shine a light on seniors’ mental and physical health through walking sports.
The September 14 event will feature bowling, golf, netball, badminton, cricket and football, which have been slowed down to make it easier for older participants to play.
The RUOK Day event organiser and Whittlesea U3A member Michael Trim said he looked forward to helping increase mental health awareness and social connection within the community.
“We (Whittlesea U3A) do a lot of walking sports, and the whole idea is to get senior citizens out of the house,” he said.
“It helps get them active, and avoid social isolation, which is very big in the senior citizen area especially once they get to retirement age.”
Mr Trim said his favourite part about walking sports was seeing the social interactions created, and the activities were important in maintaining positive mental and physical well-being.
“A lot of people would have played some of these sports when they were younger, and they might still want to play in some form but are unable to,” he said.
“They may not be able to run anymore, or they’ve got an injury or health condition, so walking sports enables many people to keep playing and being active.
“We will often play a sport and then a group of us will go out for lunch afterwards, which shows that it’s not just the sport, it’s the social side of getting to meet everybody and make new friends.”
The event will be hosted by The Y, City of Whittlesea, DPV Health, and the Whittlesea U3A at The Y Leisure City on 41-53 Miller Street, from 9am to 3pm on September 14.
Jena Car
