Olympic-Themed Sporty Summer Extravaganza in Halifax
This year we launched ‘Sporty Summer’, giving out 12 grants of up to £800 to help people come together and throw a sporty event in their area.
The Creative Together forum in Calderdale & Kirklees applied for our ‘Get Together’ grant of up to £300. Over 30 people enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon taking part in Olympic-themed sports activities!
The afternoon couldn’t have gone better. With bunting pinned to the Yorkshire brick and bright balloons tied to fence posts, the service was unmistakably the Sports Day venue on approach. Helen Moss, Service Manager and commentator for the day, brought the energy from the moment everyone arrived.
At 1pm, Helen called everyone over for the first Olympic event – Long Jump. During occasional pockets of sunshine, the people we support enjoyed several heats. Adam, Chair of Creative Together, “loved flying through the air.”
Next was the Egg and Spoon Race. Helen made sure competitors were ready and, most importantly, steady before each heat began. She had the clever idea of using a soup spoon with a wider base for extra stability. Judi and her support worker made pom-poms from sandwich bags to cheer on the competitors, and others had made encouraging signs with card and lollipop sticks saying “Come on!” and “Keep going!”
Basketball was one of the trickier activities as the ball was very bouncy. A crowd gathered around Caleb and Thelma as they attempted throwing the ball into the net. Caleb said, “it’s like the ball is alive!”
At 2pm, everyone gathered under the gazebo to watch Sponge Throwing, the most anticipated event on the agenda. There were roars of laughter as people we support took turns to sponge the staff in the stocks and vice versa for £1 a go. Just before Mark threw a soaking sponge at her face, Helen said, “don’t forget, Mark, we’re friends!”
Once the sports were over, the smell of hot dogs and burgers brought everyone in from the garden to the communal area. In the queue for lunch, people began to sway and sing along to the reggae tunes like “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and “Baby I Love Your Way” by Big Mountain.
The doors were kept open after lunch so people could enjoy having another go on the activities outside or boogie on the dancefloor. Graham, a member of Creative Together, ran a hugely popular tombola with some exciting and varied prizes ranging from a giant wall clock to a bottle of prosecco. Mark, another Creative Together member, came up with ‘Pick a Lollipop’ from a bowl of sand where people enjoyed choosing a mystery flavour.
With their Sporty Summer Grant, they not only bought all the equipment for the day, but also medals and trophies for the winners and runner ups. The awards ceremony was heart-warming, with Mark announcing winners on the microphone. Liam, who won the gold certificate for Long Jump, said, “It feels great to win an award.”
The Sponge-Throwing and the stalls raised an amazing £68.00 which will be spent on their Christmas Party and other exciting activities run by Creative Together.
Penny Greenwood, Deputy Manager of services in Halifax, helped organise the day. She said, “Today has been really uplifting for everyone. Days like this are so special and have such a positive impact for all of us.”
Are you hosting a sports event this summer? Email us your fabulous photos: communications@creativesupport.co.uk
