Bringing The Olympics Home to Sunny View

By Alicia Estrada, wellness coordinator for Sunny View Retirement Community

As the wellness coordinator for Sunny View Retirement Community, part of my job is to encourage residents to be as physically independent as possible. This means taking a creative and innovative approach to life enrichment planning that encourages residents with different levels of independence and lifestyle preferences.

The Olympics couldn’t have come at a better time! This was the perfect moment to introduce a fun program that would challenge both residents and staff, without feeling too much like “exercise.” It was perfect! Why not bring the Olympics to Sunny View?

The day of the Games started off with opening ceremonies, including an inspiring speech from resident and 1996 Olympics torch bearer Gloria Burns. And then the games began! Residents and staff participated in a variety of competitions including golf, bowling, shooting hoops, croquet, bean bag toss and ping pong.

What many people do not realize is that you don’t need to be in the gym every day to stay strong and healthy. Often activities that we love and enjoy doing are the best types of exercise because they are the easiest things to incorporate into our routine. 

The games also challenged our balance: a complicated function that forces us to involve different body systems including sensory, vestibular, and proprioceptors. One of the things that we try to address in our wellness program at Sunny View is “fall prevention,” so sports that use balance and stretching are particularly helpful.

Hosting a Senior Olympics at Sunny View was a great way to make our community aware of how important it is to stay physically active. Many residents approached me after the event and asked about starting a regular exercise program and both residents and staff have not stopped talking about how much fun they had.

A big thank you to all our Sunny View team members and volunteers from Hands On Bay Area (HOBA) and Walmart who helped to make this event a success. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Looking forward to the 2017 Games already!

Resident Voices: An Olympian Among Us!

2016 Senior Olympic Trials: Piece of Cake

By Kay Murphy, Resident at Claremont Manor Retirement Community 

So you think you were a swimmer ... back in the day? Well, good for you, but our own

John Abbe is currently swimming and cycling and winning awards in the process. On June 5th, John joined hundreds of senior athletes participating in the Pasadena Senior Games held at some 30 venues through-out LA County between June 4 through 26.

John competed at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center, built as the official swimming venue for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, and won three medals, first place in both the 25 yard and 50 yard freestyle and third place in the 50-meter freestyle. 2016 is a qualifying year for the National Senior Games which will be held in Birmingham, Alabama June 2- June 15, 2017. John does not plan to participate in Alabama - too far to cycle, no doubt.

John was accompanied by his own private cheering section, which consisted of 25 volunteers who were employees and family members from Front Porch Home Office and Front Porch residential communities (Kingsley Manor and Villa Gardens as well as from Front Porch partner CARING Housing Ministries). Front Porch has been a sponsor and volunteer staff participant in the California Senior Games for several years.

John keeps in shape by swimming at The Claremont Club and a daily round trip trek of almost a mile on his bicycle. He participated in many cycling events over the years and has actually cycled the route of the Tour de France, though not in competition. He worked for the State of California in a variety of management positions from San Diego to Sacramento where he and wife Carol eventually made their home for some 47 years before moving to Claremont Manor a year ago.

One final note includes the ages of the senior athletes. Most are 50-60 and 70 years old. They have a category for participants who are between 80-85, but they don't actually have a category for athletes above that age. This is unfortunate since our Olympian, John Abbe, topped off his 2016 Olympic achievements by celebrating his 89th birthday on June 29. Happy Birthday, John!