[For Seniors] A Fun Sports Day! Recreational Activities You Can Do Safely
In spring and autumn, many senior care facilities, such as day service centers, hold sports festivals.
Because residents have a wide range of physical conditions, we recommend sports day activities that everyone can enjoy together.
This article introduces sports festival recreation ideas tailored for senior care facilities.
Choose activities that prioritize safety so everyone can have fun, while also promoting physical and mental stimulation.
We’ve also included seated activities so that wheelchair users can participate easily.
We hope you find this helpful.
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[For Seniors] Fun Sports Day! Safe Recreational Activities (11–20)
String Balloon Relay
It’s a game where you work with the person across from you to skillfully control a string you’re holding and carry a balloon to a target location.
Because you can’t move the balloon well with your own power alone, you feel a bit of frustration, but also the fun of cooperation.
If you make it like a relay where you pass the balloon to the next person, not only coordination with the person opposite you but also strategy with the person before and after you is tested, which makes the game even more engaging.
It’s a game where the spirit of cooperation is key, including how you tension and move the string.
Slipper Toss
How about livening things up with a slipper-toss game that you can play either sitting or standing? You don’t need anything other than slippers, and it’s sure to be a competition anyone can enjoy! You can simply toss the slippers and compete to see who can send them the farthest, or you can draw lines to assign points, split into teams, and compete on total scores—perfect for a field-day vibe.
It’s also a light foot exercise that can be done while seated.
footrace
When we hear ‘footrace,’ we might imagine a speed-walking competition, but this footrace is a safe activity designed with older adults in mind.
Done while seated, it works so that moving your feet pulls a towel—and the plastic bottle placed on it—toward you.
The person who gets the bottle first wins.
You can also turn this into a team relay, so give it a try.
Wobbly beanbags
Let me introduce “Wobbly Beanbags,” a game that’s like the reverse of a beanbag toss.
Pile a bunch of beanbags onto a plastic tray and place the tray on top of something like an empty plastic wrap core.
Participants then take turns removing one beanbag at a time, carefully keeping the balance so the tower doesn’t collapse.
When the tower falls, the turn ends, and you compete by how many beanbags you’ve successfully taken.
It’s fun to decorate the wrap cores and food trays with masking tape.
To adjust the difficulty, increase the number of wrap cores or shorten them to make the setup more stable.
bread-eating race
This bread-eating race is an event that even elderly people who have difficulty walking can enjoy at a sports day.
A caregiver pushes the wheelchair, the participant tosses a ring onto a plastic bottle, and then goes to grab a hanging piece of bread using their mouth.
Since there is a risk of aspiration with the bread, it’s better to bite and carry a bagged bread item instead.
You could also set up additional tasks along the way, like an obstacle course.
Giant Ball Relay
One of the essential events at school sports days is the “Ōdama-okuri” (giant ball pass).
It’s an exciting competition where everyone unites to pass the ball together.
This version can be done while seated, making it safer with less risk of falling.
Because you raise your hands fully, it also seems beneficial for rehabilitation.
For safety, it’s best to use a large beach ball or something similar as the ball.
[For Seniors] Fun Sports Day! Recreational Activities That Can Be Done Safely (21–30)
ball toss
Let’s try a seated version of tamaire, a classic sports day event, that won’t strain the body.
Sit in a circle and place a basket in the center; during the time limit, throw balls into the basket.
If a ball doesn’t go in, retrieving it might require some distance, so it’s recommended to have a helper assigned to bring the balls back to participants’ feet.
It’s a game that tests concentration as you aim to toss balls with both speed and control.