GAA Connacht Centre of Excellence (COE) Pilot Programme Exercise and Social Participation Project

Description

The purpose of the project is to develop an impactful activity suite that supports older members physical, mental, and social wellbeing ensuring they maintain life in their years as well as years in their lives. A tree planting project had taken place at the Centre of Excellence in 2021 where GAA Volunteers planted trees around the facility in Bekan. At the end of the project one of the Volunteers had an emotional response and communicated their sadness to Kurt Reinhardt as the project came to an end. They had enjoyed been part of an active group of people and feeling needed. COVID 19 had a huge impact on people’s health and wellbeing and this along with the comment from the GAA Volunteer was the catalyst to do something in the Centre of Excellence.
This programme falls under the National Positive Ageing Strategy and under the eight domains of the World Health Organisation. It is well documented that feelings of loneliness, isolation, and poor engagement in social or leisure activities are linked to poor health outcomes.
The Center of Excellence hosted an event on the 24th of January 2023 to mark the new initiative for older members. GAA legend Sean Boylan attended the event to promote the exciting initiative.
The gathering was used to help recruit 20-30 people aged 60 plus who would like to participate in a unique medically supervised fitness experience delivered by world leading healthcare providers UPMC. UPMC recently opened a state-of-the-art institute of Health Centre in the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence which includes a range of exercise interventions designed to enhance the health and wellbeing of older people as well as the athletes and the general population.
The pilot programme was developed where older GAA Volunteers could take part in an exercise programme led by physiotherapists. The company UPMC who are based within the Centre of Excellence were delighted to become involved in the project. The participants on the programmed accessed UPMC evidence-based programme free of charge.
The participants identified all of which were over 60 years of age attended the Centre of Excellence twice a week for a six-week programme. The classes are designed to enhance cardiovascular health while also improving strength and mobility. The participants had to get written clearance from their GP prior to commencing the programme.
As there was such interest in the programme two classes were ran every Wednesday and Friday over twelve weeks. The participants had a fitness test at the start of the programme and again at the end of the programme. After each exercise class participants were invited into the coffee shop and were provided with refreshments and an opportunity for social engagement. This is where lively discussions took place which included storytelling, poetry reading and sharing of knowledge and skills sets between participants. It was a pleasure to be part of this energising group of people.
Connacht GAA’s Coaching and Games Department invited participants to two training sessions with a game of Walking Gaelic Football in the University of Galway Connacht GAA Air Dome. This is the first time Walking Gaelic Football will be played with the potential of a national rollout. The match was held on the 5th of July 2023 and was a huge success.
The feedback from all the participants is very positive, some are feeling the benefits both from a physical and social aspect. The outcome of the fitness test at the end of the programme showed improved fitness and mobility levels. All participants advised they had experienced an increased feeling of wellbeing and sense of belonging within the group.

Aim of Initiative

The aim is to ensure that older members of the GAA and the wider community see the facility in Bekan as their amenity. From leadership roles at club, county, and provincial level, to coaching, stewarding, and ground maintenance, older people have been and continue to be the backbone of the Association. The plan of the initiative is to use the unique elements of the COE such as the Dome, Games, Walking track, UPMC and the Coffee Shop to promote Health and Wellbeing and Social engagement.

Who is it aimed at

The intention of the project is to make the COE a second home for older members of the community, particularly those and their families who have given years of service to the GAA as Volunteers.

3 Steps critical to success

1. Open up the Centre of Excellence facility to older members of the community and provide a place for community engagement and enjoyment. We wanted older members of the community to come and use the Centre of Excellence for their own needs. They were already attending the facility as supporters to children and grandchildren so it made sense to try and get them to attend for themselves and their physical and social needs.
2. The identified need of potential participants such as social connection and increased mobility. COVID 19 had a terrible impact on people due to social isolation, fear and loss of social human interaction and connection. The idea of bringing people together for this project was to remove that sense of fear and isolation and bring people back into their own community and feel safe and socially connected to like minded people.
3. Planning and Communication. We delivered our message to a target audience and achieved this by holding an event in the Centre of Excellence on the 24th of January 2023. At this event we had the legendary Sean Boylan talking about active ageing and social participation and connection. His speech was very authentic and really resonated with people. This was followed by a presentation from ALONE Services where people were informed of the various supports available to them. This also included a demonstration of some useful technology devices to assist people living independently in their own homes. Refreshments were provided afterwards which gave people an opportunity to digest what was just communicated to them and chat amongst themselves.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Coordinating the delivery of the programme. There were hours of discussion and planning on how we would deliver the programme on the timescale allocated. This was done while trying to balance other workloads and commitments and proved to be time-consuming. The team working together were very cohesive with the same goal in mind and this attitude enabled the project to be delivered in a timely manner.
2. Getting participants to buy into the programme. There was a lot of fear about their ability to participate in a programme like this. Managing participants expectations on themselves. We had to take time to ring participants and offer encouragement and reassurance as to what they were signing up for. This gentle method of encouragement paid off as most members that were personally rang after they expressed interest at the COE event signed up to the programme. The programme was initially only supposed to run for six weeks twice a week but due to the uptake it was decided that two programmes would be run over twelve weeks.
3. Arranging transport to and from the classes. Any participant that had transport difficulties were assisted with them and some were transported to the programme by the group arranging the event. After the first class or two the participants were arranging lifts between themselves which only strengthened their social connections and sense of independence.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Increased Fitness and Mobility . At the start of the programme fitness levels were taken by the physiotherapists and again at the end of the six weeks. The difference in the readings had greatly improved. The participants all feedback that they felt a difference both in their fitness levels and general well-being. An evaluation of the programme was completed so this data is evidence based.
2. Increased Social Engagements between the participants. The participants see the COE as somewhere for them to have meaningful engagements. The refreshments provided in the coffee shop after class provided a place for lively warm discussion and friendship. Some people hadn’t seen each other in such a long time and this opportunity provided them with an opportunity to socially connect with one another.
3. Increased Confidence and Wellbeing. This was evident on a weekly basis. We witnessed people’s physical appearance and confidence levels improve each week. We had one lady coming to the class that had reduced mobility due to the side effects of a stroke. The difference in this particular lady’s mobility and confidence levels were very evident for all to see. The friendships made at the classes was wonderful to watch unfolding. People mixed within groups they wouldn’t have normally mixed in and began to see that GAA inclusion and participation really is for everybody.