bridgingabilities

Sport Fun & Recreation Day 15^th March 2014

Groups playing the Icebreaker

On the 15^th March Bridging Abilities hosted a sport and recreation day at the Stellenbosch University’s Sport Science Department. This was the first time that we hosted an event so early in the year and it was a great success. After a few tense moments as we waited for the schools to arrive as they were late, the registration area became a hive of activity. As each child was registered he/she received his/her bottle of water before entering one of the halls that the sport science students had so wonderfully prepared. After a quick welcome from Candace Vermaak, the learners were split into 3 groups for the playing of the icebreaker.

A fun and noisy icebreaker was played which set the tone for the rest of the morning. Afterwards, the groups

The first hall

were taken to the different halls for the first sessions of the morning and throughout the morning the groups were rotated between the three different halls, every 40 minutes, until all the groups had had a chance to be at every station. The games were very well planned, set up, and executed by the sports science students. The smiles and laughter of the children and parents were infectious when you entered a particular hall, so much so that learners who expressed the desire to remain spectators soon became participants.

Due to the event being so early in the year, we decided to keep the event small. We had 31 children attend the day from schools such as Vista Nova, Tembaletu, Alta du Toit and Jan Kriel. The disabilities of the learners ranged from Cerebral Palsy to Spina Bifda and other congenital disabilities. We were very excited to have parents and siblings join us for the event. After the event each learner and volunteer received a lunch pack that consisted of a hamburger, a fruit and a juice.

Some happy faces

 We would like to thank our sponsors as well as the University of Stellenbosch’s Sport Science Department for being involved in this event. We also would like to thank the students of the Sports Science Department who participated in the event. They were very well prepared and implemented with a lot of enthusiasm and energy which resulted in the learners really enjoying themselves.

Our volunteers: the Sport Science Students

Our next Sports & Recreation event will be hosted on the 24^th of September 2014. Please email info@bridgingabilities.co.za for more information.