Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Rhinos Active Social Group for over 55s took on their latest new activity last week with a Walking Netball session delivered by England Netball.
The new format recently launched by England Netball has evolved from a growing demand for walking sports in the UK, which offer physical activity that anyone can play regardless of age or fitness level.
Walking Netball also provides a chance for people who may have dropped out of the sport they love due to serious injury or those who believed they had hung up their netball trainers many years ago, to reconnect with the sport an enjoy the fun and camaraderie they enjoyed in the past.
As a new activity for the group, attendees from the Rhinos Active Social group met West Yorkshire Netball Development Officer, Helena Russo, who took them through some of the warm up drills as part of a Walking Netball introduction, also explaining some of the health benefits on offer.
Helena Russo said:
“I’m pleased to say the group really enjoyed the session, and it was certainly something a bit different for them.
“We are looking at rolling out some Walking Netball training before the end of the year, and then organised sessions and programmes after that, so there will be plenty of opportunities for the group to follow up on their session and stay connected with Netball.”
Organiser Kate Lightfoot from the Leeds Rhinos Foundation commented:
“It was fantastic to have England Netball along for last week’s session providing another experience for the group who really enjoyed meeting Helen and having a go at another new activity.
“We will be looking to keep this relationship with England Netball going forward and provide plenty more activities to keep engaging with the older community.
“Rhinos Active Social is all about tackling issues more prevalent in older age, such as social isolation, loneliness and other common health issues with some regular light exercise and interaction, so we encourage everyone to come along.”
Rhinos Active Social sessions run every Tuesday 10:30am-12:30pm and cost just £2 per week.
For more information please contact Kate.Lightfoot@leedsrhinosfoundation.org
Full details of Netball sessions are available on the England Netball session finder online here
or contact Nathan.Jones@englandnetball.co.uk