The Wellness Committee was at it again this summer with the founding of the first Canterbury Court Olympiad. The one-day event, which took place in parallel to the Paris Olympic Games, brought out residents from all four towers plus many staff members for a day of fun, connection, exercise, and friendly, if fierce, competition.
Pat Miller, Chair of the Wellness Committee, notes that the committee’s purpose is twofold: building community by enhancing the relationship between residents and staff and promoting wellness for this community by making it fun (“Fitness is fun” is their motto!). The committee felt that the pool was not seeing as much use as they would like. The thought of a water volleyball competition among the residents was bounced around and then grew into the idea of a match between residents and staff. Pat felt the best way to convince the staff to play would be to challenge them in public and thus did so at the next Town Meeting, throwing down the gauntlet at the feet of Canterbury Court’s President and CEO, Debi McNeal. It was on.
As the committee started planning for the water volleyball match, they realized that a game in the pool was not inclusive enough for mass participation. They decided to add more games, which sparked the idea of an Olympiad. The Paris Olympics were looming, which made it even more à propos, so the committee took the ball and ran with it and began planning the Canterbury Olympics. In addition to water volleyball, there was putt in a cup, ring toss, stationary biking, and pass the ball with no hands (the latter “got a little rancorous,” laughs Pat).
Much planning went into the event and it grew and flourished. Fliers were posted in all four towers. Lisa Bronstein, Canterbury Court’s Chief Human Resources Officer, was integral in recruiting staff members to take part and especially in getting them to play in the water volleyball match. In the pool that day were Canterbury Court’s CEO, Executive Chef, Security Officers, and Director of Nursing, among others. “Competition and Camaraderie is how I define the day,” says Lisa. Rebecca Olsen from Resident Services “loves a party” and jumped right in, helping with everything from decorations to medals. Residents from every tower were encouraged to participate via media and word of mouth. “It was truly residents and staff working together to pull this off,” says Pat.
Opening and closing ceremonies were planned and unintentionally coincided with the opening ceremonies in Paris. By some miracle, one resident had an actual torch from the 1996 Atlanta games and lent it out for the cause. On the day of the games, one staff member and one resident from each tower carried the torch in turn from tower to tower. They rounded up athletes along the way, ending the ceremony at the Wellness Center. Chairs were placed all around from which spectators could cheer. People found connection as they reminisced about where they were during the 1996 Olympics. There was even a VIP room with decorations and food for participants to enjoy.
Anyone was welcome to play any of the games. There were no rules with the exception of water volleyball, where residents from the Wellness Committee made the rules. The good-natured rivalry between staff and residents made the water volleyball match a crowd favorite. The goal was to win two out of three sets, Pat was the referee and explained the rules. She didn’t take it easy on the staff, who were required to play in the deeper end. The resident players had also been training, which took the staff by surprise.
After two sets, each team had won once. Referee Pat changed the rules for the third set, making it a free-for-all – players could do anything they wanted to get the ball to the other side. “It was pure chaos,” laughs Pat. Debi O’Neal got on the shoulders of another staff member, residents were shoving the ball under the net, staff and residents were cheering. “It was loud and jubilant!” she says, “We had all sorts of fun.” In the end, the staff won the third set and thus the match.
To cap off the first Canterbury Court Olympics, there was, of course, a medal ceremony. Bronze medals went to the Wellness Team for putting it all together, silver went to the residents who played water volleyball, and gold went to the staff.
“Pat put together just an incredible day of events,” says Lisa. Those who attended witnessed the pure respect and care that residents and staff at Canterbury Court have for one another. “You could see the perfect community coming together,” says Pat. Lisa agrees, “It’s really a very special community…I am honored to be a part of it.” The Wellness Team, who worked so hard to pull off the Olympiad, came full circle to achieve their goal: an increased number of residents are, indeed, using the pool!
