Bromley Mayor presents “Olympics” trophies to Orpington learning disability athletes

Councillor Hannah Gray, the Mayor of the London Borough of Bromley met with Orpington’s own ‘Olympians’ this week to present the trophies on the final day of their 10-day Olympic Challenge.

Twenty-three residents at Cabrini House, a collection of three homes for residents with learning disabilities, in Healy Drive, Orpington, took part in the sporting challenge which had originally been organised to coincide with the Tokyo Olympics. When the real Olympics were postponed, Cabrini House decided to go ahead with their own challenge regardless.

 

Staff at the home – managed by the charity Diagrama Foundation – came up with the idea for the challenge to keep residents fit and active during the lockdown period.

While the event itself was closed to the public due to Covid-19 visitation restrictions, Cabrini House has received support from the whole community. T-shirts, trophies, medals, drinks bottles and even a podium have all been sourced and supplied by local members of the Bromley Business Network. And the home has been updating supporters on Facebook throughout the challenge.

Residents have been taking part in a range of different sports including trampolining, football and sack races, which have all taken place in the gardens of the three homes and in the fields at the neighbouring Holy Innocents School.

David McGuire, Chief Executive,  Diagrama, said: “This has been a great opportunity to involve the residents in an event which has tested their physical skills, helped them to understand and work together as a team and give them a sense of excitement and achievement throughout what has been a challenging few months for them.

They have really missed their sports activities in the local community – they regularly enjoy swimming, tennis, riding and other sporting activities so lockdown has been really tough on them. Thankfully, we have had help from Holy Innocents School who have allowed us to use their grounds and outdoor equipment to make sure everyone has been able to get some fresh air and exercise.

We have also created our own indoor gym from donations of equipment, so they have been able to get plenty of practice in.

Having our special guest, the Mayor, Councillor Hannah Gray attend our trophy presentation and the donations we’ve received from the local business network has added a real sense of occasion to it – we’re so grateful to our community for their support and we’re so proud of everyone who has taken part.”

To find out more about the Diagrama Foundation visit www.diagramafoundation.org.uk