En garde! Seniors stay active by fencing
It’s bye-bye bingo, and so long sewing, the old folks at an Australian seniors home have found a new activity to sharpen their wits and steel their bodies — fencing.
The group at Melbourne’s Catholic Homes Corpus Christi, most of whom are retired priests and nuns, have spent the past nine months studying swordplay and are learning to leave their walking sticks behind and lunge like Zorro.
The home’s lifestyle coordinator Patricia Boyd said she never intended to offer fencing as one of the home’s activities but was convinced by instructor Joseph D’Onofrio who came to work at Corpus Christi as a volunteer.
The residents were also hesitant, until D’Onofrio spoke to them about the sport and how it would be almost impossible for them to get hurt. (news)
