Abbey Delray South and Abbey Delray, two senior living communities in South Florida owned and operated by Lifespace Communities, recently held the seventh annual Fitness Challenge between the two communities.
The challenges consisted of a one-mile walk/run for time, a one-minute squat challenge, a six-minute bike ride for distance, an obstacle course relay race, a hand grip strength challenge, and a single-leg balance challenge for time. Residents of both communities have been doing sport-specific training for the past three weeks to prepare for the big day.
“It was a great day,” Abby Delray South fitness director Mike Schmidt said. Abbey Delray was managed by fitness director Jordyn Rocafort. “We had 25 residents from Abbey Delray and Abbey Delray South competing. The event began at 9:30 a.m. with our one-mile walk/run around our 33-acre campus, with residents from both communities participating, cheering on their friends and neighbors.”
After the 2 1/2 hour competition, participants were given lunch and prizes. Prizes were awarded to the top three finishers in all eight events. Abbey Delray South emerged victorious and retained the trophy for another year.
“We all had a great time together and it was great to meet the athletes from our sister community,” said Mary Bergquist, 96, of Abbey Delray. “Many of us won awards, even me, who is 96, came third in the shot put competition. I am a very strong shot putter. “We have already started training for next year and plan to leave Abbey Delray South behind.”
Several tournament records were also broken – Harriet Tenhoeve (ADS) and Leslie Robinson (ADS) tied for first in the 1-mile walk with a time of 12 minutes, 50 seconds. Roop Shivpuri (AD) set records in both the shot put (23 feet with a 3-pound ball) and grip strength with 64.4 pounds of pressure. John Achenbach set a new tournament record by cycling 3.05 miles in the six-minute timed event.
Tenhoeve, 78, photographed the one-mile walk/run and obstacle course.
“It’s a lot of fun and we laugh a lot,” he said. “Even though we are competitive, we cheer for everyone. It’s a team effort and everyone has a great time. It reminds us to stay in shape. I can’t wait for next year.”
The next event for the communities will take place later this month when they host the 13th annual Olympic Games, taking advantage of all the facilities on campus, including the golf course, bocce, putting green, shuffleboard, corn hole, darts, table tennis and billiards.
