COCHRANE— Special Olympics Alberta has opened up registration for its PEAK program and is looking for participants from across the province, including in the Bow Valley.
The PEAK program is a fun and interactive way for athletes to stay active in the pandemic through guided online workouts, but it is much more than just a fitness program, explained program director Jill Moore.
“We offer our fitness programs, but then we also offer a variety of health and wellness sessions, so anything based on sports psychology, goal setting, mindfulness and mental health. We know our athletes and our volunteers could be struggling right now, being in the pandemic going on a year now without any in-person programming,” she said.
Moore said with everybody being kept at a distance, many might be struggling right now with feelings of disconnection and finding ways to foster connection is key in keeping people healthy and happy.
“It’s definitely a really cool opportunity to keep being active, keep being physically fit and really connecting with other athletes around the province … Right now, connection, I feel, is everything,” she said.
The program runs three days a week, and each session has a different theme. On Mondays, the program focuses on mindfulness, mental performance, recovery and restoration. On Tuesdays, participants can expect active programming like Zumba or yoga, along with educational sessions on nutrition and routine setting. Wednesday’s sessions have an emphasis on flexibility, balance and technique in sport.
The sessions are a great opportunity for the athletes in the program who are used to seeing each other in person on a weekly basis to maintain their connection with one another while they learn valuable skills and stay active.
“Our goal is to offer these learning opportunities so our athletes can utilize these tools and techniques outside of the program as well. So, if they’re feeling overwhelmed because of the pandemic or something else going on in their lives, they’ll be able to draw on these deep breathing and calming techniques that we learned in one of our Max Monday sessions,” she said.
Although the pandemic has brought many challenges, one of the benefits is building a broader community for the athletes across the province. Moore said it was an “organic” consequence of shifting the PEAK program online.
“We have athletes from Medicine Hat and Lloyd Minister connecting with athletes from Wood Buffalo and Grande Prairie. As furthest north we can go, and as furthest south we can go, it just fostered that different connection. Hopefully, when we get back to that in-person programming, whether it’s at provincial games or other competitive opportunities, they already have that connection built and that sense of community,” Moore said. “It’s been really cool and rewarding to see all of the relationships formed, province-wide.”
The weekly sessions take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 to 8 p.m. The program begins on Monday (May 17).
The program is also available in an offline format for athletes who do not have access to a computer or the Internet, Moore said. Many of the activities and routines in the offline version of the program are very similar to the online one.
To register, or to find out more about the program, visit the Special Olympics Alberta Bow Valley chapter on Facebook, or specialolympics.ab.ca/.
