Ready, aim – and splash!

What do you get when you have scores of aged care residents aiming 1,300 water balloons at staff trying to dodge them, with everyone laughing as loudly as the music?

You get the Great Water Balloon Challenge at Newnham Community Aldersgate Village which was such fun it’s set to become an annual event.

No one is really sure how the idea came about – it started with a joke and sort of just grew – but the Great Water Balloon Challenge was held in the gardens at the Tasmanian site in mid-December and proved to be an absolute blast. With trophies and photographs as proof!

Thirteen volunteer staff from all departments dressed in their best outfits and with the music pumping, came out into the garden where residents had formed a circle. Some residents were standing, some were sitting. All were at the ready with dozens of water balloons.

The staff – from the lifestyle team to nurses, from carers to those working in the laundry and cleaning and even the chaplain – came out one by one to their song of choice and had to dance their way around the circuit under the barrage of balloons that rained down from the residents.

The rules were simple and there were two trophies up for grabs. The resident who threw and burst the most balloons on ducking and weaving staff members won the Best Shot trophy. And the most elusive staff member who dodged the most balloons won the Least Wet trophy.

There was an added bounty on the head of Residential Service Manager Audette Groenewold. Anyone water bombing her scored an extra three points! The much-loved manager was one step ahead and donned a hazmat suit, running around like Hazmat Houdini to escape being pelted with balloons. “I only had a few wet strands of hair, so who is the real winner?” Audette laughed.

Graham Curtis won the resident trophy with Claire Paley taking out the staff trophy. But the real winners were, well, everybody!

Lifestyle Coordinator Elinor Clinton says the music was pumping and the laughter could be heard from miles away. She was thrilled there was great feedback over the following days from both residents and staff, but this response from one of the more reserved residents made her day. The resident told her: “That was the best time I’ve had in years! Looking around everyone was so happy, there was not one person who wasn’t laughing or didn’t have a huge smile on their face. Even people I’ve never seen smile before were crying with laughter, thank you for such a great day!”

On a more serious note, the staff at Aldersgate Village not only dodge balloons together but pull together as a team.

They were well-deserved finalists for BEST Team of the Year 2023 in the AgeWell Excellence Awards with their citation reading: “It takes a village to deliver great care, and the team at Newnham Community do exactly that. They have forged a strong team culture that sees them working together to constantly deliver their BEST and ensure residents can live life to the full. Committed to continuous improvement and learning, they have created a vibrant community with a fantastic reputation, something that didn’t escape the attention of the Minister for Aged Care when she visited in March.”

Take a look at the AgeWell Awards videos here.