When they go marching in

For many of us, playing sports was an essential part of our childhood and teen years, bringing together fun, friendships, healthy competition, and physical fitness. Sports ignite passion, and for the residents in our home, watching games, discussing sports, or participating in exercise activities is a true highlight.

In light of the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, Woodford Manor Aged Care resident, Colleen Seymour, shares with us her love for Marching and the championships she competed in.

Colleen recalls many years ago that there was a gentleman who asked around in the community an expression of interest to create a girls marching team. ‘My friends and I thought this would be fun, so we joined, the team was called Cameronets,’ says Colleen. ‘I enjoyed the friendship we all had, it was a great discipline and our coach was very strict.’

Colleen tells us that she trained out of New South Wales and travelled all over Sydney for competitions. Her team trained twice a week from 4 pm for a few hours as well as on Saturdays and Sundays for a couple hours. ‘Every weekend when we trained all our boyfriends would come down and watch us train and cheered us on, trying not to distract us,’ she says laughing.

Colleens says that she was always in the front line of the team, but never the leader. A special memory she recalls was competing in the Australian championship for marching and walking away as the Australian champions. ‘I won many medals, but my highlight was winning the Australian Championships,’ she says.

Now at the age of 80 and living at Woodford Manor, Colleen loves to keep active and attend regular exercise classes at the home. ‘Every morning, we have exercise classes at 9 am, I always attend,’ she says. ‘Plus, I like to walk to all the activities with my friends I have made here. I’m always doing something.’

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