RICHLAND COUNTY FIT AND COMPETITIVE: RICHLAND COUNTY ACTIVE ADULTS COMPETE AND COLLABORATE

By Quincy Oxendine, Richland County Recreation Commission

“We ain’t scared!” chanted active adults from Parklane Adult Activity Center as they challenged the staff and any takers to a game of chair volleyball, guaranteeing they would be victorious over anyone who chose to take them on. Competitive games like chair volleyball and cornhole join arthritis exercise, arts and crafts, and more to provide the active adults of Richland County with opportunities to socialize, compete, and keep moving!

Richland County Recreation Commission (RCRC) hosts a variety of programs and activities to keep active adults of Richland County engaged. Chair volleyball offers a competitive, fun and friendly activity great for upper body mobility and joint flexibility. It enhances muscle tone, hones reflex, sharpens hand-to-eye coordination, and increases endurance. The game originated in the Netherlands in 1956 as a combination of volleyball and Sitz ball, a German sport with no net but seated players. In this popular game players can hit the ball as often as they want or need to get it over the net. Chair volleyball uses a beach ball or volleyball, chairs, and a five-foot-high net. Seniors from Caughman Road Park, Ballentine Community Center, Parklane AAC and Meadowlake Park have taken up chair volleyball, and RCRC even has multiple tournaments coming up this spring.

RCRC offers many health and wellness programs, such as the green thumb garden, scrapbooking and journaling, line dancing, arts and crafts, and tennis. Our team designs programs to help active adults reduce health risks, improve memory and brain function, lower blood pressure, reduce anxiety and depression, and increase life span. In addition to weekly and monthly programs, RCRC offers community health and wellness fairs, recently at Ballentine

Community Center, St. Andrews Park, North Springs Park, and Bluff Road Park.

Special events spice up our calendar for active adults. This spring, Garners Ferry Adult Activity Center offers two trips for their active adults: the Big M Casino Cruise and the Savannah Riverboat Cruise. From dances and Easter egg hunts to tournaments and field days, we encourage adults of all ages to gather, socialize and keep moving!