County Derry students give Little Healthy Hearts event thumbs up

Leisure and Event Management students from University of Ulster Coleraine organised a Little Healthy Hearts event for the children of Drumachose Primary School in Limavady recently.

The final year students ran the event to raise awareness about mental health and wellbeing post COVID-19 and motivate the children to become more physically active.

The aim of this event was to bring new physical an mindful experiences to the P6 and P7 classes and encourage them to become more aware about their overall health and wellbeing. A study conducted by Gregor, (2020) found that COVID-19 has had a major impact on the health of children due to a lack of physical activity. He states, “This crisis in child fitness requires integrated community participation and a robust public health policy response.” Birch’s (2021) findings are COVID-19 has created a mental health crisis and the NHS resources are overstretched.

The students enjoyed an energising exercise class, yoga class and a fun time in the soft play area. The event organisers wanted the students to feel excited, energised and inspired at the end of the event and from the amazing feedback, everyone loved the experience.

Gary the fitness instructor incorporated stories about dragons over Dunluce Castle and Spiderman in his exercises which helped keep the children focused and interested, whilst Pascal the Yoga teacher incorporated humour and emphasised the importance of relaxation for stress.

Limavady Council’s Roe Valley Leisure Centre kindly hosted the event with the use of the leisure centre facilities and coaches.

Healthy snacks were supplied by Marshall Howe's Fruit shop in Limavady and kindly sponsored by DH Racing, Coastal Core, JB Autos Coleraine, and Lucozade supplied a range of drinks.

The university students who organised the event were Kate McAllister, Shannon Donnan, Beth Murphy, Jessica Hamilton, Lee Guy, Lisa Boyle and Rory Carlin.

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