Leap over 50

What is Leap over 50?

Leap is short for Leisure, Exercise and Activity for People over 50.  The project encourages work with individuals, groups and organisations across the borough of Dudley to create more exercise/activity opportunities for all older people whatever their ability.

Inactivity, not ageing is the enemy of us all. Being active means different things to everyone. Some people will prefer to incorporate it into everyday tasks, such as walking more briskly to the shops. Others will prefer regular or recreational activity such as a class. A sedentary lifestyle can cause the equivalent damage to an individual as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

Leap over 50 can also provide you with information on courses, groups and sessions where physical activity may not be the main focus, but where fun, making new friends or developing new or existing skills is the main aim. 

Aim of the project

To develop, increase and improve leisure exercise/education and activity provision for all people over 60 living in the Dudley borough.

Why are we doing it? 

• To raise awareness of the benefits of taking part in activities and a healthy lifestyle in general
• Increase awareness of the actitvities and learning opportunities available for older people
• Accident Prevention/Falls Prevention
• Promoting mental health reducing isolation and loneliness

What does leap over 50 do?

Leap offers many exercise and activity sessions for people over the age of 60 including:

• Gentle exercise
• Tai Chi
• Swimming
• Yoga
• Walking routes
• Rambles
• Sequence dancing
• Line dancing
• Belly dancing
• Short mat bowling
• Tea dances
• Active retirement
• U3A (University of the 3rd Age)
• Nintendo Wii

Learning opportunities and short courses that are delivered in the community in the clients own environment allowing them to learn at their own pace, for example:

• Computer lessons
• Internet access
• Digital camera club
• Drawing and painting
• Water colours
• Arts and crafts sessions
• Guitar and keyboard

Other activities

Training and support programmes for volunteers and people working with older people to ensure exercise and activities can be provided, for example, exercise tutors, walk leaders, cycling support riders. Support to individuals and groups of people developing new activities, helping them to network with other agencies to establish links of communication.

Partnership in action

The Leap over 50 project is managed between Age UK Dudley, Dudley NHS Primary Care Trust and Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. These organisations work to ensure that exercise and activity opportunities are created to encourage more older people to take part.

The project works with many groups and organisations across the Dudley Borough. Support to individuals and groups of people developing and maintaining new activities, helping them to network with other agencies to establish improved links of communication, ie funding, venues, transport, tutors and trainers.

The project prides itself on developing and maintaining links and partnerships across the Borough.

What our partners say 

"As the main partner in the project with Age UK Dudley it has given me great pleasure over the years to see the development of LEAP from its humble beginnings to the point where it is now nationally recognised as good practice in the field of older people, activity and health.

It has taken hard work, perseverance and a lot of engagement and involvement with older people in Dudley, to achieve its current status. Regular feedback and evaluation has been a focus of LEAP and has been a major factor in its longevity and it is still developing." Dean Hill - Coronary Heart Disease Prevention Co-ordinator for Dudley Public Health Directorate and Head of Healthy Towns.