A sports teacher at the municipal nursing home in Châteaulin – Châteaulin

The blues face the reds. Pétanque balls are made of foam but you have to aim well. Some residents of the nursing home remain seated to shoot (or point), others stand up slightly and the more able-bodied will pick up the balls. “After a game, we feel much better than if we had remained seated without doing anything,” admits Marcel. Sport in the Aulne Valley also means walking along the canal, the health trail in the neighboring intergenerational garden, the gentle gym, relaxation or even the swimming pool. “We can practice all sports if they are suitable”, defends Marine Argouarc’h, the young facilitator in Adapted Physical Activity (Apa) who has just been recruited at the nursing home.

She cites, for example, “badminton which is played with a balloon instead of a shuttlecock”. 65 people now work in the Aulne Valley, or 55 full-time equivalents. They support 80 residents.

A real need

Marine Argouarc’h started working at the municipal retirement home last winter, as part of a four-month end-of-study internship. “After a Staps license (Sciences and techniques of physical and sporting activities), obtained at the University of Brest, I pursued a master’s degree in Apa”, says the young 24-year-old teacher, originally from La Forêt-Fouesnant, and now based in Châteaulin. They were fourteen students in his promotion to wish to move towards adapted activities rather than teaching in National Education.

“It’s a job that is growing and comes in complementarity with the work of physiotherapists and occupational therapists,” says Renaud Grall, director of the nursing home. He preferred to hire Marine Argouarc’h full time, rather than “sharing” her with other establishments. “There was a real need,” confirms Marie-Pierre Le Goff, the social affairs assistant.

Body and mind

“We have been doing a lot more activities since Marine arrived. After her internship, we missed her. Now, we don’t let her go, ”smiles Sylvie, specifying that“ Marine is very nice ”. So many compliments that never disappoint. As proof: half of the residents attend, in groups or individually, the activities offered by the sports leader, two or three times a week. And it’s not just the body that wins. The mind is also invigorated by it.

“At the height of the health crisis, some of our residents declined. Thanks in particular to these new physical activities, they regain energy and the desire to do things together, ”says the director. Some even forget the walker.