Wingate Stories: Meet Natalie

Wingate
Jul 20
2 min read

Natalie is a familiar face here at The Wingate Centre as she's been a regular for around 25 years. Now in her 30s, she loves taking part in a range of activities that help improve her fitness and confidence.

Natalie's diagnosis

· Down syndrome

· Congenital heart disease

Her favourite Wingate activities

· Disability Fitness

· Boccia

· Dance

Natalie says: “I enjoy dance, fitness, sports. They keep me fit, and I feel happy after doing them. I also like the massage plate.”

About Natalie

Natalie comes to the centre every Monday and Tuesday for Disability Fitness, Boccia and Dance. She’s been a regular user of the centre since doing gymnastics here as a child and especially loves being active and performing.

How the Wingate benefits her

Information retention

Natalie has been working on basic shapes on the trampoline and putting sequences together. This helps to improve her coordination, information retention and memory because she is remembering the steps and maintaining her skills.

Strength and balance

She's been working on her upper body strength using the rings and parallel bars. She’s also good on the beam, which she can generally do with minimal support. Strength, balance and coordination are important, especially as we age.

Social interaction

Natalie loves boccia, which she’s grown her skills in, and enjoys the social interaction. She feels part of the Wingate’s community.

Natalie’s mum says: “Natalie is always excited to come to the centre, and I see a positive change when she does the activities – she has a big smile. There aren’t many places for older adults with disabilities, so it’s lovely to have somewhere for Natalie to be active.”

More about Natalie's activities

Disability fitness

Our coaches work with individuals and small groups to develop tailor-made programmes incorporating gymnastics equipment and movement to improve fitness and mobility.

Boccia

Boccia involves players throwing, rolling or kicking coloured balls as close as possible to a white target ball. Known as one of the most inclusive sports in the world, this sociable activity boosts mental wellbeing, fitness and confidence.