Award winning football fan Mike is looking forward to Summer of Sport

Sporting events across the country might have been cancelled because of Covid-19, but the residents at Savile Park care home in Halifax are looking forward to battling it out in a variety of competitions as part of Anchor’s Summer of Sport this week.

Mike Judd, age 80, lives at Savile Park and has spent most of his life involved with his local football club, Stony Stratford Town FC. 

A huge football fan, over the course of 30 years Mike took on an array of roles at the club, including assistant manager, referee, youth secretary, groundsman, barman and vice chairman. 

His commitment to the club has seen Mike win many awards, including the FA’s Volunteer of the Year in 2011. He fondly remembers that day; walking onto the pitch in front of 90,000 people and his name appearing on the electronic boards during the game – a fitting recognition of his lifelong commitment to football. 

Mike says: 

I have loved football since I was 5 or 6 years old and have enjoyed my life involved in the sport. The awards were just an additional extra for me.

Mike was also nominated at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for the Unsung Hero award, where he got to meet a number of sporting stars including Tim Henman and Tom Daley.

I am looking forward to the Summer of Sport and seeing everyone join in. I can no longer play football, but I can still watch and tell them how to kick it! It would be lovely to be able to see some of my old mates again.

The Summer of Sport will be held from Monday, 20 July to Sunday, 26 July – the same week when the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics would have been held. 

The tournament will see residents at Savile Park care home taking on daily one-minute sporting challenges in disciplines such as basketball, cricket, football, table tennis, golf and rugby. The care home has been provided with sports equipment specially adapted for people living with dementia, ensuring all residents are able to participate.

Residents will be in friendly competition with other care homes across the country for coveted trophies which will be awarded during a special closing ceremony, co-ordinated across all care homes, on Sunday 26 July.

Although many sports now have to be played without spectators, staff at Savile Park care home will be there to cheer residents on.  

Emma Littlewood, Manager of Savile Park care home, said: 

Our residents have been disappointed that many sports events have been understandably cancelled due to the pandemic, so we decided to hold our own sporting events instead.

The staff here have organised a variety of tournaments for the residents as part of Anchor’s Sum-mer of Sport. It’s a great opportunity to exercise our bodies and minds, doing meaningful activ-ities while also having fun!

For more information about Savile Park contact 0800 731 2020.

All our homes will be sharing photos and videos of their competitors and sporting events on Twitter using the hashtag #SummerofSport2020. Be sure to use it to share your Summer of Sport TRYathlon attempts too!