The health and wellbeing benefits of active ageing through participation in an annual sports event: Marching out of the margins

Abstract

In 2018, the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand launched the Five Ways to Wellbeing, consisting of five actions adapted from those first created by the New Economic Foundation. These actions are designed to improve physical, psychological and sociological wellbeing in everyday life. They are: give; be active; keep learning; take notice; and connect. This chapter applies the Five Ways to Wellbeing framework to an examination of the benefits of social leisure and involves an arguably overlooked segment of society: actively ageing “mature ladies”. Twenty-nine interviews were carried out at the 2019 New Zealand Leisure Marching Nationals, an annual and distinctly Aotearoa New Zealand sport event. Participant observation was also employed, providing the authors with a more holistic understanding of the wellbeing benefits experienced from participating in this well-established social sports event. Findings from the deductive thematic analysis offer a rare insight into the clear contribution that even a single annual event can make to the achievement of the Five Ways to Wellbeing. The conclusions and recommendations focus on ways to make these social sporting events more appealing and accessible to the increasing (and alarming) number of older New Zealanders being diagnosed as suffering from poor psychosocial health.