Nine Tasmanian aged care residents have traded their walking frames for go karts in a boundary-pushing excursion that’s proving age is no barrier to adrenaline.
Residents from OneCare’s Umina Park in Burnie, all aged 80 and above, donned helmets and hit the track at Kart Magic in Latrobe on Wednesday.
OneCare CEO Pete Williams said the idea came from the residents themselves.
“One of the things we’re really focused on is ‘reablement’ of older people,” Williams said.
“Many residents can’t drive anymore, and they really miss it – so why not get them back behind the wheel in a way that’s safe and appropriate?”
For 90-year-old Graham George, the experience brought back memories from decades past.
“It’s about 70 years since I was in one, so it’s a [been a] bit of a break in between,” George said.
“The first couple of circuits, it sort of tends to make you a bit cautious, but then you get the feel of the shade and the feel of the track, and you sort of just fold in with the system.”
The outing required careful planning, with speed-limited karts and a team of nurses and carers accompanying the elderly thrill-seekers.
“When the residents suggested go karting, we weren’t sure we’d be able to make it happen,” Williams said.
“But then we did our risk assessments, discussed with families and were assured the karts’ speed could be limited.”
Wednesday’s experience was the second karting excursion for the residents after a successful first trip in autumn.
Umina Park has form when it comes to newsworthy events, having made international headlines last year when residents Mark Catlin and Bev Martin-Catlin met and married at the facility before participating in the first go karting excursion together in a tandem kart.
George, meanwhile, is taking a measured approach to his newfound motorsport hobby.
“I’ve played it fairly safe, I can tell you. I’ve been around for 90 and a bit years and I want to keep them going.”
