Ladner Gymnastic Club sets Bright Example for Senior Health and Fitness
The health and fitness of seniors in Canada are receiving a boost thanks to the efforts of community-based organizations that are rethinking how physical activity, aging, and social connection work together. Rather than treating seniors’ fitness as a separate or limited activity, these programs integrate movement, confidence-building, and community participation into everyday life, helping older adults avoid the physical and mental health risks linked to sedentary lifestyles.
Delta Gymnastics: What Is It?
One such initiative recently caught the headlines and involves a gymnastics club from Ladner. Delta Gymnastics Society (DGS), founded in 1975, is one of Canada’s leading community gymnastics clubs and operates under the guiding principle “Where kids are first”, while also serving adults and seniors through inclusive, multi-generational programming.
Delta Gymnastics has developed multiple structured programs for older adults, including the Legends Team (ages 50+) and the Seniors Can Move program (65+), both designed to support healthy aging in a safe, professionally supervised environment. These initiatives provide seniors with structured physical activity, social connection, and functional movement training, helping them stay active while building confidence and independence in daily life.
The programs are carefully designed to support balance, coordination, strength, mobility, and fall prevention – core factors in long-term senior health.
How Do They Help?
The team makes sure that they provide the seniors every kind of support they need to attain functional fitness which can lead to a prolonged healthy life, improved psychological activity, and better lifestyle. Carlene Lewall, who is a part of the Gymnaestrada team and a loyal member, found the sessions to improve her balance and take part in activities with her grandchildren. The physiotherapist of another senior member Patti White found that her back and core was strengthened after becoming a part of the initiative.
These improvements reflect the program’s continued focus on balance, mobility, and core stability in Delta Gymnastics Society’s senior programming in 2026.
Delta Gymnastics has been able to help out a number of seniors with their program through forms like Gymnaestrada, which blends gymnastics, dance, and acrobatics. It is a non-competitive form of gymnastics and participants focus on individual performance which makes it enjoyable. Gymnaestrada remains a performance-based, inclusive program focused on participation, enjoyment, and group expression rather than competition.
The club’s Gymnaestrada teams are now scheduled to take part in the 2026 National Gymnaestrada in Regina, Saskatchewan, along with Provincial events in Richmond, British Columbia.
The senior Gymnaestrada team is now preparing to participate in the 2027 World Gymnaestrada in Lisbon, Portugal, following previous DGS participation in multiple World Gymnaestrada events, most recently in Amsterdam in 2023.
How Did It Help?
Delta Gymnastics Society was able to develop and expand its senior initiatives through a pilot program launched in 2018 and subsequent support from the Government of British Columbia, allowing the “Seniors Can Move” program to expand across gymnastics facilities throughout the province.
The grant is meant for community-based projects which involve seniors and enables them to bring a change in the life of others. Initiatives which promote the overall well-being of the senior population and help them in leading a better life through approaches like community involvement qualify for federal funding upon fulfilling certain requirements. Through the funding, organizations can receive up to $25,000 each year for projects based in pan-Canadian regions.
These programs now focus on fall prevention, mobility, confidence-building, social connection, and functional independence, positioning Delta Gymnastics as both a sports organization and a community health partner.
A better life is only possible for the seniors when they are allowed to take part in meaningful activities related to their health and community. Canada needs more of such initiatives following the lead of Delta Gymnastics to keep its senior population fit and healthy.
Programs such as the Legends Team (50+), Seniors Can Move (65+), and Gymnaestrada now show how community sports institutions can become long-term pillars of active aging and senior well-being in Canada.