Sport In Profile UK Issue 08 | Page 4

Sport is playing an important role in helping people who are living with dementia. Alzheimer Scotland have pioneered an innovative programme which uses images and memorabilia of sport to improve recall, boost morale and self-confidence and help people reconnect with the sport they loved and still do. The initiative started in 2010 at a national level and there are now over 90 groups across the country. There has also been interest in the work from Europe and America. The focus of the original programme was football reminiscence and some of the results were truly inspiring. People told stories in the groups which had never been heard before and they added something special and personal to the existing accounts of matches and players. The Alzheimer Scotland Reminiscence Network produces materials and resources to help people who have a diagnosis of dementia with a therapeutic intervention based on their own personal sporting interests. Football Memories  uses images and memorabilia from the period from the end of 1945 to 1980 to aid recall and memory of great games, players and occasions. Some of the recall can be spectacular and many of the stories which emerge from the groups are not to be found in traditional club historical accounts. Group members are helped to produce a Football Memories Book, which include personal stories of their family and football experiences. The groups chose a team name and team colour and are members of the Football Memories League. The Football Memories project is a joint venture between Alzheimer Scotland and the Scottish Football Museum. UEFA funding has enabled an expansion of the programme in Scotland and 13 more clubs are taking part from August 2015. Rugby Memories follows a similar pattern to Football Memories and is usually based around a specific Rugby Club. Images of national and international players and matches are provided for the volunteerled groups and this material is supplemented by clubspecific archive materials from members and former players. An NHS team, All Black and Blue, are playing a charity match against Police Scotland in Ayr to raise funds for Rugby Memories. Shinty Memories is again based around a specific Shinty Club and club historians and archivists will be able to add specific i m a g e s