Not knowing the disruption and destruction that the Coronavirus was to cause, in late 2019, the Special Olympics Netherlands team began developing an app to support athletes to stay fit and healthy at home. Based on Special Olympics Fit 5 programme, the team produced the ‘Scoor je PR!’ app which was launched in March 2020—just as the people of Netherlands, and the world, began to come to terms with international lockdown.
The app aims to motivate Special Olympics Netherlands athletes to work on their power, balance and endurance at home. A total of 50 different exercises were filmed with the help of Athlete Leaders and a National Ambassador who recorded all the text, so that athletes can understand everything.
Two months in and an impressive 500 athletes are using the app on a daily basis, Ragna Schapendonk, National Director of Special Olympics Netherlands notes. She adds, “This keeps our athletes active and unified and in contact with their coaches. And it’s easy to use—even if you don’t speak Dutch. Many pictograms are used. We wanted to make it as user-friendly as possible”.
Using the app, athletes can even design their own buddy, who motivates them to keep going. If they do all of their weekly exercises, they go a level up and their buddy gets an extra accessory. There is also a weekly quiz question which encourages healthy living.
Coaches have their own ‘Scoor je PR!’ area in which they can add their athletes, decide when their athletes get reminders to exercise and what level (1 to 5) of exercise to set. There is also a fitness test, which they can carry out with the athletes. If they do several fitness tests over a period of time, the athlete’s improvement is illustrated through a series of graphics. Essentially this app offers everything they need to stay fit and healthy in their own environment in a fun and easy way!
