Leisure trust and social enterprise Tone hosted a game of football with an unusual twist recently - there was no such thing as the subs' bench as all the players were seated and 'hand ball' was allowed!

As part of the work it does in helping people in the community become active and feel better, Tone organised a seated football match at Staplegrove Active Living Centre in Taunton, Somerset. All players, who were aged between 70 and 100, remained seated in their chairs, using their legs and arms to pass the football. Two seven-a-side teams consisting of two goalkeepers, three defenders and two midfield/attackers each competed for 15 minutes at a time before resting and swapping players if necessary. The match lasted for a full hour and 18 players took part.

Tone's Active Lifestyle Co-ordinator - and match referee - Louise Bulmer explains how she came up with the idea of seated football: "We do a lot of work with older people who require chair-based exercises that help them remain active, yet are physically manageable and comfortable," said Louise.

"We've had great success with our seated badminton so I investigated which other sports could work well from a seated position. Football may not seem the most obvious but with a bit of creativity it works really well and has proved very popular! The participants develop their teamwork skills as well as their cardiovascular fitness and coordination. It also introduces light strength training in their arms and legs."

Tone currently coordinates seated sports activities in four Active Living Centres in Somerset as well as a number of residential and nursing homes. Louise added:

"We operate 12 leisure facilities in Somerset and Devon but some types of activities need to be carried out within the communities that people live rather than in a leisure centre environment. Many older people can't easily get to a leisure centre and may not feel comfortable in one; they find it much easier to pop along to their local Active Living Centre to take part in a relaxed, fun session that's tailored to their needs.

The Staplegrove Active Living Centre is operated by the Active Living Team from Somerset County Council working in partnership with community, voluntary and statutory groups such as Tone to promote and develop opportunities for people aged 50 and over to access information and activities that keep them active and well.

The day centres are staffed by volunteers, with organisations like Tone co-ordinating and delivering the programmes as well as providing training for volunteers who help with the activities. At the moment the seated football is delivered by Louise and her team at Tone, but there are plans to train volunteers to help roll the activity out to a wider audience.