It's Never Too Late
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2007-03-29 12:22:34.611595-05:00
Senior athletes challenge themselves to compete—and have fun, too.
Don't blink during the Wyoming Senior Olympics this summer or you might miss the 92-year-old sprinter rounding the track or the 85-year-old woman with a bum knee swimming laps in the pool.
The 92-year-old ran the 50-yard dash in 16.35 seconds and the 85-year-old swam a mile in an hour and six minutes, according to Jim Eggenberger of Sheridan, the state coordinator for the Wyoming Senior Olympics.
But not every athlete sets out to break records. Sheridan's Sylvia Hodges, 72, says she participates in the Senior Olympics for the fun of it.
"I do it for the camaraderie of all the people there, and the exercise, and to get out of the house," she added.
Hodges enjoys playing pickleball, tennis and ping pong. However, she said she won't compete in tennis if the weather is too hot.
"If it's in the 90's I won't play," she said. "I don't want to be out in the heat."
The 21st annual Wyoming Senior Olympics will take place in Sheridan July 26-28. The games are for people 50 years old and older.
Eggenberger said when he retired he became more interested in staying healthy and got involved at the local YMCA teaching and organizing sports clinics.
"It's really fun to see people in our age bracket feel good about themselves and improve their health," Eggenberger said.
Eggenberger, 68, played volleyball when he was in the Navy and participated on intramural teams throughout his life, but he said he didn't have a lot of time for sports while he was working.
He got involved in the Senior Olympics several years ago after he competed in the Montana games. "I said, 'They should do this in Wyoming,'" he said.
When he found out there were Senior Olympics in Wyoming, which were being held in Cody that year, he signed up to compete. After the games, he talked his friends at the YMCA into putting in a bid to bring the games to Sheridan for a two-year rotation.
Eggenberger said there will be about 25 different sporting events at the Sheridan games, and he hopes to get around 500 contestants. Last year the games took place in Gillette and 300 people participated, and there were 16 states represented. Events include racquetball, cycling, canoeing, horseshoes and pickleball, which is like a combination of ping pong, racquetball and badminton.
Eggenberger, a former Senior Olympics racquetball champion, said for him the games are more about having fun rather than winning.
The Sheridan games will open with a parade down Sheridan's Main Street and lighting of the torch in Kendrick Park, and will close with a banquet where the Wyoming senior athlete of the year will be named. Eggenberger says the games are "inspirational and motivational."
"Exercise is the closest thing we've got to the Fountain of Youth," Eggenberger said. "If we improve our health, welfare and fitness, hopefully we'll live a lot longer."
He said a mantra of the Senior Olympics is: You don't stop playing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop playing.
"My idea is to get the seniors moving and exercising," he said. "Life is not over at 50, there's still a lot more you can do."
However, he said seniors might want to consult a doctor before participating in the games to prevent injury. Eggenberger could not participate in the games last year in Gillette because he hurt his leg when he "missed the bottom step at home."
But he'll be back in action this year playing racquetball in the 65-69 age bracket.
Eggenberger hopes to get more people involved in the Senior Olympics and said he sent a letter to the 44 senior citizen centers in Wyoming seeking participants.
The awards at the games are gold, silver and bronze medals. This year is a non-qualifying year, meaning that participants do not qualify for the National Senior Olympic Games. The qualifier is held every other year, and participants in 2008 can qualify to go to the national games in San Francisco.
"If you don't feel you can play in the games, you can volunteer," Eggenberger said. "The best thing anyone can do to help the games is to tell a friend about them and get them to participate."
To sign up for the games contact Wyoming Senior Olympics State Coordinator Jim Eggenberger via email or (307)673-0000 or online.
Other Resources
- Wyoming Senior Olympics
Get more information and register for the games at the official Web site of the Wyoming Senior Olympics.
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