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FOR ATHLETES, THE GLORY DAYS AREN'T OVER YETFrom volleyball to track-and-field, ''masters'' meets are picking up speedWhen David Kaynor organized the first Washington State Senior Games in 1996, the track-and-field meet drew only 50 participants. With medals for top finishers in each five-year age group, ''we handed out 105 gold medals and only 10 silvers,'' Kaynor recalls. But for this year's games, open to those 50 and older, taking home the gold won't be so easy. Kaynor expects 500 to 700 competitors--including more than 50 for such field events as the long jump, shot put, and pole vault. Amazed at the notion of 70-year-old pole-vaulters? You're not keeping up with the rapidly growing world of senior sports. Today's retirees, healthier and more active than their predecessors, are hungry for opportunities to train and compete. And the growth of recent years is just a warm-up: Every day for the next 16 years, 10,000 to 12,500 baby boomers will celebrate a 50th birthday. The generation that never wanted to grow up has never relinquished its dreams of athletic glory. So, sports organizations are bracing for a rush of gray-haired competitors. Boomers already are crowding ''masters'' tourneys--events that are open to athletes 40 and older--in swimming, track-and-field, and long-distance running. The USA Track & Field National Masters Championships, slated for July 30-Aug. 2 at the University of Maine in Orono, is expected to draw 1,200 competitors. At the national level, athletes must perform to USA Track & Field's age-graded, minimum standards to win medals. But events are open to all who pay entry fees. ''You can come out of the stands, put on a pair of shoes, and run,'' says Jerry Wojcik, senior editor of National Masters News (541 343-7716), which chronicles masters track-and-field events. Even so, novices are better advised to start with local tourneys, such as the Philadelphia Masters Meets, held every other Wednesday evening in July (215 722-8859), or such regionals as the West Regionals Masters Championships in Santa Barbara, Calif., on July 18-19 (805 965-0581). SENIOR VARSITY. The 1999 National Senior Games are more selective. State organizers this year are holding qualifying meets for the big event, slated for Oct. 19-29, 1999, in Orlando, Fla. There, more than 11,000 athletes are expected to compete for medals in 18 sports, from track-and-field and swimming to basketball and volleyball. How can an older athlete find competitors of similar age and skills? In some sports, such as golf or tennis, it's easy: Join a club with like-minded members. Rowers might find a boat club or a college that lends or rents out its sculls. For team sports, look in the sports or weekend pages of a local newspaper for listings of leagues with senior divisions. If local leagues don't serve seniors, organize a team yourself. Sports directors at YMCAs and other rec centers often are eager to help. But remember: Athletes of any age should get a physical and perhaps stop at a local hospital or community center for classes in exercise, warm-up, and stretching before they take to the playing field. At the YMCA of the Sierra in Reno, Nev., what started 20 years ago as a cardiac-rehabilitation class has evolved into a three-day-a-week volleyball league for some 15 septua- and octogenarians. This fall, YMCA Senior Programs Director LuAnne Steininger hopes to organize an over-50 men's basketball league. ''We see lots of retirees in their 50s who want to go back to being the great player they remember being,'' she says. Well, dream on. Even the healthiest boomer can't leap like a teenager. But the urge to try is likely to crowd the courts, tracks, and pools with gray heads in the years ahead.
By Mike McNamee in Washington RELATED ITEMS
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Updated July 9, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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