Alma Lange, left, along with Ursula and Maurice Joyal, and Barbara Gladowski won ribbons at Regional Senior Games recently. They are now headed to State competition. If they place there, they will be eligible for the Nationals. State competition will be held in Fort Myers in December. Penny Fletcher photo.
South County residents did well in the 2014 Senior Games held between Sept. 29 and Oct. 17.
Several even made it to state-level competition, which will be held in Fort Myers in December.
State winners in each category and age group are then eligible for Nationals.
This year, cycling was added to a schedule that already offered just about anything seniors 50 and older would want to do, including power-lifting, basketball free shooting, golf, pickleball, swimming, tennis, track and field, table tennis, billiards, bowling, bean bag toss, corn hole, dominoes and darts. And then there were the baking, hobby and talent showcases.
Either medals or ribbons went to the top five finishers in each event. And participants competing in basketball free shooting, billiards, bowling, golf, pickleball, power lifting, swimming, track and field, table tennis and tennis also had the opportunity to qualify and advance to the Florida International Senior Games & State Championships in Lee County from Dec. 6 to 16.
“It’s a massive undertaking,” said Mary Clements Fowler, Hillsborough County senior programs coordinator and chairwoman of the Tampa Bay Senior Games. “We start with an after-event meeting in November, and then the board begins meeting in December [for the next year]. It’s a yearlong effort.”
More than 600 seniors age 50 and older competed this year.
The Sun City Center Community Association, LifePath Hospice, Serenity Meadows and Summerfield Crossings Golf Club are among the local sponsors of the 2014 Tampa Bay Senior Games.
The Games are hosted annually by the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department; Hillsborough County Family and Aging services; the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department; and Temple Terrace Leisure Services.
Information on winners in many categories are available online at:
Track and field: hillsboroughcounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/13707; and,
Swimming: hillsboroughcounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/13706.
“The theme for 2014 Tampa Bay Senior Games was Mardi Gras,” said Ursula Joyal of Sun City Center, who will be going to Fort Myers along with Alma Lange, Don Cobleigh, Barbara Gladowski, and Ursula’s husband, Maurice, in the State shuffleboard competition.
Sun City Center pickleball players Louis Lange and Jane Mischellin also took a Bronze and a Gold, respectively, and are headed for State competition.
Residents may participate in any or all of the events. The events were held at various locations throughout Hillsborough County, and as many as five events were held each day.
The competitors were placed into age categories for each event. After each event, those who placed first, second, or third either received a ribbon or a medal, depending on the event.
An Awards Luncheon was held Oct. 18, at the University Area Community Center.
The attendees dressed according to the theme of Mardi Gras along with Mardi Gras-style food, music and a slideshow of all the Senior Games events.
