Eastern Shore Senior Games Celebrates 10 Years April 23-25

SALISBURY, MD---From badminton to bowling to a 5K run/walk, the Eastern Shore Senior Games celebrates its 10th year with a variety of competitive activities for young-at-heart athletes.

The games are open to men and women age 50 and over in Maryland, Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Events take place Thursday-Saturday, April 23-25, at Salisbury University. An opening ceremony 1 p.m. Friday, April 24, includes the keynote address “Fitness and Sport Performance Across a Lifetime” with Dr. Scott Mazzetti of SU’s Health, Physical Education and Human Performance Department.

New events this year include a fitness challenge, during which medals will be awarded for participants based on cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and body composition. Prior to the games, through April 23, SU athletic training students also offer a new personal training service. To sign up or for more information call Brent Fedorko at 410-677-0075.

Other events include aquatics, badminton, bowling, cycling, chest press, a 5k run/walk, floor and foul basketball shooting, golf, table tennis, tennis and track and field.  Participants also may play team volleyball.

“Senior Games participants are an inspiration to us all because they’ve maintained healthy and active lifestyles,” said coordinator Dr. Carol Wood, associate dean of the Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies. “The games provide a venue where seniors can show their stuff.”

Athletes compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in age brackets based on five-year increments, beginning with ages 50-54.

According to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, 85 percent of seniors in the United States do not exercise as much as they should. Other seniors have made staying in shape a social affair, using events like the Senior Games to keep in touch with old friends and make new ones. In recent years, more than 400 have competed in the games.

Competitions are held at the Salisbury University athletic fields and tennis courts, Maggs Gymnasium, Cherokee Lanes and Deer Run Golf Course. The Senior Games are sanctioned by the Maryland Senior Olympics Commission, Inc.  

For more information, contact Dr. Carol Wood at 410-548-3256 or cawood@salisbury.edu, or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu/seniorgames.