Doctors, teachers, and athletes encourage us all to get more exercise. For many of us, our springtime means the energy to start a program to get fit and overcome the initial discomforts. As we enter our summer months, the foundation of better health has been set, and we begin to push some of our boundaries. The shortening days of fall might dissuade some of us, but the weather remains warm enough to keep us moving. Besides, winter could prove a notable setback, so we better give an extra push now.
But what about the seasons of our lives? Are we building a solid foundation in our earlier decades to encourage an active and engaged senior life? Many seniors are even competing in an Olympic-style festival that can inspire us all.
The ‘National Senior Games’ is a biennial event, held this past June in Houston, TX and slated to be in Cleveland, OH in July 2013. Events include archery, badminton, cycling, golf, horseshoes, shuffleboard, softball, tennis, and various walking races – even a triathalon (list of 2011 events and results). The NSG Association that organizes the games began in the mid-1980s as an effort to coordinate the efforts of various state-wide competitions, and the NSGA now boasts over 10,000 participants!
The breadth of sports that our older citizens compete in is testament to the range of opportunities and fitness levels our seniors attain and retain. A documentary of the 2011 games, Age of Champions, stresses the fact that competitors are also models of how we all can continue to maintain high levels of fitness and enjoy the comradeship of competition as we age. Moreover, the creative team who put the film together want to bring it to CCRCs and elder-care communities around the country.
Here is the promo/trailer of the film:
Age of Champions – Trailer from Documentary Foundation on Vimeo.
Besides bringing stories of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat to your community, the film is meant to encourage activity of all kinds for seniors and to open the eyes of those who might be skeptical that older Americans can continue to be active and engaged members of sporting communities, whatever their season.
