A month-long series of competitive events will kick off in Naperville next week, but young people can’t play.
The Naperville Park District’s inaugural Senior Games, open to everyone age 50 or older, will begin May 27. The collection of contests is designed to provide various ways for participants to put their skills, fitness levels and preferences to the test in friendly competition.
With studies increasingly correlating diabetes and elevated cholesterol and blood pressure levels with higher risk of serious age-related health hazards such as heart disease and dementia, seniors are encouraged to remain active.
“Competition is a healthy thing,” said Ray McGury, the Park District’s executive director, in a prepared statement. “The fact that you show up means you’re not taking your physical and mental abilities for granted.”
Planners made a point of assembling an assortment of contests, to ensure that a broad range of abilities and tastes would be accommodated.
“We wanted it to be events so that if someone isn’t physically agile they might still be able to participate in something,” said Lorraine Ouellette, a program manager with the Park District. “If they can’t play tennis, maybe they can play cards.”
Or maybe they can work with clay. The first event is a pottery competition, which will span two weeks to provide sufficient time for production, firing, glazing and the other steps that will culminate in selection of the winners by a panel of independent judges. The remaining events mostly are scheduled for June 22-25.
Although the program is new to Naperville, the Park District isn’t reinventing the wheel. Ouellette said some of the larger recreation agencies in the area, including those in Chicago and Rockford, have sponsored senior games for many years. The local version is starting somewhat small.
More Top Picks Zvox Sb500
“We decided to begin by promoting programs that already are in place at the Park District,” she said.
Among the events chosen by the five program managers involved are billiards, ping-pong and pinochle, all of which the Park District offers normally for drop-in play, as well as 50-plus softball, swimming, golf, tennis and trapshooting.
“We thought, ‘Let’s not start out too large, because we don’t know that’s going to go and what’s not,” Ouellette said.
An awards luncheon set for June 26 will recognize the top finishers in each event. The first 140 people to register for the games will be able to attend, she said.
Registration is available on the Park District’s web site.
Twitter @scarlman