50+ Lifestyles

PUBLISHER’S CORNER

Lace Up Your Running Shoes!

By Eloise Graham

Lace up your shoes, dust off your bowling ball, get out your paddles, check your paint brushes, hone your spelling ability, brush up on your cards, do some needlepoint, toss those bean bags, sing a song, write a poem, or do a dance – it is game time! Quad Cities Senior Olympics’ Summer Games are here!

Quad Cities Senior Olympics, a 501c3 non-profit, started in 1991. My first knowledge of it was in 1997. That summer I was director of the district cub scout day camp. My archery instructor was unable to be present at staff set up day because he was in charge of archery at Quad Cities Senior Olympics. I was intrigued by this concept of friendly competition in a plethora of activities for the elder citizens of our community. I soon learned I knew some of the board members and great volunteers that put on this annual program.

I became a participant in 2019 in the literary, visual arts and performing arts categories. I have been a participant since then. Well, not in 2020. I have added euchre and spelling bee to my activities. This program is a great way to meet new people with similar interests.

The dates for this years events start with a pickleball tournament May 16 and 17. The formal opening ceremonies will be Tuesday May 27 to kick off the rest of the week’s activities. Due to athletic ability some of the events are divided into age groupings. Venues for the activities are located at various sites on both sides of the river so check out the schedule posted on the Facebook page, qcsogo.org.

Lisa Killinger, a long time board member and supporter of the games wanted to share some of her thoughts.

Just some tidbits. We have had participants from 10 states at our games. A few regulars set their vacation time each year to come to the Quad Cities and participate. Our games are a “fan favorite” due to the friendly volunteers, reasonable price (unlimited events for one entry fee of $40) and some of the best snacks at the events!

We once had a 103 year old named Bernadine, who entered at least ten events each year for over a decade. She knew there were no other people in her age category, so she won gold at many of her events. By the end of the games she had so many gold medals around her neck we were worried it might cause a neck injury.

I once watched the field events and saw a 92 year old woman throw a shot put. Not far, but she threw it nonetheless. I asked her, “Did you throw the shot put in high school?” She shook her head and said, “Young lady, there were no women’s sports when I went to high school. I just saw an article about The Senior Olympics in a local paper and thought it sounded like fun.”

Whether  you are 50 or 100 years old, come on out to the Senior Olympics’  Summer Games 2025 and join the fun! We offer events in arts and crafts, literary, performing arts, track and field, basketball free throws, swimming, pickleball, bowling…well, just check out the schedule for a full list of events at qcsogo.org or the Facebook page.

See you there!

As Lisa said, See you there.