Senior Games get under way at Aycock
Mar. 22—HENDERSON — Elder athletes kicked off the 2024 Kerr-Tar Senior Games on Friday with a North Carolina favorite — cornhole.
Aycock Recreation Center was bustling with senior citizens from five counties competing in the sport, tossing beanbags back and forth. In the bleachers lining both sides of the court sat dozens of spectators. All the while, volunteers ran about and set up matches.
Prior to that, there was an opening ceremony. City Councilwoman Tami Walker gave some opening remarks in place of Mayor Melissa Elliott. Joining her was City Manager Terrell Blackmon and Henderson-Vance Recreation and Parks Director Kendrick Vann.
Evelyn Couch, a local singer extraordinaire, performed the National Anthem.
The turnout this year broke a record, said Regional Program Coordinator Kenia Gomez-Jimenez, with 220 contestants from Franklin, Granville, Person, Vance and Warren counties. The Senior Games are one of the most attended KTCOG events, she said.
Each of the participants gets a commemorative medal — a pewter-colored ring with the words "Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments" and "Stronger, Better, Together" inscribed on the outer circle.
In the center is the KTCOG's five-county area and a torch. The top three finishers in each sport will win gold, silver and bronze stars that they'll pin to the medal's green strap.
The hope is, said event co-coordinator Barbara Stewart, that athletes will end up with stars all over their medals. Michael Patterson is the second half of that leadership duo and the sports coordinator.
Athletes who win those stars will qualify for the state finals, where they'll have a shot at getting to the National Senior Games.
For Stewart, an aging specialist with the KTCOG's Area Agency on Aging, this is the best time of the year. Senior citizens get a bad reputation as being lazy or shut-in, she said — the Senior Games help dispel that stereotype.
Stewart has a great love for caring for the elderly, a love she's had her whole life, she said. She helped take care of her grandmother and mother both before they passed away.
Besides that, the games are a great way to exercise.
Events will go on semi-weekly until May 17, when there will be a Silver Arts exhibit and performing arts competition as well as an awards and closing ceremony at Person County Office Building.
The next athletic event will be shuffleboard at Huck Sansbury Gym, 425 Long Avenue in Roxboro. Other events going forward include bocce ball in two age divisions, bowling, golf, horseshoes and badminton.
Stewart thanked Blue Cross for its sponsorship of the event, which allowed the coordinators to get proper, custom medals. The Senior Games is sanctioned by the North Carolina Senior Games, formed in 1983 to promote health and wellness for senior citizens.