Another successful Macon County Senior Games is in the books.
For the past 30 years, the games have brought the county’s seniors together for a friendly competition, with events ranging from swimming and cycling to cornhole, mini golf and table tennis. After nearly 30 events spread out over three weeks, the group’s president says this year’s turnout exceeded expectations.
“We had an increase, which, we were really shocked at that. We didn’t expect an increase this year,” said Mike Townsend of the 116 local seniors taking part. “I think [more seniors moving to town] is one, and the other is pickleball – a lot of people join because they want to play pickleball. We’ve had some meetings in town and we’ve put signs up and different things, and we try and tell everybody to talk to anybody they know and let them know.”
In his third year as county president and 15th year involved with the games along with his wife, Karen, Townsend oversees what has become one of Macon’s largest sporting events. While they do have some very strenuous events like the 5- and 10-kilometer races, the group offers something for everyone.
“We have a lot of people [who participate] not just to compete and win a medal, but a lot of them had a lot of fun,” said Townsend. “[There are] a lot of new people doing different games for the first time and enjoying them. Not everybody can play pickleball, so we need other games, and we have them, for people that have trouble standing for any length of time and stuff like that.”
Between those seeking to compete at the highest level and those looking for a relaxed day out with friends, the games provide a plentiful resource for local seniors. As part of the National Senior Games, the world’s largest qualified multi-sport event for seniors, the best athletes can compete against other seniors from around the country.
“We had to cancel golf twice because of rain,” said Townsend of this year’s games. “We do the top three places – gold, silver and bronze – and the top three people in each event can go to state, where we compete against the other counties over in Raliegh. I’d say we’ll probably have at least 25, maybe 30 going to state to play in different events. This is going to be the first time we’ve ever had a guy do the 5K over there, and this will be the first time we’ve had a tennis player go, at least since I’ve been with them. And then we have one guy who’s going for swimming who plans to go to nationals, so we have a few that are going to go to nationals and play.”
At the state games from September to October and the national games a few months later, Macon’s best senior athletes will lock horns with peers from around the country. For those not competing in the larger competitions, the group offers a range of local events throughout the year.
“We run games all throughout the year,” said Townsend. “We do shuffleboard and bocce one day a week, we do table tennis and badminton two days a week, and pickleball about six days a week. That’s open to anybody, even if they don’t belong to Senior Games. We try and get people doing a little bit of exercise and having fellowship out there.”
Through interest meetings, signs around town and word-of-mouth communication, Townsend says the group welcomes as many new members as possible. Between finding ways to stay active – two athletes at this year’s games were more than 90 years old, including longtime president Fred Haller – and building community with fellow local seniors, Townsend says the games can be an invaluable tool for participants.
“We had thought, like most people, that Senior Games is all these athletes, and it’s not. It’s just a bunch of seniors having fun,” said Townsend of he and Karen first getting involved. “I think the atmosphere of the fellowship is really what it is. There’s different times that we help each other outside of the games, and I think that’s the key. If somebody needs help, somebody’s there to help.”