Resources - Mature Market Headlines

The games begin for over-50 leagues

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8/6/09

Abstract:

Joe Downing didn't play volleyball in college. He didn't even play in high school. But he's playing in the National Senior Games under way in Palo Alto, Calif., at Stanford University. "That is the beauty of the Senior Games -- you don't have to be an elite player to participate. I didn't even start playing until the mid 1980s," said Mr. Downing, of Hampton, who calls himself a self-taught player.

The National Senior Games Association, formerly known as the National Senior Olympics Organization, is host to the games, which started Saturday and will continue through Aug. 15.

As Mr. Downing approached his 40th birthday, he thought his volleyball days would soon be behind him, but teammates kept asking him to play. "When I hit my 45th birthday, I realized that I had pretty much plateaued. I wasn't getting better, but I wasn't getting worse. At that point, I thought that maybe I could just keep playing indefinitely," he said...

...After he hit 50 -- the age when athletes become eligible for the Senior Games -- he decided to look into the competition, made some inquiries and found a local team that was interested in competing. The team, called the Keystone Boomers, qualified through the state games and competed at the national level in Louisville, Ky., in 2007.

Now 52, Mr. Downing said their first National Games had a mixed outcome. "We weren't in last place, but we got our hats handed to us."

> Read the full story > Return to 50+ Headlines