SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.
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Advertise Directories Natural Venues Guide Convention Centers Guide GAMEPlan As a planner, you might assume there's a big differ- ence in organizing a multi-sport event for seniors versus younger athletes because of the ages of the participants. But, according to industry experts, you'd be wrong; the preparation is pretty much the same for both, with a few minor exceptions—like beefing up medical services, clustering venues closer togeth- er, and shaping programming and spon- sors to fit the older demographic. One thing is certain, though. You won't have to worry about a lack of interest from seniors. The 50-plus generation exercises more than any other age group, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA). In fact, more seniors are joining health clubs than 18- to 34-year-olds. For seniors, get- ting in shape and playing sports has become a lifestyle choice. Some seniors are "weekend warriors," who have always worked hard during the week and played hard on their days off. Others are "adult onset exercisers," who for the first time have gotten off the couch—or out from behind a desk—and begun to get in shape. A growing number of seniors are exer- cising almost daily, and competing in high-level competitions locally and even nationwide—sometimes maintaining their elite status long after their age should have dictated they transition to their sport's senior circuit. Perhaps there's no better example of the latter than at USA Triathlon (which selects and trains athletes to represent the United States at the Olympics, Pan Am Games and world championships), where 23 of its top athletes still compete profes- sionally even though they are over 40 (and therefore technically seniors), including Lance Armstrong, winner of the Tour de France a record seven con- secutive times. "A lot of our athletes don't hit their prime until their 30s," said Jeff Dyrek, national events director for USA Triathlon. "In fact, many are still highly competitive into their 40s." This comes as no surprise to Dr. Vonda Wright, director of PRIMA, the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine in Pittsburgh and author of "Fitness After 40: How to Stay in Shape at Any Age." A leading expert on how athletes age, Wright's groundbreak- ing 2007 study on track and field ath- letes—Age-Related Rates of Decline in Performance Among Elite Senior Athletes— found that athletes can main- tain near-peak performance until they are in their mid-70s. "There's very little decline from puberty to middle-age," said Wright giving an exam- ple of a high school boy winning a mile race in 4:17, just 17 seconds faster than a typical winning time by a senior athlete, who crosses the finish line in 4:34. "That's only a 6 percent decline in 35 years. That's remarkable." But what's even more astonishing is how little decline Wright, an orthopedic surgeon, saw in athletes between 50 and 75. "They lost only 2 percent of their per- formance per year," she said. "A 75-year- old can still run a seven-minute mile." Based on that, there's no reason senior athletes can't keep right on competing against younger athletes well into their golden years, Wright said. For most athletes, however, taking on the senior designation is a welcomed relief, and presents an opportunity to compete against athletes closer to their own age. Each year, 300,000 athletes aged 50 and older compete at the state level in 19 different sports (from cycling to golf to swimming to volleyball) as part of the Senior Games. Founded in 1985, the events are run by state members of the National Senior Games Association (NSGA), a non-profit affiliate of ➤ Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing. —Oliver Wendell Holmes www.sportseventsmagazine.com July 2012 21 ▼