Senior Olympics, National Senior Health and Fitness This Week

Tuesday, May 27, 2003 – It’s a big week for senior citizens interested in staying fit and healthy. The Senior Olympics opened yesterday and tomorrow is National Senior Health & Fitness Day.

The Senior Olympics or Senior Games are in Hampton Road, VA. The National Senior Games Association is the national organization that spearheads the senior games movement, sanctioning and coordinating the efforts of senior games organizations across the country. Presently, they serve 50 member state organizations, located in 49 states (excluding Alaska) plus the District of Columbia. Winners in local events advance to state competition and win the right to compete in the national games. They are sometimes called the Senior Olympics and sometimes the Senior Games but both at the same event.

This organization has never done a good job with their Website or communications but the site is at www.nsga.com.

On Wednesday, May 28, 2003, an estimated 150,000 older adults will participate in local fitness activities throughout the country as part of the 10th annual National Senior Health & Fitness Day® (NSHFD), the nation’s largest health promotion event for older adults, according to the sponsors. Their Website is www.fitnessday.com/senior/index.htm

Organized as a public/private good health partnership by the Mature Market Resource Center (MMRC), Senior Health & Fitness Day will offer fitness activities for older adults at more than 1,500 locations including hospitals, park and recreation departments, senior centers, health clubs, retirement communities, houses of worship, health departments and other community locations. The event is always held on the last Wednesday in May as part of Older Americans Month activities.

This year, programs will range from small group exercise demonstrations in community senior centers to walking tours and health fairs. Most programs include an exercise or physical activity component, as well as educational information about senior health and fitness.

Interested organizations must register to host a National Senior Health & Fitness event. The registration fee is $37.95 plus shipping and includes the official National Senior Health & Fitness Day program manual and sample National Senior Health & Fitness Day incentive items — T-shirt, balloons, etc. The program manual is an easy-to-use guide with all of the information needed to host a successful event — activity suggestions, posters, press releases, copyright-free reproducible masters to hand out, etc.

“Older adults at all levels of physical fitness are encouraged to participate in National Senior Health & Fitness Day,” says Tina Godin, NSHFD program manager. “Our goals for Senior Day are to make exercise fun, to increase awareness of the benefits of a regular exercise program for older adults, and to encourage all older adults to take advantage of the many health and fitness programs offered in their communities.”

Last fall, the Mature Market Resource Center sponsored a slogan contest to select a theme for the 2003 National Senior Health & Fitness Day event. The theme for 2003, “Fitness — It’s For Every Body!”, was chosen from among thousands of contest entries. Nancy Bader of Cicero, New York won a $500 prize for her winning entry.

To help older adults stay motivated after National Senior Health & Fitness Day and throughout the year, the Mature Market Resource Center also organizes the Mature Fitness Awards USAsm, the nation’s first fitness recognition program for older adults. Additional information on the Mature Fitness Awards USA can be found on the Internet at www.fitnessday.com.

Coming this fall: National Women’s Health & Fitness Day — the first national fitness event for women. This fall event, a companion to Senior Day — is set for Wednesday, September 24, 2003. For further information, please call 1-800-828-8225.