Senior Olympians bring home medals, new friends and improved health

In 2002, the Grace-St. Luke’s 39ers, the parish’s senior members' social and fellowship group, formed a small but dedicated group to enter the Senior Olympics. The group, composed of Bill Halliday, Bill Pittman (both now deceased), Bettye Pittman, Mary Virginia Rogers, Jimmy Woo, and Charlotte Jones, trained under Bill Halliday, whom we affectionately called Coach. The senior Olympians have had plenty of fun times practicing and getting ready for the big event, which takes place each April. The group has also entered the ALS, The Scottish Clamjamfree, and races for other worthy causes.  

This spring, the group entered the softball throw, basketball throw, basketball three-pointer, ping-pong, shuffleboard, horseshoes and the 1500 m race walk. In the past, we have also entered swimming and bowling, through team member Bettie Welsh.  This year, we were the proud winners of four Gold medals, six Silver medals and one Bronze medal. We are not only very proud of their winnings, but also of our efforts. 

We can highly recommend the Senior Olympics, both for the camaraderie and the physical benefits we derive from our efforts. It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game, and the physical benefits we oldies have experienced have been wonderful. We are in good shape!

In the picture are from left to right are Mary Virginia Rogers, Charlotte Jones, and Bettye Pittman at one of our events.