Geezer Games

The Bay Area is playing host from August 1st thru the 15th to the 2009 Summer National Senior Games. Open to athletes from across the nation who have crossed the 50 year old barrier, the games comprise a wide range of medal and demonstration sports.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a practice with Lurinda S., a member of a 50yr old+ women’s slow pitch softball team from the Midwest that is participating this week at the Twin Creeks softball venue. During a break in the action we sat down to chat. Dressed casually in softball shorts and a mesh top and donning wrap-around shades, Lurinda exuded the quiet confidence that characterizes athletes at this level.

Team Henderson Blog [THB]: Lurinda, welcome to the Bay Area. We’re pleased you’re here to compete. I hope you and your teammates are getting acclimated and enjoying your visit.

Lurinda [L]: Thank you. So far we’re having a blast. It’s been awesome to have so much time to just sit back and luxuriate while we wait for the cars in front of us to start moving again. It’s great to experience some ‘me time’. You miss that in parts of the country where you have to continuously move when you're in a car.

THB: Excellent. So, tell me, what do you and your teammates enjoy most about the National Senior Games?

L: Thanks for throwing me a fat one to hit. Haha. Get it?

THB: Umm. Sure. That’s a softball joke. Got it.

L: Right. Well, without a question the best part about the National Senior Games is that we don’t allow the Chinese to compete. That’s not a racist comment about the Chinese people. We love the Chinese. It’s just been our life experience that by the time you hit 50 and over you are dealing with certain physical realities.

THB: Such as?

L: Well, for instance, take puberty. We’re all well past puberty. In fact, as opposed to just firing up some of the parts, we find that our parts of starting to go off-kilter. So, while we’re all applying skin cream to reduce the effects of wrinkles and avoid skin cancer, the Chinese women are applying Clearasil. It’s a mystery how they stay so young. And it’s just downright annoying when they perform multiple round-over back flips as they approach home base to score. The National Games provide a venue better suited to our unique physical challenges.

THB: And what would you say are some of those unique physical challenges? Can you give us an example?

L: Sure. 50 is an interesting age. It’s a time where the accumulated strain of playing a physical game like softball has taken a toll on the body and some of the players required knee braces, elbow pads and other supports to play. At the same time, however, the mind isn’t always as sharp as it once was. In particular you find yourself dealing with memory issues. So, it’s quite common for players to not be able to remember if they’ve WD40’d their knee brace. That’s a common one.

THB: Fascinating. Any other issues our reader’s could relate to?

L: Oh sure. Here’s a good one. At the end of each game it’s our custom to line up and walk by the opposing team to congratulate them. Invariably, our center fielder will be shaking hands with one of the opposing team members and shout out ‘Julie!, thanks for coming to watch us play!’.

THB: That’s sweet!

L: It would be, except for the fact that Julie is our center fielder’s daughter and she lives in Florida with her husband and three children. Alzheimer's. Oops. I hear someone yelling for me to get back on the field. Gotta Go.

THB: Oh! Well, thank you for taking your time to speak with us today. Best wishes for a great tournament. We’re so glad you could be with us!