“Like Father, Like Daughter” – June 2016 Athlete of the Month
Jane Katz, 73 New York City, New York
Dr. Jane Katz has made a lot of waves in her field. She earned her doctorate degree in gerontology and geriatrics from Columbia University and is nationally recognized as an educator, aquatics innovator and author of 14 books on swimming, fitness, and water exercise. She has taught water fitness to thousands at the City University of New York since 1964, and at John Jay College since 1989, where her students include New York City policemen and firefighters.
Jane’s athletic achievements began with the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo as a member of the synchronized swimming performance team. Her career as a masters competitive, long-distance, synchronized and fin swimmer has earned All-American and World Masters championships. Her name appears in eight places in National Senior Games Top Ten Performance Photo: Zachary A.M. Kelly
swim records, and she garnered five gold and one silver medal at the 2015 National Senior Games Presented by Humana.
In 2014, Jane received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. And this fall, she will be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
As impressive as her resume is, the reason why she has devoted her career to aquatics is equally noteworthy. “When my dad was a teenager he nearly drowned. He was saved by a stranger who happened to be an elite Canadian swimmer,” Jane explains. “He taught my dad how to swim, and he thought it was a gift of life.”
Leon Katz was an engineer by profession, but he also became an elite swimmer through high school and college and made swimming a lifetime avocation. He brought his entire family into the pool and then taught and coached swimming for the next 50 years on New York’s Lower East Side, first at the YMCA and then with a neighborhood association.
“Coach Katz taught everybody to swim. Seven decades later, people still tell me their parents were taught by my dad,” she says. “He passed his love for swimming on to our whole family, and to me in particular. He’s the reason why I do this.”
At one point, a 1979 car accident almost ended her competitive career, and there have been other challenges, but she says her father’s inspiration always pulled her through. “We all have our vicissitudes of life,” she says. “I’ve had four major losses in the past 15 years, including his passing last year. That accident left me feeling vulnerable, and I thought I would never swim again. But every time my determination got me back in the pool.”
Jane considers her entire aquatics career to be an act of paying forward by teaching the benefits of aquatics. Last year, she introduced a new program called WETS for Vets (Water Exercise Techniques for Veterans) that was also inspired by her dad’s history as a veteran. “It offers holistic water exercise techniques for rehabilitating the mind, body and spirit of military veterans re-entering civilian life,” she explains. “It’s fantastic therapy to get these men and women in the pool. Water is always great for healing.”
The National Senior Games holds a special place in Jane’s heart. “Masters swim meets are great, but there’s more Type A people who are focused on the win. There’s much more camaraderie in the Senior Games, and that makes it more fun. It’s the best of both worlds, and it doesn’t get better than that.”
- Published in Athlete of the Month
Franklin, Tennessee
Personal Best Tour – June 27, 2016, Franklin, Tennessee
In Photo: NSGA CEO Marc T. Riker (right) with Personal Best athlete Eleanor Pendergraft (holding certificate) along with (l to r) Tennessee Senior Olympics Board Chair Lisa Wright, Executive Director Christine Dewbre and triathlete Barbara Bogart, who first encouraged her to get into the games.
“Y’all are the huggingest bunch I’ve ever seen!”
So opened the Tennessee Senior Olympics (TSO) athlete dinner and party as Williamson County Parks and Recreation Director Gordon Hampton welcomed over 400 athletes and supporters to Liberty Hall at The Factory in Franklin. At the dinner-and at every sport venue we visited-the athletes, family members and volunteers created an atmosphere as much like a family reunion as a serious sporting event to qualify for the 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana in Birmingham next June.
The program itself demonstrated the support enjoyed by TSO with remarks by Hampton, Franklin Mayor Ken Moore and TSO Board Chair Lisa Wright, who is also with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Tennessee, a longtime sponsor. TSO, now in its 36th year, also receives public support that allows for a network of district games to be held annually around the state as a lead-in to the State Finals qualifying events we visited.
Our featured Personal Best athlete Eleanor Pendergraft is well known to her Tennessee peers, yet there was no table talk and all ears focused to the stage while Riker recounted her remarkable story of escaping from the grips of multiple sclerosis and to keep the disease at bay through her athletic participation. “People might say this is a miracle, but Eleanor’s accomplishments came from making the decision to work her way past her challenges,” Riker said. “At every step, with every setback, she continued to make the decision to pursue her goals. This shows that we all can make a decision to improve our level of fitness and enjoy a higher quality of life.”
In her comments, Pendergraft shared that an automobile accident a few months ago (which she clearly established was not her fault) resulted in extensive damage to her artificial knee. Because the surgery and rehab would have prevented her from qualifying in the state finals, the feisty runner decided to put off the procedure until July 6th so she could qualify in her running events with the assistance of her walker. “My doctor expects me to be as good as I was before, so I don’t care how fast I do my events, because this gets me to my goal of competing in the National Senior Games next year.”
Because there were not many women entered into track events in the 80-84 division at these finals, all she had to do was gut it out and finish her events to qualify. We’re happy to report that Pendergraft did indeed finish eight events, including the 5K road race which we witnessed early the next morning. In typical style, she “sprinted” with her walker to the finish line and a hero’s welcome by other runners. To emphasize the family feel of the Tennessee games, we met many married couples and siblings participating in events as we observed activity in eight sports. In bowling, we found 53-year-old Eric Barnes, whose mixed doubles partner is his 82-year old mother Rowena Cupp, who has been to several national games. Barnes, who has special needs, counted the days until he was 50 so he could be in Senior Games. Here are two other family examples:
How could we pass up “Team Davidson” with smiles like this? Swimming sisters Susan Rollins (A/K/A “The Machine”), Marion Bailey, and newbie Beth Share pumped themselves up using their maiden name for the team.
Marc Riker met sisters Barbara Cornwall and Betty Case and discovered these harmless-looking ladies are fierce competitors in badminton and pickleball. They proudly recounted coming home from the 2009 National Senior Games in Palo Alto with a gold medal in women’s 75-79 doubles.
Congratulations, Tennessee. You really know how to have great games and to make visitors feel welcome!
- Published in Personal Best Tour Blogs
Tennessee Senior Athlete Receives National Award
FRANKLIN, Tennessee, June 27, 2016 – The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) visited the 36th Tennessee Senior Olympics State Finals to present a Personal Best Award to 80-year-old Eleanor Pendergraft of Johnson City at the annual athlete dinner attended by more than 400.
Since 2013, NSGA’s Personal Best program has profiled athletes with wide-ranging stories that will inspire and motivate people to pursue healthy, active lifestyles. Pendergraft, the first Tennessee athlete to be recognized, decided to get into a fitness routine 20 years after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She gradually worked her way from needing a walker to being able to run and compete in the Tennessee Senior Olympics and in the National Senior Games, where she has earned a bronze medal.
“People might say this is a miracle, but Eleanor’s accomplishments came from making the decision to work her way past her affliction,” NSGA CEO Marc T. Riker said. “At every step, every setback, she continued to make the decision to pursue her goals and keep MS at bay. This shows that we all can make a decision to improve our level of fitness and enjoy a higher quality of life.”
An in-depth interview feature about Eleanor and other athletes can be found on the Personal Best page at NSGA.com. “This recognition program is intended to send a message out to aging adults to ‘get in the game’ and get the most out of their lives,” said Riker. “All senior athletes demonstrate that everyone can be their own personal best.”
More than 1,900 participated in the 2016 Tennessee Senior Olympics State Finals, which were held at venues in Franklin, Brentwood and other facilities around Williamson County. Top finishers in five-year age divisions in each event can advance to compete in the 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana, to be held in Birmingham, Alabama next June 2-15. Pendergraft qualified for several track and field events and for the 5K road race at the Tennessee games.
“I am humbled to receive this recognition,” Pendergraft said. “If I can I can influence one person to get out and do something it will all be worth it.”
NSGA is a nonprofit member of the United States Olympic Committee that promotes health and wellness for adults 50 and over through education, fitness and sport. NSGA governs the biennial National Senior Games and sanctions 52 member organizations across the country and Canada that host Senior Games or Senior Olympics to provide seniors with quality sports activity.
An in-depth interview with Pendergraft, and of previous Personal Best athlete honorees, can be found on the Personal Best page at www.NSGA.com.
####
PHOTO: NSGA CEO Marc T. Riker (right) honored Personal Best athlete Eleanor Pendergraft (holding certificate) along with (l to r) Tennessee Senior Olympics Board Chair Lisa Wright, Executive Director Christine Dewbre and triathlete Barbara Bogart, who first encouraged her to get into the games.
- Published in News and Events, Press Releases
The Long Run – June 2016
Association NewsRocky Mountain Personal Best
 The 2016 Personal Best initiative took to the road with a presentation to 60-year-old Colorado athlete Tom McAdam at the kickoff event for the Rocky Mountain Senior Games (RMSG) held in Greeley on June 10.
As you will read in Tom McAdam’s Personal Best profile linked here, Tom earned gold and silverswimming medals at the 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana, but winning events is not the focus of his Personal Best story. After introductions by RMSG President (and NSGA Board Vice Chair) Kate Amack, CEO Marc T. Riker told assembled athletes and spectators how Tom McAdam got involved in Senior Games as a way to honor his 95-year-old father Bob McAdam, a retired fitness educator and National Masters Racquetball Association International Hall of Fame honoree. “Tom encouraged other family members to join in, and his brother Brian in Minnesota did,” Riker explained. “Brian was able to reverse weight gain and the side effects from neck and back operations as a result of his participation. Then Brian’s children were inspired and are now competitive swimmers. You never know how your actions will positively impact others.”
Following the presentation and athletes’ oath to open the 39th annual Rocky Mountain Senior Games, McAdam lit the cauldron and led athletes on the torch march. Visit our “National Senior Games” Facebook page to see photos of the event and of other athletes we met during sports action there. Don’t forget to Like what you see!
|
Game On!2017 Venue Snapshot: BJCC Will Be Hub of The Games
 The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center will be a destination for every athlete coming to compete next June. This will be the epicenter of activity with Athlete Check-In and the Village Expo area with displays and activities, including some special 30th Anniversary displays.
The National Senior Games will occupy all 220,000 square feet of exhibit hall space. At this time, sports that will be at the BJCC include Badminton, Basketball, Pickleball, Shuffleboard, Table Tennis and Judo (demonstration sport). Athletes will enjoy finding so many activities so close together. The downtown center, only minutes from the airport, is connected to the Sheraton Birmingham headquarters hotel and the Legacy Arena, which adjoins the exhibition hall building, will be the location for our Celebration of Athletes on Friday, June 9. Time to get qualified, because you won’t want to miss these 30th anniversary Games!
Birmingham Named Among “Great Destinations”
 The Travel Channel has chosen its ” Next 11 Great Destinations,” and Birmingham is the only U.S. city on the list. The respected cable channel points to the city’s craft breweries and culinary distinctions, calling out places such as Good People Brewing and James Beard Foundation favorite Highlands Bar and Grill.
Also mentioned is the opening of the newly restored Lyric Theatre, just across the street from the historic and palatial Alabama Theatre. The piece also featured Rickwood Field, which is America’s oldest ballpark, and one of the newest, Regions Field, opened in 2013. Among the other destinations recommended for travel in 2016 were Bolivia, Poland, The Philippines, Estonia, Cuba and Coastal Cambodia.
Qualifying Calendar: Oklahoma Games Return
The big news for our association this month is that the Oklahoma Senior Games are active again after a hiatus. Events in Oklahoma City and Tulsa are scheduled for September and October. Welcome back!
The qualifying calendar stays busy in July with games kicking off in Illinois, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Washington, and the Veterans’ Golden Age Games. Continuing events are in Maine, Maryland, Vermont and Canada. August will see new action in Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Many state games’ schedules extend over two or more weeks, so check the specifics for the sport(s) you are interested in. Follow the link below to find dates and contact information.
|
HUMANA Heroes: Athlete of the MonthLike Father, Like Daughter
Dr. Jane Katz has made a lot of waves in her field. She earned her doctorate degree in gerontology and geriatrics from Columbia University and is nationally recognized as an educator, aquatics innovator and author of 14 books on swimming, fitness, and water exercise. She has taught water fitness to thousands at the City University of New York since 1964, and at John Jay College since 1989, where her students include New York City policemen and firefighters.
Jane’s athletic achievements began with the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo as a member of the synchronized swimming performance team. Her career as a masters competitive, long-distance, synchronized and fin swimmer has earned All-American and World Masters championships. Her name appears in eight places in National Senior Games Top Ten Performance swim records, and she garnered five gold and one silver medal at the 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
In 2014, Jane received a Lifetime Achievement Award from thePresident’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. And this fall, she will be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
As impressive as her resume is, the reason why she has devoted her career to aquatics is equally noteworthy. “When my dad was a teenager he nearly drowned. He was saved by a stranger who happened to be an elite Canadian swimmer,” Jane explains. “He taught my dad how to swim, and he thought it was a gift of life.”
Leon Katz was an engineer by profession, but he also became an elite swimmer through high school and college and made swimming a lifetime avocation. He brought his entire family into the pool and then taught and coached swimming for the next 50 years on New York’s Lower East Side, first at the YMCA and then with a neighborhood association.
“Coach Katz taught everybody to swim. Seven decades later, people still tell me their parents were taught by my dad,” she says. “He passed his love for swimming on to our whole family, and to me in particular. He’s the reason why I do this.”
At one point, a 1979 car accident almost ended her competitive career, and there have been other challenges, but she says her father’s inspiration always pulled her through. “We all have our vicissitudes of life,” she says. “I’ve had four major losses in the past 15 years, including his passing last year. That accident left me feeling vulnerable, and I thought I would never swim again. But every time my determination got me back in the pool.”
Jane considers her entire aquatics career to be an act of paying forward by teaching the benefits of aquatics. Last year, she introduced a new program called WETS for Vets (Water Exercise Techniques for Veterans) that was also inspired by her dad’s history as a veteran. “It offers holistic water exercise techniques for rehabilitating the mind, body and spirit of military veterans re-entering civilian life,” she explains. “It’s fantastic therapy to get these men and women in the pool. Water is always great for healing.”
The National Senior Games holds a special place in Jane’s heart. “Masters swim meets are great, but there’s more Type A people who are focused on the win. There’s much more camaraderie in the Senior Games, and that makes it more fun. It’s the best of both worlds, and it doesn’t get better than that.”
|
Senior Health and WellnessPersonal Best Updates: Vivian’s Memorial Swim; Honors for Jane, Jerry and Ruby
Vivian Stancil never ceases to amaze and inspire, and no
 t just because she is blind. Since we published her 2014 Personal Best athlete profile, Vivian has grown her own foundation to provide dozens of scholarships to teach swimming to disadvantaged youth and for seniors in her community. And she has been appointed chair of the Commission on People with Disabilities for the City of Riverside.Last week, Vivian fulfilled an emotional promise to honor Cynthia Rosedale, who was coordinator of the Pasadena and California Senior Games until she lost her battle with cancer two months ago. “Cynthia was around me all the way back to my first swims in Long Beach. I had to do something in her memory,” Vivian told us. The 69-year-old decided to swim the 400 freestyle in the California Senior Games for the first time to honor her friend and mentor. Not only did she finish the race, she also qualified for the 500 free and two other events for the 2017 National Senior Games. There have been many tributes given for Rosedale, but none more emotional and heartfelt than Vivian’s.
In more Personal Best news, three other “Class of 2014” athletes have earned recognition:
|
 Help Us Celebrate Our 30th Anniversary!
NSGA wants to share your fondest memories and fitness “secrets.” Selected entries will be included on a 30th Anniversary web page and newsletter in 2017, plus in special displays and activities in Birmingham. Follow the links to convenient online forms below.
What’s Your Favorite Memory of The Games?
It can be any special moment from funny to inspirational. The easy to complete form offers several ideas for the type of brief messages we would love to share with others. You can even attach a photo to go with your story.
“30 Health and Fitness Secrets of Senior Athletes”
The top 30 athlete “secrets” will be shared with national media in 2017. Tell us yours! It can be an inspiration, a favorite or your own original expression, or advice you have gathered from others. It can be about exercise, nutrition, keeping mentally active, or staying motivated.
|
NSGA Online Merchandise StoreSummer Styling with 2017 Logo Gear
We are now in the peak of the qualifying year, so it’s time to let everyone know that your goal is to be in Birmingham next year with gear featuring the 2017 logo!
Wearables with the 2017 logo and other images are available on our online store. When you click the link below, simply click on either NSGA or 2017 images to the various apparel types. Then click “Personalize” to position and add the artwork you want onto your selection. Get started today!
The Official NSGA Store at NSGA.com
|
- Published in Newsletter
Colorado Senior Athlete Tom McAdam Receives National Award
GREELEY, Colorado, June 10, 2016 – The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) visited the Celebration of Athletes kick-off event for the 2016 Rocky Mountain Senior Games and recognized 60-year-old athlete Tom McAdam of Greenwood Village with a Personal Best Award. NSGA has been presenting the awards to a handful senior athletes each year who epitomize the positive qualities of fitness, perseverance and inspiration that can motivate others to pursue their own personal best lifestyle.
McAdam earned gold and silver swimming medals last year at the 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana, but NSGA CEO Marc T. Riker explained that is not the focus of his Personal Best story. Riker told assembled athletes that McAdam got invol ved in Senior Games as a way to honor his 95-year-old father Bob McAdam, a retired fitness educator and National Masters Racquetball Association International Hall of Fame honoree.
“Tom then encouraged other family members to join in, and his brother in Minnesota did,” Riker explained. “Brian McAdam was able to reverse weight gain and the side effects from neck and back operations as a result of his swimming participation. Then Brian’s children were inspired and are also competitive swimmers now. You never know how your actions will positively impact others.”
An in-depth interview feature of McAdam, and of other Personal Best athlete honorees, can be found on the Personal Best page at www.NSGA.com. “This tour and recognition program is intended to send a message out to aging adults to ‘get in the game’ and enjoy an active, healthy lifestyle and the rewards it brings,” said Riker. “All senior athletes demonstrate that everyone can be their own personal best.”
“People sometimes tell me I look too young to be in Senior Games,” McAdam told the audience at the torch lighting event held outside of the Greeley Senior Center. “My answer to them is that I look younger because I am in Senior Games.”
The National Senior Games is the world’s largest multisport championship event for seniors and is held every two years, with athletes qualifying at member state games like the Rocky Mountain Senior Games, which are now in their 39th year. The 2017
National Senior Games presented by Humana will be held in Birmingham, Alabama from June 2-15. McAdam qualified for several swimming events at the Colorado games.
####
ABOUT NSGA:
The National Senior Games Association (NSGA) is a nonprofit member of the United States Olympic Committee that promotes healt h and wellness for adults 50 and over through education, fitness and sport. NSGA governs the biennial National Senior Games an d sanctions 52 member organizations across the country and Canada that host Senior Games or Senior Olympics to provide seniors with quality sports activity. The 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana will be June 2-15, 2017 in Birmingham, Alabama. Visit www.NSGA.com for more information.
PHOTO:
Senior athlete Tom McAdam (center) is congratulated for a national Personal Best Award by NSGA CEO Marc T. Riker (right) and Rocky Mountain Senior Games President (and current NSGA Board Vice Chair) Kate Amack.
- Published in News and Events, Press Releases
Greeley, Colorado
The 2016 Personal Best health and wellness initiative took to the road with a presentation to 60-year-old Colorado athlete Tom McAdam at the Celebration of Athletes kickoff event for the 39th annual Rocky Mountain Senior Games held in Greeley, Colorado.
After introductions by RMSG President and NSGA Board Vice Chair Kate Amack (shown in award photo), CEO Marc T. Riker told assembled athletes and spectators Tom McAdam’s story (posted on Personal Best Page) about how he got involved in Senior Games as a way to honor his 95-year-old father Bob McAdam, a retired fitness educator and racquetball hall of famer. “Tom encouraged other family members to join in, and his brother in Minnesota did,” Riker explained. “As a result, Brian McAdam was able to reverse weight gain and the side effects from neck and back operations. Then Brian’s children were inspired and are now competitive swimmers. It shows you never know how your actions will positively impact others.”
Tom agreed, and talked about both the social and fitness benefits of his involvement. Being 60 years old, he said he frequently gets surprised reactions from people when he mentions his activity. “People tell me I don’t look like I’m old enough to be in Senior Games. I tell them I look like this because I am in Senior Games.”
Following the presentation and athletes’ oath to open the 39th annual Rocky Mountain Senior Games, McAdam lit the cauldron and led athletes on a torch march with athletes bearing signs of the sports being played.
Over two days Riker and NSGA PR staffer Del Moon visited seven sport venues and met some great athletes…as we always do! Here are some snapshots from the visit:
Tom introduced us to swimmer Kent Carney, who was captain of his USC swim team in 1967 and is mentioned in a humorous vignette shared by Tom in the Personal Best story.
Joseph Ernie Jemello enjoyed his first experience competing at the Rocky Mountain Senior Games, and brought his own cheering section. He is flanked by his sister Tina (left), Riker and friend Kelley Norris. Ernie, who is 4’9″, talked his way into the Marine Corps on a height waiver and may be the shortest person to serve. More family and friends are talking about going to Birmingham for Team Jemello to make a big impact.
Marc Riker admires the Nepal hat of 81-year-old Eddie Schneider of Littleton, Co. Schneider climbed to the final base camp of Mt. Everest in 2010 at 75, and also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro when he was 65. No wonder he wasn’t too winded running at a mile high altitude!
You never know where that darn racquetball will go, as these gents find during doubles matches held at the Greeley Recreation Center.
Thanks for a great visit Colorado athletes, staff and volunteers!
- Published in Personal Best Tour Blogs