The Long Run – May 2019
NSGA Contact Information
NSGA HQ
Mailing address: P.O. Box 5630, Clearwater, FL 33758-5630
Main Phone: (727) 475-1187
Association News
Biggest. Games. Ever.
The largest multi-sport Olympic-style event in the world for seniors just got larger.
The 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana will have the most registered athletes in the 32-year history of the event with 13,712 athletes competing in 20 medal sports in Albuquerque. This represents a 30% increase over the games in 2017, and 14% higher than the previous high of 12,000 reached in Louisville, KY in 2007. New Mexico is the state with the most athletes with 1,516 participating.
The number was revealed by NSGA CEO Marc T. Riker and Mayor Tim Keller at a recent press gathering on the Albuquerque Civic Plaza. Riker cited the city’s support and extensive promotion of the destination to athletes as a significant factor in the increase. For more details, see our press release.
Game On!
2019 Games Helpful Links
Athletes all over the country are busy with serious training and tune-up competitions in preparation to come to Albuquerque. There will be emails with updates for participants, and here again are links to assist everyone in their final preparations. Bookmark and revisit for updated information.
- Hotel/Travel – Use our online booking program to get best rates
- Games Transportation / Venue Shuttles – Learn about pick up locations, venues served and schedules
- Sports – The individual Sport pages will have any specific information related to that sport, including competition schedules.
- Special Events/Village Page – In addition to our classic Flame Arrival Ceremony and Celebration of Athletes, there will be a movie night and a concert night at Civic Plaza, plus the star-studded “Launchpad to What’s Next LIVE” show co-sponsored by NSGA and Growing Bolder. The page will also have a link to find latest information and schedules for exhibits, entertainment and activities at Villa Ernesto Ramos: The Village Health and Wellness Expo.
- Volunteer – Many athletes offer to help in their down time – use this link to sign up in advance
- Altitude Information – Tips and advice to acclimate
- Albuquerque Visitors Guide – ABQ and New Mexico at your fingertips
Games Daily News, Photo Gallery will Provide Impressions of The Games
Once again, NSGA will provide an entertaining online window for attendees, friends and family at home to get a feel for the amazing gathering in Albuquerque. The Games Daily News online will have athlete features, news and links to results and other information each day starting on June 14. You will find a link on our home page and under the News and Events section at NSGA.com.
The news gathering operation will be powered by interns from the University of New Mexico School of Journalism, with Managing Editor Steve Carr loaned to us by the UNM Communications Department. Our thanks to UNM for helping to build Team Lobo.
Celebrate Your #RealSeniorMoments in Social Media!
Reuniting with friends. Sharing photos of the action. Celebrating a medal or ribbon. Family and friends together in ABQ. Meeting a celebrity or favorite athlete. Sharing special events. All of these situations are begging for you to add #RealSeniorMoments to your posts on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Show the world what active aging can be like by sharing your favorite memories from the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Celebrate fitness, fun and fellowship on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by adding #RealSeniorMomentsto your memories from now through The Games!
May Athlete of the Month
Pickleball Therapy
Athletes go through struggles on and off the field, but few have faced adversity at a level similar to what Kory Kelly has been through. After serving in Afghanistan as a member of the Air Force and on special assignment to other government organizations, Kelly was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to an extreme level where he would stay at home except when he had to go to work.
“I went to a therapist for five years,” he recalls. “Three years in, he told me that I should tell others my story and challenged me to do so.”
Pickleball helped Kory break out and conquer the illness. He was introduced to the sport with a funny name after his mother invited him to play with a few of her church friends one day. He fell in love with it. A week later, he moved to Lavon,Texas and shortly thereafter went to the local YMCA with his wife and entered a tournament to play as a means of entertainment. Since that initial competition, Kory has steadily improved his game by participating in 40 tournaments and now has a 5.0 player rating.
However, Kory found more than a recreational sport as he has gained the ability to share his story with others who are suffering from the disorder. He even has a phrase to describe it.
“I coined the phrase ‘pickleball therapy’,” he says. “Shortly after I began playing, I started saying that pickleball was free therapy for me, and I started opening up about my PTSD. I realized the game made my mood better, and the people I played with became my family. I’m doing something healthy for my mind and body. It’s free pickleball therapy every time that I play.”
The free therapy he receives from the sport he has come to love has given him the opportunity to share his story with other people that may be suffering similar difficulties. Kory, like others with the affliction, is susceptible to loud noises and competes with earplugs to avoid distractions.
After his many challenges, including medical issues with his kidneys last year, Kory is excited to travel to Albuquerque to participate in his first National Senior Games thanks to assistance from the “Hand Up From Humana” program that was offered this year.
His playing attire is a conversation starter. People will have no trouble finding Kelly during a tournament as he sports the colors of the United States- red, white and blue- to show his affirmation for the country he served honorably.
Thank you for your service, Kory, and welcome to your family in the Senior Games Movement.
Feature by Vincent Pensabene
We want to hear more great stories! To submit yours, or to nominate a fellow athlete who inspires you, Please Click Here.
Senior Health and Wellness
Prepare to Compete and Enjoy Your 2019 Games Experience
It’s almost time to compete! Here’s some training resources and activities to enhance your performance and knowledge about your health and wellness.
Update to Online Resources from the American Council on Exercise (ACE): Please check out new links and content that can now be accessed at ACE Training Tips, without having a special login and password. Curated, expert fitness information from ACE is organized in four concise links:Exercise Library, Expert Articles on Healthy Aging, ACE Healthy Living Blog, and Tools and Calculators. In the ACE Healthy Living Blog you will find several articles that can enhance your training program prior to The Games. Check out “Meditation Made Easy” to sharpen your mental focus, and “Run Faster with Just 3 Workouts per Week” will help fine-tune your training. Non-runners can apply the concepts shared within the article to any sport. In addition, you can learn how to stay injury free by reading the article, “9 Signs of Overtraining.”
Good Things in The Village: The Villa Ernesto Ramos: TheVillage Health and Wellness Expo will be the hub of activity during The Games. Here you will find daily opportunities to participate in interactive demonstrations, and fitness presentations. Morning wake up activities, dancing, wall climbing, tai chi, music, and games like dominoes and Connect 4 represent a few of the many stimulating wellness activities
Senior Athlete Fitness Exam (SAFE): The SAFE fitness assessment has been located in The Village since 2011 and is specifically designed for Senior Games athletes to better understand their fitness strengths and deficits in order to maximize performance and prevent injuries. With support from physical therapists from the New Mexico Physical Therapy Association and the University of New Mexico, there will be greater capacity to assess more athletes with shorter wait times to complete strength, flexibility, balance and cardiovascular health assessments. There will also be an education station where athletes can get more detailed feedback on training techniques and health, based on their SAFE results.
High Altitude Tips: Remember to increase your knowledge on altitude preparation by accessing the Altitude and You Albuquerque flyer.
Good Luck, Athletes
Five Star Senior Living Announces Sponsorship of The Games
NSGA is pleased to have Five Star Adult Living, one of the nation’s leading providers of services to older adults, join our ranks as a Premier Sponsor for the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana.
Five Star Senior Living provides services to over 25,000 older adults through its over 280 senior living communities and Ageility Physical Therapy gyms across the country. Official press release is linked below, and please make time to visit their booth in Villa Ernesto Ramos:The Village Health and Wellness Expo within the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Release: Five Star Senior Living Partners with NSGA
NSGA Online Merchandise Store
- Published in Newsletter
May 2019 Athlete of the Month
Kory Kelly, 51, Ogden, Utah
Pickleball Therapy
Athletes go through struggles on and off the field, but few have faced adversity at a level similar to what Kory Kelly has been through. After serving in Afghanistan as a member of the Air Force and on special assignment to other government organizations, Kelly was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to an extreme level where he would stay at home except when he had to go to work.
“I went to a therapist for five years,” he recalls. “Three years in, he told me that I should tell others my story and challenged me to do so.”
Pickleball helped Kory break out and conquer the illness. He was introduced to the sport with a funny name after his mother invited him to play with a few of her church friends one day. He fell in love with it. A week later, he moved to Lavon,Texas and shortly thereafter went to the local YMCA with his wife and entered a tournament to play as a means of entertainment. Since that initial competition, Kory has steadily improved his game by participating in 40 tournaments and now has a 5.0 player rating.
However, Kory found more than a recreational sport as he has gained the ability to share his story with others who are suffering from the disorder. He even has a phrase to describe it.
“I coined the phrase ‘pickleball therapy’,” he says. “Shortly after I began playing, I started saying that pickleball was free therapy for me, and I started opening up about my PTSD. I realized the game made my mood better, and the people I played with became my family. I’m doing something healthy for my mind and body. It’s free pickleball therapy every time that I play.”
The free therapy he receives from the sport he has come to love has given him the opportunity to share his story with other people that may be suffering similar difficulties. Kory, like others with the affliction, is susceptible to loud noises and competes with earplugs to avoid distractions.
After his many challenges, including medical issues with his kidneys last year, Kory is excited to travel to Albuquerque to participate in his first National Senior Games thanks to assistance from the “Hand Up From Humana” program that was offered this year.
His playing attire is a conversation starter. People will have no trouble finding Kelly during a tournament as he sports the colors of the United States- red, white and blue- to show his affirmation for the country he served honorably.
Thank you for your service, Kory, and welcome to your family in the Senior Games Movement.
Article by Vincent Pensabene
- Published in Athlete of the Month
Moon Walker Meets Acoma Race Walker
Last week I fly-walked out to Albuquerque to participate in a press conference hosted by Mayor Tim Keller to announce that the 2019 National Senior Games had smashed the previous all-time record for athletes. 13,712 is a crazy number, a full 30% above 2017 and 14% over our previous high. For once, everyone around me was also walking on the Moon!
Some truly memorable things happened while I was there that are well worth sharing with you. First, one of the things I so much respect about the New Mexico Senior Olympics is that since their beginning nearly 40 years ago (been going longer than Nationals) they have always held Senior Indian Games for all of the pueblos and reservations. There was a special torch rally ceremony closing the games at the Indian School in Santa Fe the day after I arrived. I’ve been involved with staging two torch relays in my time – they are the most brutal yet exciting event beasties to tame. The first was a 26-city visit for the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act iin 2000 called the Spirit of ADA Torch Relay. The second was an eight-city Texas tour on behalf of the 2011 National Senior Games in Houston, which helped put me on the radar to get my current media director gig with NSGA. Since joining the team, I have found a way to see torch activity in each succeeding games in Cleveland, Minn/St Paul and Birmingham, and I thought my streak would end until this unscheduled trip came up. I would have jumped on the RailRunner train to Santa Fe from ABQ if I had to, but three of our team wanted to go and we rode up together.
The torch reception ceremony was stirring to watch as the tribes marched in, most in their games shirts and proudly wearing the medals they had won that day. But I was thrilled to find that the Acoma tribe was in attendance and a race walker named Ralph Paytiamo was there. Last month I had to honor to interview Ralph and produce a Personal Best feature about him that you can read here: “When I Walk, I think about my tribe, I think about the youth.” Well worth the read. 
It was a treat to meet him personally and to chat with several of the Acoma athletes and family members and take a photo with them. But that wasn’t the only special thing that day – my sister Daran lives in Santa Fe and came out to see me. She is not a senior athlete but she did introduce me to her good friend and senior runner Carolyn Robinson in 2011. We’ve kept in touch and I had lunch with her and Daran on a trip to NM last year. At the time, sis told me Carolyn was battling with anxiety and depression, so bad that she was barely able to get Carolyn to come out to eat. The meal was on me, even!
I was so very proud to hear that Daran helped her friend out of a deep funk last year and urged her to go to New Mexico Senior Olympics and qualify for National Senior Games hosted in her own state. Carolyn was even invited to be one of the torch bearers and to speak to the gathering. Awesome. We closed the visit by meeting at a neighborhood café with my crew for some friendly chat.
The next unforgettable thing was the annual Gathering of Nations, the largest native powpow in North America, which took place that weekend. I had heard about it while attending the Balloon Fiesta thirty years ago and figured I’d never work it out to witness the spectacle. I must have flown on Serendipity Airlines for it to coincide with my trip.
I have always felt a spiritual wave every time I visit New Mexico, partly due to coming to visit my father in his last years living with Sis. He found peace there. Witnessing the scores of tribes marching in unity reignited the feeling from my previous day’s experience.
Our staff still had time to take the Sandia Tramway to catch the closing day from the eagle’s view. What a day! I don’t care if the damned DNA test says I have no Native American blood, I still feel a bond with their culture. Their expressions in poems, prayers and songs touch my soul.
Finally, my last stirring experience came the next morning when I got up early and practiced my power walk at the Civic Plaza next to my hotel. I stepped to the center of the plaza, where the mayor would make his announcement two hours later, and evoked the Great Spirt to bless the event and to bring healing to my friend Eric Todd who I have dedicated my big race in June to in a previous blog entry. Eric has an incredible family and circle of prayer warriors, and I ask if you are the praying type to add him to your list. He’s a fighter with a gentle soul, and he’s on my mind every day, especially when I walk.
Two laps around the plaza and City Hall came out to exactly one mile. (My 1500-meter race is a tick less, but I practice the extra one-tenth at pace so I can power through the finish line. I expected the altitude to affect my time, but was surprised that I logged my second-best time (13:03) – the best happened in my first power walk in Washington state that got me a gold trinket last summer. Eric, I guess you aren’t that heavy on my back!
It was an unforgettable and emotional trip. In the midst of the long hours, stress and deadlines of my work to prepare a media center for the largest Olympic style event for seniors in the world, it was a welcome lift for my spirit. The Land of Enchantment always does that for me, but this was even more special.
I’m so busy I passed myself in the hall today, but I pledge to have one more entry before The Games. There are other people related to my Games experience that I will have on my mind in June for motivation in addition to making my “Walk of Life” for Team Eric.
Long blog. I guess I still run my mouth better than I power my walk!
- Published in Moon Walking