In 1980, the Hollywood Christian School Challengers girl’s basketball team won their Florida state finals. In 2022, 42 years later, eight teammates are reuniting to bring the Challengers back to Broward County to compete again in the National Senior Games.

“We’re super excited to be doing this,” says team captain Naomi Shedd, now living in Georgia. The rest of the team is spread over three states but decided to get back together when they heard about The Games coming to their old stomping grounds. “We’ve been to two state games and had a blast. We are planning now to keep playing and go to more tournaments. I never ever thought that I would play basketball as a senior, let alone with my old team. This is crazy!”

The team was delighted with the response. The 1979 cheerleaders will reform and wear special shirts and pom poms, and other friends and classmates plan to come out when they compete in the 55+ basketball age division scheduled for May 13-16 in the Broward County Convention Center. “We are happy to have our high school coach Mike Granato coming out to see us too,” Naomi adds. “That will be very special to all of us.”

The first two games will be Friday at 9  am (Court 6) and 11 am (Court 3) in Hall A at the Convention Center.

“We have been saying all along that these Games would be even more like one big family reunion,” NSGA CEO Marc T. Riker says. “The Challengers are emblematic of our ‘Reunion For the Ages’ theme by having their homecoming reunion in Broward County. All of our athletes have been waiting to see friends again and get back to competition. This is much more than a sporting event for our participants.”

New York athlete Tien Nguyen, at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana.

By Jennifer Coco

Tien Nguyen, 61, of New York, is a Senior Games veteran representing the KAV-BufRoc50 Volleyball squad at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Originally from Vietnam, Tien acquired his love for volleyball during time spent at a refugee camp in Guam. Tien arrived in the United States in 1975, and went on to play collegiate volleyball in Minnesota.

Three years ago, Tien had open heart surgery due to a genetic heart disease. Like many senior athletes, Tien’s doctor said the only reason he made it through was his dedication to staying active and exercising daily. “Working out and playing volleyball kept me alive,” Tien shares. 

Best of luck to Tien and his teammates!

The reunion atmosphere of the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana was buzzing during the first day of Racquetball competition at the David Posnack Jewish Community Center. 

While serious competitors, racquetball athletes form a tight-knit community, particularly in the older age divisions. Athletes exchanged hugs and gathered outside the courts between matches to catch up and watch other friends play. One even arrived days before his competition to make sure he saw his crew!

Robert Cox of Arizona and Mitch Milewski of New Hampshire are two friends who teamed up to compete as doubles partners for the first time in five year at the National Senior Games in the 75-79 age bracket. Both took up racquetball while in the military, and have been playing for over 40 years. 

Racquetball athletes Mitch Milewski, left, and Robert Cox, will play as doubles partners in the 75-79 age bracket at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana.

A racquetball challenge ladder at a base where Mitch was stationed got him involved in the game. Playing the commander was the top of the ladder, sparking Mitch’s competitive spirit.

Robert’s introduction to the sport came when he bought a wooden racquet for $10 from a nurse at Fort Ord in California, who also offered him a lesson. A natural player, Robert quickly became better than his teacher.

Stay tuned for many more special moments to come from 12,000 athletes celebrating, “A reunion for the ages.” 

Kohler Walk-In Bath is here to celebrate your active days and support your recovery days. Stop by Kohler’s footprint in The Village, located in the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, to sit in a walk-in bath designed with you in mind and rooted in over 140 years of engineering expertise. Grab a reusable water bottle to help keep you hydrated during your competitions while you’re there!

Kohler Walk-In Bath joined the National Senior Games Association to introduce a new element of competition for this year’s Games, The NSG Cup Presented by KOHLER Walk-In Bath. The NSG Cup will be awarded to the state that wins the most medals per athlete. This award creates a level playing field for states large and small to compete for recognition and bragging rights at the Games.

Florida Feature by Nick Gandy, Florida Senior Games

To say Sharon Haley and Karen Wood are the mirror image of one another is an understatement.

The Race Walking twin sisters from Clearwater, Florida, have the natural mirror image of one another.  That’s a given.

At Wednesday’s 5K Race Walk at FLA Live Arena, the sisters were attired exactly the same from their choice of clothing to matching visors and sunglasses to matching fingernail polish colors, orange and green, on alternating fingers.

The lone difference was with their footwear. “Sharon just got some new shoes,” says Karen, the younger of the two, born six minutes after Sharon.

The other difference is that Karen is left-handed, while Sharon is right-handed.

The duo was pacing third and fourth overall in the field of race walkers, but in the last 50 yards, Sharon overcame  Karen Swisher from Wisconsin  to place second. She claimed to have found another gear to pass Swisher and win a silver medal in the 60-64 age group with a time of 32:34, seven seconds behind Laura Draelos of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  On Tuesday, Haley passed Draelos down the stretch to be the top overall finisher in the 1500 meter Race Walk.

“I got first yesterday and she got first today,” Sharon observes.  “So that’s ok.”

Wood won the 5K bronze medal in the 60-64 age group, with a time of 33:29.

Both were extremely proud of their times and finishes. In training for the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana, Sharon was clocking times around nine minutes for the 1500 meter and finished with a time of 8:48. Karen posted a 1500 meter time of 9:57 at the 2021 Florida Senior Games, in December, and crossed the finish line at 9:17 on Tuesday.

Sharon and Karen are true ambassadors for Florida at the 2022 National Senior Games.  They were born and raised in Dunedin and were members of the Dunedin High School Track and Field team. They worked together for Neilsen TV Ratings, based in Dunedin, until Karen was laid off last September.  “Karen started at Neilsen first and got me started working there,” Sharon recalls.

They are part of the Tampa Bay Walk Fitness training group based in Seminole. Sharon is a 12-year veteran of the race walk group and is the Florida Senior Games 5K record holder in the 55-59 age group, setting the record in 2020. Karen began Race Walking four years ago.

“We want to do this until we’re 80,” Karen adds.

Before and after the race, Sharon and Karen greeted and congratulated the fellow Race Walkers. Sharon rattled off a list of names and their states of who they had seen. During the medal presentations, they high fived and hugged athletes leaving the podium area.

Given their outgoing personalities and enthusiasm for Senior Games competition, they will easily race walk through their 60s, into their 70s and achieve their goal of continuing into their 80s.