Athletes were doing a double take at the track and swimming competitions this week. Who is that with all those cameras? Isn’t that tennis legend Mary Carillo interviewing people over there?

Yes, it was Mary Carillo with a crew from HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel prowling those and other venues preparing a major feature about the National Senior Games for the long-running successful program aired for 50 million subscribers.

“They called us over a year ago saying they wanted to do this profile in Albuquerque but they decided too late to get it done right,” says NSGA Communications and Media Director Del Moon. “They researched everything about the Games and are interested in what it means to the participants and what they show to the rest of the world about keeping active and motivated.”

Numerous athletes have been interviewed that represent various sub themes that will comprise the whole story. The feature will appear on HBO and its streaming platform in the summer. Watch for it!

Our Reunion For the Ages reaches a fever pitch TONIGHT at 7 pm with the 2022 Celebration of Athletes sponsored by Ageility at Las Olas Intracoastal Park, located just one block west of where the Flame Arrival Party took place.

Highlights include the ceremonial Parade of Athletes, special presentations and the passing of the flag to Pittsburgh, which is hosting the 2023 National Senior Games presented by Humana. 

Prior to the Celebration of Athletes, EVERYONE is invited to come early at 5:45 pm to attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for the Largest Game of Freeze Dance. The attempt is sponsored by Pacira BioSciences, Inc. and iovera°, a hand-held device manufactured by Pacira that delivers extreme cold therapy to treat nerves and immediately reduce pain without the use of drugs.

Sawgrass Lanes erupted in wild cheers as Pamela Jones bowled the final frame of her 749-point series and clutched gold for the women’s 65-69 singles category. As fellow bowlers streamed over to congratulate Pam on her exceptional performance at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana she met each one with a giant hug. “If you don’t like hugs, you need to run from me,” she jokes. 

While a 749 isn’t Pam’s series record (that’s an 813), she was thrilled to come back after not performing as well as hoped during the first two days of competition. “I felt like I was going to jump through the ceiling, I was ecstatic…I never thought I would be able to do this,” says Pam on her win.

Becoming a bowler helped Pam get through a dark time in her life. When Pam was in her 30s, her mother was diagnosed with cancer, and the ensuing battle and loss impacted Pam deeply. “I didn’t even want to leave the house,” she shares.

Pam’s sister-in-law saw her struggling and asked Pam to fill in for another player on her bowling team for six weeks. The initial six weeks passed, then eight, and it was clear Pam would be a permanent member. “When I got out there to bowl, the people were so friendly and fun,” Pam says.

Developing positive relationships is a big draw of the sport for Pam, who was excited to reunite with her National Senior Games friends this year. “When I first came into practice, it was very emotional for me. I saw people I haven’t seen in three years,” says Pam “Seeing old friends was a wonderful thing, and making new friends was even better…I hope that those people will remain lifelong friends.” 

Some of those new friends were her competitors, whom she quickly formed a special bond with during the series. The group is already discussing forming a team for the 2023 National Senior Games in Pittsburgh! 

One of Pam’s first coaches molded her lasting perspective on the game. “…He’s the one who showed me the right way to throw a ball. The only thing he asked for in return was that when you have an opportunity, you give back to the sport in some way,” shares Pam. “That’s why I try to be the best person I can for everybody, if only to do what he asked, which is to pay it forward. That’s what it’s all about.” 

Pam will still have a few more days to catch up with friends new and old as she competes in women’s doubles this week.

Florida Feature by Nick Gandy, Florida Senior Games

You don’t find too many folks like Jack Cason.

First of all, he was the only athlete entered in the 2022 National Senior Games, presented by Humana, Compound Release Archery event 90-94 age group Sunday at Miramar Regional Park.

He’s also a native Floridian, born in 1932, in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he still lives.

His home growing up in St. Petersburg was across the street from the schools he attended, which at the time, were all located around St. Petersburg High School.  He simply walked across the street to school.

St. Peterburg High School, home of the Green Devils, was built in 1926 and was billed as the first million-dollar school in the U.S. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

He’s won gold medals in the last seven National Senior Games, dating back to the 2009 Games in the San Francisco area and five of those seven gold medal winning scores are among the National Senior Games Top 10.  He set the 85-89 age group record at the 2017 Games, in Birmingham.

There he was on Saturday and Sunday, in the 90 degree heat, with 149 other archers, shooting at targets lined up on a football field. It’s an activity he picked up in 1971 at the age of 39.

“It’s a fun game,” he said.  “It’s an individual sport, so you compete against yourself.”

In most tournaments, Jack is competing against himself since the competition thins out as athletes age into their 80s and 90s.

His two-day total of 1434 this year set the record in the 90-94 age group, topping the previous mark by 131 points.

In his hometown of St. Petersburg, during Jack’s younger years, it was once famous for the green benches that lined the streets of downtown. Folks around Jack’s current age would congregate on the benches and while away the hours while taking in the Florida sunshine.

The benches eventually went away and St. Petersburg now boasts a thriving downtown, full of coffee shops, craft beer breweries and art galleries.

“They got rid of those benches because the old folks spent too much time just sitting there and not spending any money in the stores,” he said. “So they all moved to Bradenton and Sarasota.”:

In his professional life, Cason worked with the St. Petersburg Fire Department for 20 years and was a Fire Lieutenant the last eight years of his career before he retired. He spent five years in the fire safety department at Yellowstone National Park, during summer months in a program for retirees.

If anyone could safely shoot an arrow to light an Olympic torch, like the one that opened the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, it would be Jack Cason. Because you just don’t find too many folks like him.

Other Florida gold medal winners at the 2022 National Senior Games Archery Compound Release event included Joe Heist, of DeLeon Springs, who shot a 1757 in the 55-59 age group. He had 67 “X shots (hitting the center ring), the third most of all archers and finished 78 points ahead of the silver medalist. Blair Peterson, of The Villages, won the 75-79 age group with a two-day total of 1696.  Among the women archers, Kathryn Rocchio, of The Villages, won the gold medal in the 65-69 age group, with a score of 1604.