The skies were threatening and afternoon showers did pass through, but that did not prevent athletes from turning the day into a party at last night’s 2022 Celebration of Athletes sponsored by Ageility at Los Olas Intracoastal Promenade Park. 

We Did It! A Record For the Ages!

First things first. Prior to the program, a throng descended on the park for a pre-show attempt to break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title for the Largest Game of Freeze Dance 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.

Turns out our athletes got this down cold. While the official number has not been released  as of this publishing, the Guinness representative onsite did certify the record. GREAT JOB, ATHLETES!

Program Earns Praise of Athletes

Responding to athlete feedback, NSGA found a new way to shorten the program and make it more of a celebration and focused on the athletes. Instead of having a celebrity emcee, each portion of the show was introduced by an athlete, state coordinator or NSGA board leader. 

The stirring Parade of Athletes certainly celebrated the participants, and a highlight of the night was a video presentation and remarks by Growing Bolder’s Marc Middleton celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX and recognized Kathrine Switzer and other pioneers in the audience.

After the torch departure and passing of the flag to Pittsburgh, host for the 2023 National Senior Games presented by Humana,  the Chase Band took over and many athletes stayed on to dance and party with their friends. Truly a Reunion For the Ages! P.S. View more photos from the event in our 2022 Photo Gallery.

Being the oldest athlete at the National Senior Games comes with an air of distinction, but for 103-year-old golfer Lindsay Tise, his first round of competition was just another day on the course doing what he loves. Find out how he

Lindsay is a self-described “plain ol’ golfer.” He says he enjoys the sport for “being out in the open and with nice people.” The centenarian is the only player in his 100+ age division, as well as in the 90-94, and 95-99

A skilled and efficient player, Lindsay doesn’t have any special pre-game rituals or equipment. When Lindsay’s son, Tim, asked which balls he wanted to play with today, he characteristically replied, “the three that are the least dirty.” 

The centenarian may shoot his age (and often beat it), but he doesn’t feel it. “I don’t feel like the oldest athlete, I feel good,” he says. Find out more in his Personal Best feature.

Lindsay played 18-holes during the Piedmont Plus Senior Games in North Carolina last week, sinking a 30-foot putt on hole 14. After his first 2022 National Senior Games round  at the Country Club of Coral Springs on May 16, he’ll play Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club and Jacaranda Golf Club. We look forward to watching this quiet inspiration live life on his own terms. 

Defending Champ Looks Forward to Using His Own Clubs

The National Senior Games are full of heartwarming stories of athletes and their families overcoming different obstacles throughout their lives to get to this stage. One example is golfer Ronnie Wald from Los Angeles, California. 

Wald traveled to the 2019 National Senior Games in Albuquerque, New Mexico on a Greyhound bus and was set to make his mark in the 85-89 age division. However, during his travels, his golf clubs went missing and he had no idea what to do as he obviously needed them to compete in his event. Catholic Charities heard about Wald’s story and graciously donated him some golf clubs so he was able to compete in the golf event and make his tee time without any issues. 

This is where the story gets even better, Wald was able to not only compete but was neck-and-neck for the gold medal in the 2019 Games to capture his first medal as an athlete since golfing at the National Senior Games back in 2013 at Cleveland. He finished with a 273 overall to win on the last hole and capture the gold medal. Wald is currently competing in 85-89 golf and is looking to repeat his gold medal performance with his own set of golf clubs this time.

Join us TODAY at 3 p.m. in Room 222 at the Broward County Convention Center for “Women Of The Games: A View of Title IX.”           

The program will feature marathon legend and Senior Games athlete Kathrine Switzer sharing her experiences advocating for new sports for women in the modern Olympic movement. The conversation will reflect key Olympic values and explore the intersection of Title IX, civil and human rights. Nine pieces of visual art from the Al Oerter Foundation/ Art Of The Olympians will also be displayed. 

Presenters include:

•       Kathrine Switzer – Author/first official woman in the Boston Marathon/activist
•       Madeline Murphy Rabb – Writer/athlete/art advocate
•       Bruce Wigo – Historian, International Swimming Hall of Fame
•       Erica I. González – Team ONIX Pickleball/Athlete
•       Andrew Walker – NSGA Health and Well-being Director, Moderator

Florida Feature by Nick Gandy, Florida Senior Games

Hubie Kerns, a swimmer newly relocated to Fort Lauderdale from Pacific Palisades, California, dove in the Plantation Central Park Pool this morning and swam 400 yards in a combined five minutes and 29 seconds to win a pair of gold medals.

Hubie Kerns (left) chats with fellow Floridian swimmer Rudy Vazmina

That’s a pretty big deal for a 72-year old athlete competing in the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Well, it is. But it isn’t for Kerns.

That’s because Hubie Kerns has forged a long career as a stuntman in television and movies, specializing in car and water stunts.

Beginning in 1969, Kerns was in high performance car chases, flipped cars, fell from great heights into the water and did stunts for more than a few recognizable names.

His list of credited stunt work on IMDb.com includes 375 movies and television shows stretching from Beneath the Planet of the Apes in 1970 to recent Fast and Furious movies.

Diving into the pool from the starting platform is like a walk in Plantation Central Park for Kerns.

All of that was in the past at the 2022 Games as Hubie roamed around the pool deck comparing times, practice schedules and swapping swimming stories with fellow athletes from Florida, Texas and California.

He was an All-American swimmer in high school, swam in the 1968 Olympic Trials and earned a swimming scholarship to the University of Denver. Like most Senior Games athletes, family and careers got in the way.

“There was no swimming from age 21 to 50,” Kerns said. “I got back in the pool because I was out of shape and needed some conditioning.”

He had just started competing in Masters swimming and was working his way up the ranks when he broke his leg doing stunt work.

“Someone screwed up and ended up hitting me,” he said. “I did a flip in the air and broke the bone so bad, it wrapped the muscle around my bone.”

A botched surgery by an emergency room doctor that didn’t line up the broken bone correctly, led to another operation to re-break the leg and correct the previous surgery.

“The doctor told me I could get back into the pool after the wound from surgery healed,” Kerns said.  “Once that healed, I got in and started swimming by kicking with one leg.”

After five months of recovery, he returned to the pool for Southern California Championships and recorded the 10th fastest breaststroke time ever in the age group.

His time of 2:36.96, Sunday in the 200 yard Individual Medley, is the fourth fastest time in the history of the National Senior Games, in the 70-74 age group, just behind his time of 2:30.58 in the 2019 Albuquerque Games. He closed out the day with the seventh fastest time in the 200 yard breaststroke, swimming the eight laps in 2:53.56.

In the 200 yard breast, he topped fellow Floridian, Rudy Vazmina, the 2015 Florida Senior Games Male Athlete of the Year, from Sarasota, by six seconds.

“I’ve always been a good breast stroker,” Kerns said. “When I first moved to Florida, I started training at the International Hall of Fame Pool and that’s helped.”

The work has paid off as a swimmer into the 70-74 age group.  To qualify for the 2022 National Senior Games, he won five gold medals at the 2021 Florida Senior Games, while setting records in the 200 yard breaststroke, 200 yard butterfly and 400 yard Individual Medley.  All five of his races were 200 yards or more.

Things have calmed down for Kerns since doing stunt work in Transformers movies, Wild Hogs and Dodgeball. 

“I’m enjoying life and swimming,” he said. “We bought a house to flip it recently and did such a good job we kept it.”

By Jennifer Coco

Basketball is the fourth largest sport at the 2022 National Senior Games presented by Humana with over 1,200 participating athletes. Each team and individual player brings their own unique story to The Games, weaving together a dynamic fabric of life experiences.

Wallace, far right, with his Wazee basketball teammates.

Wallace Lewis, founder of the Wazee Warriors basketball club, is one of these special people. Wallace formed Wazee Warriors with Elmer Gibson in 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina. His efforts have seen growth as the Wazee club brought three teams to the National Senior Games this year in 50+, 55+, and 60+ age categories.

The athlete is no stranger to basketball, having played in college at Virginia Tech and professionally in Australia and Belgium. After retiring from the sport, he became an entrepreneur and opened a carpet business. But, that wasn’t enough. 

“I started Wazee Basketball because I wanted to help others,” he says. 

Wallace’s goal for Wazee Basketball is to give any African-American man – young or old – who is in a difficult place an opportunity to get their life back on track. He offers men jobs through his business, and the basketball club provides a place to develop positive relationships in the gym. 

The name Wazee is inspired by the Swahili word for leaders and family, chosen by Wallace to spark interest in the club and embody what the sport means to him. 

Wallace’s teammates say “he is an amazing man, the best you will ever meet.” The team’s respect for each other helped them win silver in the 55+ age group this year! Keep up the great work, Wazee Basketball.