Association News
NSGA Engages Another New Health and Wellness Partner – Go4Life
NSGA is pleased to announce formation of another new health and wellness partnership with Go4Life, a national outreach campaign from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that promotes exercise and physical activity.
Go4Life is designed to help people fit exercise and physical activity into their daily life. Essential elements include motivating older adults to become physically active for the first time, return to exercise after a break in their routines, or build more exercise and physical activity into weekly routines. The Go4Life website offers exercise guides and videos, motivational tips, and free resources for people wanting to get started and keep going. There’s also a MyGo4Life program that offers step-by-step online tools to set personal goals and exercise plans, and to track progress to achieve those goals.
“A committee of the NSGA Board of Directors had previously recommended that our organization align with Go4Life,” Health and Wellness Manager Andrew Walker said. “We are happy to help promote these resources to our athletes and members, and look forward to future activities with Go4Life to advance our mission to get more people over 50 involved with fitness. The exposure we will gain from this new partnership will also let more people know that Senior Games are here to provide a unique way to enjoy a fit and active lifestyle.”
Game On!
Don’t Miss Out! Registration Closes April 2
The 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana will be memorable. Besides excellent sport venues and a vibrant and diverse host city in Birmingham, we will also be celebrating 30 years of National Senior Games. Old and new memories will be there for you! Here is the link to the online 2017 Registration Portal.
Remember to use all of the great resources we’ve gathered at NSGA.com! Among the things you can find under the National Games tab:
- The Travel and Lodging page offers much more than just the best hotel options. There are also discounts for flights with Delta, Southwest and United, and for rental cars with Alamo and National. Take advantage of the deals!
- Athletes are using our redesigned Team and Partner Finder page to make connections. Create an account and post under the sport where you wish to find a partner/team member.
- As reported last month, a complimentary NSGA Courtesy Transportation Shuttle Service will run to the Birmingham CrossPlex, Samford University and Birmingham Southern College from the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) in downtown Birmingham. Visit the page to find schedules and information.
2017 Venue Snapshot: Road Race Downtown
The 5K and 10K Road Race events will be held downtown, within walking distance from the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex and the Sheraton and Weston Hotels in the Uptown District. The 10K Road Race will be contested on Saturday, June 10, with a 7:30 am start. The 5K Road Race will be an evening run held on Monday, June 12, with the starting gun at 6:30 pm.
Both races will be on the same certified course which starts and finishes at Linn Park. Linn Park is a well-kept urban green space area that features festivals, races and stage performances throughout the year. You can view the course map and find other details on the Road Race sport page.
Make “Vrooom!” to See Barber Motorsports MuseumAlabama business executive George Barber raced Porsches in the 1960s, racking up 63 first place wins. His zeal for speed ignited a vision that created the Barber Motorsports Museum in 1988, and since 2003 it has been located in Leeds, just outside of Birmingham.
What you will find there is the world’s largest motorcycle collection with more than 1,400 bikes, from vintage to modern. There’s also a dazzling assembly of more than 50 (yes, you read that right) Lotus race cars. The 830-acre Barber Motorsports park also boasts a world-class 16-turn, 2.38-mile racetrack, which is the home to the Porsche Sport Driving School. The museum is eye candy for those who don’t know a single thing about motorcycles, and near heaven for racing enthusiasts!
@Seniorgames1 on Instagram Adds a New Way to Share Your Memories
We’ve been telling you in our special newsletters about the 30th Anniversary section at NSGA.com. One of the popular elements is Memories of the Games, and we will continue to load selected submissions.
We are now also sharing some of these memories on Instagram, the social media platform that allows users to share pictures and videos on it, as well as on other social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. You can download it to your smart phone on your mobile app store to set up an account.
Follow us at @SeniorGames1 for updates, special 30th anniversary content, and inspiring stories from fellow athletes. This is a great way for athletes to post their own photos and videos during The Games in Birmingham. We will also look for any new athlete memories posted on Instragram which could be added to our 30th Anniversary web collection.
HUMANA Heroes: Athlete of the MonthMotivated By a Memory
During this 30th anniversary year, NSGA has asked athletes to send in their favorite “Memories of the Games” to share on our website and on our National Senior Games Instagram and Facebook pages. One came from a brand-new competitor whose memory goes back to 1987. An excerpt:
“I never realized until recently that I had watched the first [National] Senior Games in St. Louis. That year, I was in town for a business conference and heard about The Games, so I spent an extra day there just having the greatest time watching folks enjoying themselves. Now, this year I find myself entered to play pickleball in Birmingham where I lived for 15 years! It would appear that I just took a bit longer than most seniors to finally compete!”
Why did it take 30 years to get into The Games? Whitman “Pete” Cross tells us that while he has been exercising and playing recreational sports since witnessing that inaugural senior spectacle, his busy career kept the idea of competing in sports out of his mind.
He also never considered himself a great athlete. Growing up in Philadelphia, Pete played soccer through high school and says he was lucky to continue to play at the University of Virginia. “That was 1950, when soccer was just getting started at that level. If you could just kick the ball, you made the team,” he recalls with a laugh. “I couldn’t make water boy on the bench the way they play now.”
His graduate degree workload and career demands sidelined sports for several years, but a book put Pete back on track. “Along comes [Dr. Kenneth] Cooper’s famous book “Aerobics” in 1968. That was my Bible, and I started running for fun.” At age 50, he moved to Birmingham, Alabama to run a science museum and began to work out regularly to tone his body. His growing interest in fitness and health drove him back to college and to several certifications so that he could work in this field when he retired to Charlottesville, Virginia in 1998.
Pete walked into a part-time job 18 years ago by telling the owner of a company that had just built a large wellness facility that the burgeoning senior population required trainers with wrinkles. He began work with a medically-oriented fitness program that is now licensed by other clubs around the country.
Four years ago, he picked up pickleball as it rose in popularity in his area. “I had some recreational background in tennis and squash, so it was just perfect for me. I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Pete says. His first competitive tournament experience was the Virginia Senior Games at age 84, where he qualified for the 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana. His early memory of The Games, coupled with his past connection to the city where it will be held, prompted him to go all-in.
He is determined, but somewhat daunted, by the pickleball skills he sees. “It’s incredible at the highest levels,” he observes. “You just wonder how a guy can hit the ball, spin around twice and make the next shot.”
We’re always looking for great athlete stories! Submit yours, or nominate a fellow athlete who inspires you. Click here for the submission form.
Senior Health and Wellness
Tips for Considering a Complementary Health Approach
“Complementary and alternative medicine,” “complementary medicine,” “alternative medicine,” “integrative medicine.” You may have seen these terms on the Internet and in marketing, but what do they really mean? According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), a division of the National Institutes of Health, the terms complementary and integrative generally refer to the use of non-mainstream approaches together with conventional medical approaches.
Millions of Americans use complementary health approaches. Like any decision concerning your health, decisions about whether to use complementary approaches are important. NCCIH has developed a consumer fact sheet to assist you in your decision making about complementary health products and practices.
Please take the time to review this helpful information and tips about how to navigate taking a complementary health approach.
Give to NSGA While You Shop with AmazonSmile
AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support charitable organizations every time you shop on Amazon, at no cost to you. Help NSGA advance the Senior Games Movement as your designated charity!
To participate, simply click on the link below and sign in on your Amazon account (or create one if you don’t currently have one). None of your existing preferences or settings will be disturbed by opting into AmazonSmile. Using our link will designate NSGA to receive a small portion of each sale.
Tens of millions of products on AmazonSmile are eligible for donations. You will see eligible products marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages. Thanks for helping NSGA as you do your normal shopping on Amazon!
NSGA Online Merchandise StoreSpring is Here…So Put on Your Games Gear!
You don’t have to wait until June to proclaim you are bound for Birmingham. Be the first “out of the blocks” to wear a shirt, hoodie or other wearable imprinted with the official logo of The Games!
There are already designs on our online store for the 2017 National Senior Games presented by Humana. And it’s easy to order – follow the link below, click on either the NSGA or 2017 logo to find the various apparel types, then click “Personalize” to position and add the artwork you want onto your selection. Before you know it, you’ll be wearing it!
