Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff photo: Aubry Buzek Fay Smith, Curry County Senior Olympics board member and competitor, has won county and state titles for table tennis.
link Staff photo: Aubry Buzek
Fay Smith, Curry County Senior Olympics board member and competitor, has won county and state titles for table tennis.
Staff writer
Pickleball competitor Melinda Coslett has a message for area seniors: You don’t have to be athletic to join the Curry County Senior Olympics.
And you don’t even have to know how to play pickleball or shoot an air gun, because there are people to teach you.
“Many of us are very competitive, we take our sports seriously,” Coslett said. “But if you tell (us) that you are new at something, anybody who is doing that sport will jump right in and help.”
Coslett and the Curry County Senior Olympics board are encouraging all seniors (over 50) to join in the competition March 21 through April 25.
The 27 sports range from golf and racquetball to line dancing, air gun shooting, even a talent show.
“Everybody likes to compete and everybody has a talent that needs to be highlighted,” said Senior Olympics Board President Shirley Wolfenbarger.
Wolfenbarger said many of the competitors may have never heard of or tried events before they joined the group, but found they developed a passion for the sports by participating.
“I had never thrown a javelin or a discus until I joined senior olympics,” Coslett said. “And now I do it every year. I love it.”
“It’s fun to watch the different people because some like me are really, really competitive,” Coslett said. “And then there are some that care less, they just want to have fun and get out and do it.”
Becky Hahn said her favorite part about the senior olympics is developing friendships and camaraderie with the other athletes.
“People are always looking for things to do when they retire,” Hahn said. “Getting involved in senior olympics and activities is one of the best things. I encourage it.”
“The physical fitness part of it, at whatever level you are at — you just do whatever you can,” Hahn said.
Hahn said many of the senior olympics athletes meet every week year round to train.
Registration is March 12-13 at Roy Walker Recreation Center. The board is also searching for volunteers to help judge and keep score.
For more information, call Reuben Gonzales at 575-769-7868.
