533 Athletes Compete in 2019 Visalia Senior Games

The 2019 Visalia Senior Games has wrapped up another year of successful competition with 533 athletes competing in various locations in Visalia over the last two weekends in March.

Seniors from over 80 California cities and from Utah, Maine, Nevada and Washington competed in 13 various sporting events, including a 5k/10k run, archery, bowling, cycling, disc golf, golf, horseshoes, pickleball, softball, swimming, table tennis, track & field, and trap shooting.

By far the most popular sports were softball with 143 athletes, followed by pickleball with 110. The next most popular sports were track & field (62 athletes), swimming (33 athletes), archery (33 athletes), cycling (31 athletes) and trap shoot (31 athletes).

"We enjoyed hosting a number of different athletes from all over California and beyond," said Jeannie Greenwood, director of Visalia Parks & Recreation Department. "With the addition of cycling to the event roster this year, we were able to welcome a number of new athletes who are new to the Visalia Senior Games events and we look forward to having them back for many more years."

In addition to the sporting events, the 2019 Visalia Senior Games hosted two social events on the Saturday of each of the competition weekends. The idea behind hosting the social events is to give the athletes and their families and friends the opportunity to take a break from competition and meet new people, both locally and from outside of the area.

The "I Love the 80's" Game Night social had the Anthony Community Center rocking to popular '80s hits and featured a variety of fun games including a darts and a Texas Hold'Em tournament where medals were awarded to the top three finishers. The "Party in the Park" social had its own rocking good time as guests enjoyed the sounds of local favorites the Dirty Poppas, dancing the night away, visiting vendor booths and savoring the taste of a luau- themed barbecue dinner. A cornhole tournament was held at this social and the top three finalists received bragging rights and medals.

Greenwood added that it takes a community to facilitate this type of event and the Visalia Senior Games committee is extremely thankful for the many sponsors who partnered with them to help make the 2019 event such a success, including:

• Presenting Sponsor – Kaweah Delta

• Gold Sponsor – American Ambulance

• Silver Sponsors – Jostens, Southern Sierra Cyclists, Exeter District Ambulance, County of Tulare

• Bronze Sponsors – Citizens Business Bank, Valley Public Radio, CourseCo, Anthem Blue Cross, BMW of Visalia, The Wonderful Company, The Good Life, Buckman Mitchell, Inc., City of Visalia, Sierra Pacific Orthopedics, Smith Promotions, United Way of Tulare County and Rotary Club of Visalia.

The planning committee is already setting its sights on the 2020 Visalia Senior Games and will be looking at tentative dates for the fifth Annual Visalia Senior Games.

"We're excited to start thinking about next year's events already," said Greenwood. "In addition to keeping the same events, we'll continue to look for new events to add so we can see the Visalia Senior Games expand sport offerings and grow even more."

Event standings and photos are at http://www.visaliaseniorgames. com. For more information, or to be added to the mailing list for the 2020 Visalia Senior Games, contact the Visalia Parks and Recreation Department at (559) 713- 4365 or http://www.recreation@visalia.city