The Senior Games, a movement to involve older adults in sports

16 sports. Four days of activity. 1,000 participants; the vast majority, over 40 years old. They are the Senior Games, which will arrive in León, Guanajuato, starting on September 15. An open space for both beginners and experienced athletes whose objective is to promote the practice of sport and advocate for its free access and healthy coexistence. Bring the experience of a multi-sport event, the emotion of standing on a podium, to those who believed that this possibility had already passed them by in their lives. An Olympic Games on a scale in which age is not a limitation.

“The Senior Games are a national sports competition for older adults who want to experience the thrill of competing and feel alive”, explains in an interview with AS Vanessa Zambotti, former Mexican Olympic judoka, Pan American champion in 2007 and spokesperson for the event. “But they are much more than that. It is a movement dedicated to people in their 40s. Beyond winning a medal we want people to live together, to be filled with energy. We are still in a very strong pandemic that has taken a lot from us; the sector to which this event is directed is one of the hardest hit. We will do it in 2022, as it happened in 2018, to re-activate people, so that they take that breath of air through sport”, he detailed. The 2018 edition was held in Mexico City with the participation of 250 people.

Those interested may enroll in more than one of the 16 disciplines, if they consider it pertinent: athletics, basketball (5×5), walk and run, soccer 7, judo, karate katas, swimming, squash, pickleball, tai chi, table tennis, tennis, indoor triathlon, volleyball, cachibol and golf. The only limit is your own awareness of your physical strength. “The requirement is that they want to participate, you do not need to have an international ranking, or be affiliated with any association,” Zambotti said. The 2022 Senior Games will start on September 15 and end on the 18th of the same month; almost all the competitions will be in the Enrique Fernández Martínez Sports Unit.

In most events the minimum age for participation will be 40 years; there is no maximum. If a 100-year-old person applies to take part, they can do it. Only in swimming and judo was the minimum criterion extended: 25 in the first and 30 in the second. “In the US I got to see a lady who was 105 years old and broke records in the 25 and 50 meters in athletics. In 2018, in CDMX, an 85-year-old lady appeared in tai chi (…) We had such beautiful experiences. People who were in the first places and said ‘in 80 years of my life I had never been on a podium and now I don’t want to get off’. There were those who didn’t make it, but they asked us when the next Games would be; They already wanted to train to be on the podium, or to lower their mark by five seconds, at least. All for wanting to improve”, recalled Zambotti. Competitors will be organized into categories for every five years in an effort to ensure equal conditions.

international appointment

The Organizing Committee of the Senior Games 2022, which is made up of the Sports Commission of the State of Guanajuato, the Municipal Commission of Sports and Physical Culture of León, the Municipality of León and the International Sports & Health Associates (ISHA) expects the event to include competitors from abroad. Athletes from the US, Costa Rica and Panama could join this celebration of ‘social sport’. “It is an open format. There is no restriction. They have open doors to come to León”, stressed Zambotti.

In addition, there will be ex-Olympic representation: Nabor Castillo, who competed in London 2012, is already registered for the Senior Games 2022 judo competitions. Zambotti also wants to go on stage to revive old glories, but his duties will prevent him: “I just turned 40, so I could. But, for now, it is impossible for me, I have a lot of work (she laughs). The important thing is that the movement continues to grow. It will be for the other”.