TODAY AND TOMORROW

The Bay Area Senior Games will be held each year through 2009 under the auspices of the California Senior Games Association (CSGA), an affiliate of the National Senior Games Association (NSGA), with the intent of making the Games a permanent fixture in the Bay Area. The events will preface the 2009 Summer National Senior Games, the Senior Olympics, the largest multi-sport event in the world for seniors.

In November, 2004, the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) successfully won a bid over 10 other U.S. cities, earning the right to host the 2009 National Senior Games in the San Francisco Bay Area. Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness and Stanford University will play integral roles in producing the national event.

"The San Francisco Bay Area and California's affinity for active, healthy lifestyles makes this partnership uniquely suited to bring NSGA's mission and programs to the hundreds of thousands of seniors that reside in the state," said Bill Bankhead, CEO of the NSGA.

"With the Senior Games, people of all ages, even those who didn't think they could swim, run, or jump anymore, are inspired to a more active, healthy, and fulfilling life and the 5K (3.1-Mile) Fitness Walk offers a target goal that most can comfortable attain - with proper preparation," added BASOC President Anne Cribbs.

The first National Senior Olympic Games, held in 1987 in St. Louis, attracted 2,500 participants and over 10,000 spectators for the opening ceremonies. The Summer National Senior Games and the Winter National Senior Games are held during odd-numbered and even-numbered years, respectively.

To compete in the Summer National Senior Games, athletes must be age 50 or older and must qualify at NSGA-member state, local, or regional senior games. In California, to participate in the state championships, athletes must participate in a local senior games during the previous calendar year. The Bay Area Senior Games is a designated qualifying event for the State Championships.

The 2005 Summer National Senior Games were held in Pittsburgh, PA where 10,400 athletes participated. The 2007 Summer Games are planned for Louisville, Kentucky before the 2009 Games come to the San Francisco Bay Area. For the 2009 Games, Cribbs says that at least 15,000 athletes and over 35,000 visitors are expected for the 15-day event, scheduled for August 1-15.