Catch Central Florida » Florida Senior Games http://catchcentralflorida.com Central Florida Sports News and Events from the Sidelines Tue, 22 May 2012 14:22:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 2011 Senior Games wrapped up a competitive nine days for Polk County http://catchcentralflorida.com/2011/12/15/2011-senior-games-wrapped-up-a-competitive-nine-days-for-polk-county/ http://catchcentralflorida.com/2011/12/15/2011-senior-games-wrapped-up-a-competitive-nine-days-for-polk-county/#comments Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:48:14 +0000 Rebecca Thompson http://catchcentralflorida.com/?p=1189 SG-flags Road Race-SG SG-Pickleball SG-cycling

Polk County was filled with accuracy, athleticism, speed and triumph as the 20th Anniversary Florida International Games and State Championships swept through Central Florida this past week.

For the first time since its two-year run in 2001 and 2002, this nine-day, Olympic-style competition returned to Polk County and featured 22 events in which 1,834 athletes, age 50 and over, participated.

Different from past years, the 2011 Games carried the International Senior Games designation as a way to offer more competitive opportunities for Floridians. Floridians who qualified at a Florida Local Senior Games event were eligible for dual-state championships and overall awards at the 2011 Games.

The Games kicked off a busy opening weekend on Saturday, December 3 with Archery, Bowling, Pickleball, 5k Road Race, Softball and Track & Field and were brought to a close on Sunday, December 11 with the final events that included: Billiards, Cycling, Powerlifting, Racquetball, Shuffleboard, Swimming and Volleyball.

History books were updated this year as new records were broken and perfection was achieved.

John Shultz of Inverness attained the most consecutive medal-winning streak of any Florida Senior Games athlete when he competed in the Men’s Singles competition at Table Tennis.

Other notable competitors and accomplishments included Peter Smith of The Villages who made all 30 of his free throws at the Basketball Shooting competition and Andy McGuffin of Umatilla who continued his winning streak with gold medals in all three Basketball Shooting events to bring his total to 44 overall medals since 1994.

Not to mention, 20 new Swimming records were attained at Gandy Pool in Lakeland, and 15 Cycling records were broken in the Time Trials competition along with numerous other achievements in various events throughout the Games.

To check for more results and awards, please visit: 2011 Results

]]> http://catchcentralflorida.com/2011/12/15/2011-senior-games-wrapped-up-a-competitive-nine-days-for-polk-county/feed/ 0 Polk County Well Represented at Senior Games http://catchcentralflorida.com/2008/12/02/polk-county-well-represented-at-senior-games/ http://catchcentralflorida.com/2008/12/02/polk-county-well-represented-at-senior-games/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:44:21 +0000 Kris Keprios http://catchcentralflorida.com/?p=204 When the 2008 Florida Senior Games State Championships begin in Lee County and the City of Cape Coral this Saturday, with over 2,000 athletes competing during the nine-day event, Polk County will be represented by 143 individual athletes and two teams. The opening day of the 17th Annual Florida Senior Games State Championships, Saturday, December 6, kicks off with action in seven sports; Archery, Bocce, Bowling, Pickleball, 10K Road Race, Softball (Women’s); Swimming and Volleyball. The 2008 Florida Senior Games State Championships are a qualifier for the 2009 National Senior Games, to be held in the San Francisco Bay area, August 1-15, 2009. Among the 143 individual athletes are 39 Bowlers competing at Galaxy Lanes on Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7 and 31 Golfers hitting the links on December 9-10 at the Golf Club at Magnolia Landing in North Fort Myers. Included in the Polk County bowling contingent is Lakeland’s Barbara Gnegy, who set the women’s singles record in the 60-64 age group at the 2006 Games with a three-game score of 626.

Competition schedules and results will be posted at www.flasports.com during the week.  Florida Sports Foundation Director of Communications Nick Gandy can be reached from December 5-14 at the Games Headquarters, located at Estero Community Park, at (239) 495-3454.

Best of luck to all those representing Polk County.

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