Registration is in full swing for the 2017 Florida Senior Games, to be held December 2-10 in various locations in Clearwater and Pinellas County. Athletes age 50 and over can register to compete in the 24 sports of the 26th Annual Florida Senior Games in a variety of ways.
The easiest way to register is online at www.floridaseniorgames.com. Entry fees vary by sport and the online registration deadline is Sunday, November 19.
Athletes can also download and print the registration forms available at www.floridaseniorgames.com. Once complete, the forms need to be returned to the Florida Sports Foundation office in Tallahassee by mail. The mailing entry deadline is Friday, November 17.
Finally, athletes who have previously competed in the Florida Senior Games and athletes who qualified at a Local Senior Games qualifier between January and April, 2017, were mailed a 2017 Florida Senior Games Registration Book. Entry forms are available in the registration book and can be returned to the Florida Sports Foundation office in Tallahassee.
Prospective Florida Senior Games athletes can also call toll-free 1-866-FL-GAMES (354-2637) or send an email to games@flasports.com for competition information or registration assistance.
While online registration has been available for over a month, the registration cycle is only halfway complete, ending in mid-November. Currently, over 400 athletes, from 20 different states, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, have completed their registration. Over 2,000 Florida Senior athletes are expected to compete during the nine days of the Games.
Among those already registered is the 2003 FSG Female Athlete of the Year, Madelaine “Tiny” Cazel, of the Villages, a record holder in the long jump, javelin and discus throws in both the 70-74 and 75-79 age groups. Carol and Gerald Teel, a record-setting mixed doubles bowling team in the 60-64 age group, from The Villages, are also registered to compete. Carol is one of only four Florida Senior Games bowlers to roll a perfect game in the 25-year history of the Games.
Gold-medal winning Pickleball player, Robert Welter, of Cape Coral, will once again bring his talents to Clearwater. In the previous two years, Welter has found himself in the championship match in men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles in the 60-64 age group.
To accommodate the growing participation numbers in Pickleball, competition has been extended to four days, Thursday, December 7 through Sunday, December 10.
Another record-setting bowler, who will be returning to the Seminole Lanes in 2017, is 91-year old Jack Appel, of Boca Raton. Appel set a men’s singles record in 2016 and established a new men’s doubles mark, with his partner, Stanley Corwin, in the 90-94 age group.
Taking in the scenery of the Cycling 5K and 10K Time Trials at Fort DeSoto Park will be St. Augustine’s George Olsen, who set a 75-79 age group 10K Time Trials record on the course in 2015. He also won a 20K Road Race gold medal at the 2015 Games.
Look for more talented athletes, age 50 and over, to register through November 19 and compete in the 2016 Florida Senior Games, December 2-10, in Clearwater and Pinellas County.
The 2017 Florida Senior Games are an annual program of the Florida Sports Foundation, a Division of Enterprise Florida, and presented in conjunction with St. Pete-Clearwater Sports & Events and the City of Clearwater.
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