WS Chronicle

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY

THE CHRONICLE

The Piedmont Plus Senior Games & Silver Arts event is set to open on April 11 and run through May 20.  The kickoff party for the games will take place on Friday, Jan. 13, at Hanes Hosiery recreation center.  This will provide information on the upcoming games for the seniors as well as entry forms for the event.

The North Carolina Senior Games began in 1983 to create a year-round health promotion and education program for adults beginning 50 years of age or better.  The Piedmont Plus Senior Games & Silver Arts are open to residents of Forsyth and Stokes counties and is the third largest games in the state. Currently, the Piedmont Plus area has 551 members.

According to organizers, while winning a medal is exciting, there is much more to being involved in the Senior Games and SilverArts. The greatest benefit is to be active and to be involved with others of similar age and make new friends.  Silver Arts provides a stage for the creative talents of the visual, heritage, literary and performing artists.  The seniors are allowed to enter as many events as they would like.

The kickoff event will have exhibitors and sponsors along with physical testing for the seniors.  There will be five stations for the participants to play in order to qualify for door prizes.

There will be a gold, silver and bronze medal winner for each of the athletic and Silver Arts events in the games.  Each event is broken down into their own sex and age increments.  The age categories are broken down into five-year increments to keep the games competitive.  The gold, silver and bronze medalist for each event will then take their talents to the state level to compete there.

Event coordinator Chuck Vestal says he has been organizing the games for the past six years and enjoys fellowshipping with the seniors.

“I came to the rec department initially to work with teens because I work with teens at my church,” says Vestal.  “But once I was here, they asked me how I like working with senior adults.  It’s amazing how much fun I have and I am a big fan of them.”

“I love seeing them get into it and discovering things.  For some who think they can’t do it then it registers with them that they still have it.  A close second for me would be the relationships that I build with the people.”

Entry forms will also be available in all recreation centers and at the Senior Games office, 2301 N. Patterson Ave., Winston-Salem.  For more information, call Chuck Vestal at 336-727-2325 or visit www.WePLAY.ws