2007 National Senior Games

In recent years, as our population’s average age has increased, greater emphasis has been placed on active play by seniors in all sports. Governments at all levels, insurance companies and other businesses recognize this as a direct means of maintaining a healthier senior population. In the sport of table tennis, this has led to Senior Olympics and other senior games being sponsored and organized at local, regional, state, national and international levels.

KTTC seniors are active participants in senior table tennis events and currently have qualified 8 club members for the Tennessee State finals to be played in July 2006. The top three finishers at the state games qualify for the National Senior Olympics that will be held in the summer of 2007 in Louisville, Ky. KTTC seniors have dominated some of the age group events at the state level for a number of years. Ruth Gove, Bill Neely and Dwain Kitchel have won numerous senior state championship events. Bill and Dwain are current and repeat State Champions and National Senior Olympics men’s doubles silver medalists, likewise Ruth and Bill are current and repeat State Champions and are current National Senior Olympics mixed doubles silver medalists, while Dwain and Jane Odum from the Cookeville Table Tennis Club are current national Senior Olympics mixed doubles bronze medalists. Bill Neely is also the current National Senior Olympics men’s singles silver medalist.

Senior events are an important aspect of table tennis and demonstrate that this great sport can be played and enjoyed by the chronologically gifted even into their eighties and beyond… certainly long after we’ve given up many other sporting activities.