Although the 12 athletes from Royal Oaks Senior Community in Sun City did not have the deadly aim of an NFL quarterback throwing a Hail Mary pass or the finesse of an NHL star sinking a puck, they had something better.
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Although the 12 athletes from Royal Oaks Senior Community in Sun City did not have the deadly aim of an NFL quarterback throwing a Hail Mary pass or the finesse of an NHL star sinking a puck, they had something better.
They had the spirit and pluck to demonstrate their prowess during the annual LeadingAge Fitness Challenge for seniors conducted at the North Phoenix Baptist Church, 5757 N. Central Ave. The retirees, ages 70-80 and older, rebelliously challenged eight other senior communities from around Arizona and walked away with second place and seven individual medals. The first-place winner was Friendship Village in Tempe, who took home the traveling trophy.
The Royal Oaks winning heroes were Gene Czarny, Jeanne McDonald and Tom Gentz who each grabbed gold; Arlene Olson and Rollin Baker who took silver medals and Barb Conides who sauntered off with two bronze medals. Also attending and competing were Adrianne Christie, Catherine Uble-Morgan, Cathy Eggebraten, Jeannie Cross, John Farrell and Diana Graettinger.
“We are very proud of our competitors,” Royal Oaks Chief Executive Officer Kendra Eberhart said. “And we also are proud of our staff members who trained them leading up to the competition.”
The competition was fierce with Czarny and McDonald winning gold medals in the cornhole toss. They even had a playoff round where they stubbornly defeated their opponents by a formidable win of 20 bags to 3.
Gentz outstripped his opponents in the basketball bounce and with steely concentration and rugged determination sunk 10 baskets in a row. He also had a face off to win the gold medal.
There were lots of Wii bowlers competing, but Baker narrowly defeated his closest opponent, losing by only two pins to take home a silver. A double threat and Royal Oaks’ secret weapon of energy was Conides who took home bronze medals in Wii bowling and basketball bounce.
While other team members were tossing and throwing, Olson stretched her legs on the walking track and outpaced her closet competitors to win a silver medal.
The big challenge of the day was the obstacle course that included running, kicking balls into a net, jumping over tiny hurdles and ropes, and lugging a medicine ball. Team members Uble-Morgan, Eggebraten and Graettinger were admirable in their fierce determination to compete, but lost out to some formidable opponents. Although they did not win, they agreed it was fun to compete.
Again this year, the Royal Oaks participants paid homage to their coaches, Wendy Carriveau and Alicia Galbreath, who trained them weekly for the obstacle course and basketball bounce competition.
“We appreciate the spirit and energy our residents demonstrate each year they compete in the senior event,” Eberhart said. “And after speaking with several of them I know they are looking forward to next year and bringing home more gold medals.”
