The Colorado Senior Games are Coming. Will you sign up? Athletes over 50 are invited to show your skill in a multitude of sports this June in Colorado Springs.
The Colorado Senior Games this year are qualifying games that lead competitors on to the National Senior Games. What an accomplishment! Competitors will be coming from Colorado as well as surrounding states for this important qualifying year. Hear from the organizing entity, Colorado Springs Sports Corp, to learn more about volunteering at the events or competing in these awesome games.
Aging with Altitude is recorded in the Pikes Peak region with a focus on topics of aging interest across the country. We talk about both the everyday and novel needs and approaches to age with altitude – whether you’re in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida or Leadville, Colorado. The Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging is the producer.
BEACON Senior News is a proud sponsor/partner for this podcast. BEACON Senior News empowers Colorado seniors with inspiring local stories, timely coverage of senior issues, health and travel features, retirement and financial guidance, senior expos and local resources — all presented in a fun, engaging way that helps older adults lead happier, healthier lives. Catch all the news at: beaconseniornews.com/
Transcript
MELISSA MARTS:
No matter our age, everyone is looking for inspiration to grow. The up and coming Colorado Senior Games is the place to find it. Last year, I met a 91-year-old man who is a legend in pole vaulting, still practicing and teaching his sport.
On this episode, hear more about the Colorado Senior Games, why this year is a qualifying year for the nationals, and be inspired and motivated to come and compete or sign up and volunteer.
VOICEOVER:
You’re listening to Studio 809 podcasts. This is what community sounds like.
MARTS:
Today, I have a quick thank you for the critical sponsorship and support from The Beacon Senior News. The Beacon Senior News is the go-to source, both in print and online, for uplifting current news stories, as well as a source for events to get involved with in the Pikes Peak region, Pueblo, and Fremont counties. Seek out your copy today at libraries, grocery stores, and more.
Welcome to Aging with Altitude, a podcast providing information, advice, and resources for seniors, families, and caregivers to help you live your best life, courtesy of the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging. We’re coming to you from the Studio 809 Community Podcast Studio at The Next Us, a professional, cooperative environment for small businesses in downtown Colorado Springs.
I’m your host, Melissa Marts, with the Pikes Peak Area Council of Government’s Area Agency on Aging. Welcome to today’s deep dive into the Colorado Senior Games.
Last June, the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging was the volunteer sponsor for the games. During that multi-day extravaganza, myself and other volunteers were beyond inspired by the skills and life stories of so many of the athletes. Many of them were in their 80s and 90s.
In the studio, I have the brains behind these games. From Colorado Springs Sports Corp, I have Lauren De Marco and Evan Owen with me in the studio. To kick it off, I’d like to just have Lauren share a little bit about your role with Colorado Springs Sports Corp.
LAUREN DE MARCO:
Yeah, absolutely. Good morning. Thank you so much for having us this morning. We’re so excited to be here.
My role with Sports Corp is I’m the director of marketing and PR. I oversee everything from social media, to newsletters, to graphics, to print, you name it, everything in between.
I have so much fun with my job. I think I’m a little biased with the team that I have the best job and the most fun, but at the end of the day, I think we all do.
MARTS:
Well, thank you for being the voice out there to get the word out that this is happening and get people excited for all the different types of things that you guys do at Colorado Springs Sports Corp. Evan Owen, tell us a little bit about your role at Colorado Springs Sports Corp.
EVAN OWEN:
Yeah, Melissa, thank you so much for having us here. I’m the community sports manager and athlete liaison at the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation. So, I focus on three events or initiatives, the Rocky Mountain State Games, the YES program, and then most recently, the Colorado Senior Games, which has been super fun for us to take on.
MARTS:
Well, great. And I would like, Evan, if you don’t mind, since you were around last year for the state games, right? Tell us a little bit about one of your favorite moments of the state games last year.
What did you take away?
OWEN:
Yeah, yeah. So I think one of my favorite parts about the Colorado Senior Games in 2025 was going to be just seeing the community built. You know, in Colorado, this hasn’t been a thing for a few years.
And so there’s definitely a void, as we talk about at the Sports Corp. And seeing these individuals come together, it’s been some years since they’ve seen each other or compete, you know, and having that opportunity to do so is definitely fulfilling for us.
MARTS:
So what I heard you say there was, really seeing the momentum start to grow with this really unique event that we’re finally now doing here in our region, right?
OWEN:
Without a doubt. I would say from everyone involved, the foundation that was established in 2025 is setting us up for success. And we’re super happy about that.
DE MARCO:
Yeah. And to just reiterate that too, from that community foundation is we partner with the YMCA of the Pikes Peak region. And then as you mentioned earlier, you guys are the sponsors for our volunteers and Medicare Mentors is coming back again next year in 2026 as our presenting sponsor. And so just all of these amazing entities and organizations, it’s so exciting to see these teams and people come together for these seniors and to be able to fill that void as Evan mentioned.
MARTS:
Yeah. And Lauren, can you talk a little bit more? What are the Colorado Senior Games?
What is it really? What is this?
DE MARCO:
Yeah, no, absolutely. So the Colorado Senior Games is different. If you’ve heard of our Rocky Mountain State Games here in town, it’s for athletes aged 50 and up.
And so, talking with a lot of the athletes, the one thing that I noticed that kind of just warmed me inside was that void from COVID. I know COVID is a thing of the past now, but just getting them out of their house, getting them to show up for themselves and to compete and just have that sense of community, you know, regardless of what sport you participate in. This last year, we had, correct me if I’m wrong, 15, 17 sports?
OWEN:
We had 17 sports. We hosted them at 13 venues and had over 850 athletes.
DE MARCO:
Yeah, which is incredible. So again, giving that opportunity to over 800 athletes, we couldn’t be more proud and excited about it.
And so again, there’s different sports. It’s kind of like a mini Olympic styled where there are medals given to the top three athletes, you know, your gold, silver and bronze. And then with that, they can qualify for the National Senior Games, which will take place, it’s every two years, which is super excitinh again, for those athletes, for them to work towards something and to train and give them that sense of community and meet new people. And it was just so exciting.
I went to a handful of the sports and pickleball specifically in Colorado Springs. If you know pickleball, you know, it is one of the fastest growing sports and people are diehard about it. Yeah, you know, and they get so competitive, but it’s just so exciting to see.
And as you mentioned, when you’re volunteering, it’s inspiring. Yeah, you know, I’m 28 years old, and I hope I’m competing at a level when I’m 70 and 80. And it’s amazing.
MARTS:
And so as you’re talking about being 28, do you have a good story that you can share with us about one of the athletes? Maybe I’m wondering, who isn’t 28?
DE MARCO:
Yeah, who isn’t 28. She’s actually 90.
I was at track and field all day, helping out and managing photography and media and trying to get a lot of these stories told. And I caught wind of a woman, Crystal, who is 90 years old, originally from Germany.
MARTS:
That’s right, yes.
DE MARCO:
And she competed in a handful of sports for track and field. I think she did a 50 meter dash. But one that was close to my heart is she threw the javelin at 90 years old.
And I grew up throwing javelin in high school and competed competitively. And it’s actually illegal at a lot of schools here in Colorado. So I just thought that was super interesting, again, at this level.
And just talking to her and her story. And I remember, of course, as everybody wants to know is, what’s the secret? You’re 90 years old, there’s pep in your step, you have such amazing energy, and you’re throwing the javelin.
And she says, there’s no secret, there’s no medication. The only thing she takes is eye drops. So I thought that was amazing.
MARTS:
In Colorado, it’s a little dry.
DE MARCO:
Yeah, exactly. So I just thought that was amazing. And more of her history and her backstory when she was in Germany, during World War II, there were no sports, there were no opportunities for women and kids to participate.
You know, if you found a ball in a street, you were the coolest kid on the block. And so really hearing her history and her involvement in sports, it was just so amazing. And again, you know, us in the YMCA to have this opportunity for her and she found out about it and registered and is competing in all these different events.
It was the coolest thing ever.
MARTS:
Yeah, yeah. And I’m glad you brought up about the athletes finding out about what the Colorado Senior Games are all about and signing up for them. And so I wonder if one of you can talk about how do athletes find out about these events?
And what’s the timeline for them to be able to sign up and get a hotel room in Colorado Springs? Or what does that look like? So how do athletes find out about it?
OWEN:
The easiest way is going to be going to coloradoseniorgames.org. That’s going to be our website. From there, you’re going to see the sports that we’re going to have live, you’re going to be able to see the details that are going to be on there, times, divisions, registration fees, that’s always important as well.
Those registrations are going to go live on February 1. Some of them will trickle in after, you know, some take a little bit more to get set in stone and some might not. So we’ll have the majority of them live on February 1.
And from there, we’ll send out monthly newsletters. We have sports specific groups. So we have an archery Colorado Senior Games group who competed in previous years.
And so we’ll make sure that we get them information on when this next competition is. Our wonderful partners are doing phenomenal jobs of getting information out there. The Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging…
MARTS:
Yeah, here we are.
OWEN:
Medicare Mentors is a phenomenal champion of this, as well as the YMCA here in Colorado Springs. They do amazing.
So keep your eyes open. It’s going to be hard not to see the Colorado Senior Games, but the website would be a great first step to start.
MARTS:
Super. And I know from volunteering last year, and you guys did a nice celebratory party for a lot of the volunteers and the sponsors. And that was really wonderful. And when I went to that, I actually found out that there are these clubs around town, you know, these different types of sport clubs.
And so, you mentioned the archery club. Are there other clubs around? We all know about pickleball, but I was surprised to see just some other things.
And I thought, well, this is a whole other world that I don’t know about.
OWEN:
Yeah, without a doubt. So the first one I’d like to talk about is going to be our sports director for powerlifting.
Spartan Strength Systems is a local gym in town. And they’ve really kind of grasped onto the idea of getting powerlifting available for athletes ages 50 and older. We had eight total athletes in our powerlifting competition this year, and Spartan Strength System probably had 25 of their members of their gym there cheering people on as they were deadlifting and benching and squatting.
And it was just, it was really uplifting. And so I think getting involved in anything. I think getting involved with any organization, even if it might not be structured specifically 50 and older. Spartan Strength System is just one of the unique organizations out there that is welcoming to everyone who’s interested to learn about it.
In 2026, we’re going to have volleyball in partnership with the Colorado Senior Volleyball Association, a statewide organization.
MARTS:
Okay, great.
OWEN:
They host tournaments year round, but are going to host the Colorado Senior Games here in Colorado Springs as well. They have a website csva.org. So I’d definitely take a look at that as well.
Really any of our sports, these sports directors are leaders in their own niche communities or sports. And so on the website, there’s a contact sports director email. And if you have a question, that’s a great place to do that.
At the bottom of the website page, there’s also an info at coloradoseniorgames.org. That will go to my lovely inbox. And I would love to answer any question that’ll come that way.
MARTS:
Evan’s waiting.
OWEN:
So by all means, if you’re nervous or have questions, just ask it because we want you to get out there. There’s definitely a national qualifying aspect of this. But more importantly, there’s a community aspect of this and we want to emphasize that.
MARTS:
And so you mentioned the volleyball, and this may be way too soon. But do you know where the venue is where people are going to be playing volleyball?
OWEN:
Naturally, with our partnership with the YMCA of the Pikes Peak region, we want to have all of our sports at the YMCA. So that’s our first focus is going to have them hosted at one of the YMCA’s.
MARTS:
And most likely indoor then, probably.
OWEN:
Besides that, those will get announced as they go live on February 1st as well.
MARTS:
I realize it might be too soon, but I’m just kind of curious. And then also you mentioned archery. So was there an archery event last year?
OWEN:
There was an archery event.
MARTS:
And where was that held?
OWEN:
At Archery School of the Rockies. So right there on 21st Street, peaked up on the hill just across the street from Gold Hill Mesa.
MARTS:
Ah, and that’s an indoor kind of thing as well.
OWEN:
An indoor facility as well.
MARTS:
Okay, great. Well, you know, my father and his wife are really big into archery. So I am going to be making sure they sign up to compete.
OWEN:
There you go. Keep their eyes peeled when February comes around.
MARTS:
Yeah, I didn’t even, you know, here we are, you know, all these different athletic events and, you know, archery. What are a few of the other ones? Powerlifting, archery? What else? Volleyball?
DE MARCO:
Yeah, so we got 15 sports confirmed right now. As Evan mentioned, I’ll run through it.
We got badminton. There’s basketball skills as well as 3v3, a little competition. Billiards, which was phenomenal turnout last year, and that was right downtown on Tejon at Crooked Q, which is a phenomenal facility.
And our sports director, her resume is very impressive. I mean, she’s nationally ranked and she’s a professional herself. And so again, working with these sports directors, it means a lot for us as they’re masters of their craft and they have all the knowledge.
MARTS:
So I have another friend who plays billiards, so I’ll have to tell that person.
DE MARCO:
We have bowling, as we all know, pickleball, powerlifting, racquetball, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field. And within track and field, you know, there’s the eight to 10 different sports between field and, you know, jumping and the running, racewalk and then powerwalk as well.
So there really is something for everybody. And as Evan mentioned, it is a qualifying year. So there is that competitive edge that people have, but there’s also just show up, compete against yourself.
You know, like you said, if you’re nervous, don’t be. If you have questions, somebody else probably has the same question as you. And that’s where we really try to foster these communities and these groups.
We have a Facebook page. So, you know, offering those platforms for people to speak up and to show up and cheer them on, track and field amongst powerlifting. We saw, you know, grandkids of these people showing up with signs and taking photos. And it’s just so exciting. And we really want to offer that platform for all of them and make them feel absolute best.
MARTS:
And it is interesting because it’s 50 and over. Yes. And so I was at the track and field event, volunteering there, and I did meet quite a few people who were just barely in their fifties. And they were really excited to be there and have an opportunity.
And some of them were still competing against themselves, but others had some other folks that were already signed up for events as well. So they did have some other people competing with them. And then, of course, we had Crystal at her wonderful age, too.
So it was really a full span of people. So for those who are listening in, if you know folks who are just turning 50 and they want to get out and even if they’ve never competed before, competitively, you know, it’s a great place to just get out and test your skills and feel good about everything.
DE MARCO:
I told my parents if they lived in Colorado, I’d be signing them up.
MARTS:
Yeah, yeah. Well, maybe they should just come. Although how does that work in terms of being qualifying?
So if your parents lived in Washington, D.C., could they come to a Colorado qualifying event? What does that look like?
OWEN:
Yeah, without a doubt. Colorado is an open state, so it’s welcome for anyone to come compete. It does get a little more complicated on the qualifying side of it for nationals, because in Colorado, the first three qualifiers generally should be a Colorado resident because they want people coming from each state.
With that being said, in each age division, in each sport, there might not be three Colorado residents, which is where these people come from out of state trying to qualify to do so.
MARTS:
Ah, that explains a lot. Okay, interesting. And athletes, are there any sponsorships for certain athletes? Do any of them get sponsored to go on these trips and go stay places, or it’s pretty much folks are kind of paying as they go?
OWEN:
To my knowledge, it is generally pay as they go. I’m not saying that there aren’t opportunities for that out there, but none that I’m aware of currently.
MARTS:
Yeah, well, I was just curious. One of the folks that I met, they were doing the race walking, the speed walking event, and they came from the Western Slope. And that was my first conversation with some folks because it was at 7:30 in the morning or something really early before it got too hot. And I was like, Oh my God, you came from so far away. Little did I know I was going to meet people who came from outside of Colorado as the day went on.
But anyway, they came over, you know, and it was wonderful because they had come over, I think two days prior, they’d gotten a hotel room, they’d been exploring Colorado Springs, you know, so really great opportunity for our city to have people come and stay and get to know our town better. So really like that a lot.
So I’m curious, we talked a little bit about the athletes and kind of how they get to the field and how they come. You guys rely on volunteers to help make this work, right? And so how many volunteers do you need? What kinds of activities do volunteers do? And how do you find the volunteers?
DE MARCO:
Yeah, volunteers, first of all, if you’re listening, and you are a volunteer, thank you. Whether you’ve volunteered for the Senior Games, for a Sports Corp event, volunteers make the world go round. I mean, we are a very small team at Sports Corp. There’s 13 of us. And we certainly can’t be in multiple places at once, believe me, if we could.
MARTS:
Well, and I’ve been in your office, and I’m surprised there’s 13 of you in there, because it’s pretty tiny.
DE MARCO:
Yeah, so no, volunteers are amazing. And every event is unique as it’s a whole event of Colorado Senior Games, but we’re also hosting a bunch of mini events, each sport, right? And so it comes down to the amount of athletes, the certain venues, because some venues might have an event staff that will come and help out.
MARTS:
Oh, interesting.
DE MARCO:
But you know, between the setup, timing, cheering people on, honestly, is a massive one. Like, we need the morale up for a lot of these people, especially if their families aren’t here and no one’s around, checking athletes in.
I know at powerlifting, too, there’s certain people that have to be certified for, okay, that was a clean lift or that didn’t count, you know, and that’s where we lean on the sports directors. They’ll have a kind of small team with themselves. Or maybe there’s a local college student who is a track and field athlete and is very knowledgeable.
You know, we welcome that. We’re happy to sign off on any volunteer hours people need. So it’s very all-encompassing between hospitality. We work with local restaurants and food groups to feed our volunteers. And so we might have a volunteer go pick up the food to feed everybody, you know, or setting up banners. So there’s so much that go into each different, individual sport and the event as a whole.
So again, as Evan mentioned, the website’s coloradoseniorgames.org. If you’re interested, if you have a group, if you’re by yourself and you’re looking to meet new people, it’s an amazing opportunity for people to get involved with the community and give back, which feels so good.
MARTS:
And I do love your website. I haven’t been on it yet this year, but last year I loved it. It was so easy to find the sports, so easy to sign up as a volunteer, where we wanted to go. It’s really well done.
And if it’s going to look the same or if you’re changing things up a little bit, I don’t know. But so really great website.
DE MARCO:
More sports.
MARTS:
Well, good. So happy to hear all that.
And I think that you guys are exploring some other ideas for the upcoming games. And so what kinds of sports are you thinking about? What other story do you have here for me before I close it out with some things?
DE MARCO:
As I mentioned earlier, we have those 15 confirmed sports. And while it’s not a confirmed sport for next year, I have a really amazing and interesting story from table tennis this last year. And it was hosted at the Colorado Springs School, kind of hidden over by the Broadmoor area, phenomenal facilities. And our sports director was incredible. And again, master of his craft
And watching it, they are very driven and passionate. And I don’t think I could have lasted one match against any of these seniors, if I’m being honest.
But there’s this group that was there, and they all were wearing matching t-shirts, which I loved. And there were a couple of them where they have Parkinson’s. And so with Parkinson’s, a massive thing that a lot of individuals struggle with is balance and their mobility, They start to lose that. And so it’s this group where they get them involved with table tennis, and they train, and they practice.
And one of the women, I was talking to her husband, who was there supporting her. And she was playing, and he had mentioned how she was unable to stand up on her own a couple months ago. And getting involved in this, and you watch her, and you would have no idea she had any mobility issues whatsoever.
MARTS:
Love it.
DE MARCO:
And so hearing those stories, it almost made me emotional, because grandmother has Parkinson’s too, and so many other individuals out there have that.
But again, the unity of sport and your lifestyle and health, it’s so important to be active and to move. And so hearing that story and seeing this group of individuals who all have the same struggles, but they’re better together, and they’re better because of sport.
I think for Evan and I, at the end of the day, knowing that we had a very small impact on those individuals, we can sleep so well at night, and it really makes us have the best jobs in the world.
MARTS:
But they had a huge impact on you.
DE MARCO:
Yeah, absolutely. And they probably had no idea.
MARTS:
Exactly. They’re just doing their thing, and we all just appreciate that so much.
OWEN:
And on that note, there’s 50 other states and a national organization that share that same love and passion to create that opportunity for individuals as well. So it’s super reassuring to know that you’re not alone. This is something that everyone wants to do.
MARTS:
Yeah. Yeah. Well said. Well said.
So my story that I have from the games too, from the track and field event, was there was a man there. He was pretty tall and very thin, and he was doing the high jump. His name is Bill or William. He lives in Boulder. So I thought, oh, great. There’s the Boulder athlete. I was kind of early in with the whole thing. Little did I know I would meet Crystal from our town, Colorado Springs, and so many other people.
But here’s Bill from Boulder. And he literally, he’s 91 years old, and he was jumping two and a half times his height. I would watch him, this tall, thin man running down the little runway, and then he would place his pole, and off he would launch himself.
And I have some really great pictures of him airborne, a 91-year-old person. We have so many ideas of what a 91-year-old body can do, and he was just breaking the barrier, leaping over, doing the thing. And so I spent a little bit of time talking with him, and turns out he’s part of one of these athletic clubs up in the Boulder area, right? I wrote it down somewhere. They have the U.S. Pole Vault Club in Boulder. And so he’s been a part of that.
He was a high school teacher, and I think even a principal at one point in time, but he always stayed involved with his sport of pole vaulting, and involved in that club up there in Boulder. And he said that kids the age of three come to that pole vaulting club and start to learn to be pole vaulters at three years old. And he is the oldest individual in the club right now, and he’s proud of it.
And there he was. He was all decked out with his tent out on the field so he could have his shade. He knew what he was up to. He was ready to go. But I thought that was really wonderful to learn that he’s part of this club, and it’s all ages. And it keeps him active and going. And again, big impact on me to hear his experiences and why he’s doing it and what he’s up to.
So hopefully folks who are listening are going to be super inspired and want to compete. Sign up, have no fear, and volunteer. If you don’t want to actually be out there competing in one way or another, sign up and volunteer. And Lauren, Evan, thank you for coming. Lauren, can you tell us your website again?
And maybe a phone number if people want to get in touch with you guys. If you don’t know the phone number, website’s just great.
DE MARCO:
Yeah, no, perfect. So again, thank you so much for having us. Head to coloradoseniorgames.org.
MARTS:
Thank you.
OWEN:
And if you’re needing a phone number, it’s going to be (719) 634-7333.
MARTS:
Okay, super. You guys, can’t wait to see you in June, I think. Is that right?
DE MARCO:
June 5th through 7th.
MARTS:
All right. Take care.
DE MARCO:
Bye.
MARTS:
That’s the show. Thanks to all of you for being with us today.
Aging with Altitude is created by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Government’s Area Agency on Aging. Visit us at ppacg.org and click on Aging Services for more information about the programs of the Area Agency on Aging.