Florida Senior Games by the Numbers
TALLAHASSEE – It is now 14 Days (Two Weeks from Today) until the 2015 Florida Senior Games begin in Clearwater with nearly 2,000 athletes competing in 24 sports over the course of 9 days. The Games begin on Saturday, December 5 and conclude on Sunday, December 13.
Here’s a few more numbers to chew on about the 24th Annual Florida Senior Games and the athletes competing …….
4 – Number of sports played by Avis Vaught at the 2014 Florida Senior Games. Vaught competed in Basketball, Pickleball, Track & Field (6 field events/1 running event) and Volleyball. In previous Florida Senior Games, Vaught has also played Badminton and Softball.
5 – The number of sports being held at The Long Center in Clearwater. Swimming, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Pickleball and Bag Toss will be contested at the Long Center during the 2015 Florida Senior Games.
7 – Number of communities to host the Florida Senior Games since its inception in 1992 (Bradenton, Sarasota, Kissimmee/St. Cloud, Polk County, The Villages, Lee County & the City of Cape Coral, Pinellas County/Clearwater)
14 – Number of 90+ age athletes competing in the 2015 Florida Senior Games. The most experienced athlete registered as of November 20 is 95-year old Lucille DeGregorio, of The Villages. DiGregorio will compete in Singles Bowling and is one of five 90+ athletes participating at the Seminole Bowl.
17 – Swimming records held by Bradenton’s Patricia Bond. The 1999 Florida Senior Games Female Athlete of the Year holds records in three different age categories (65-69, 70-74, 75-79) and set four new records in 2014 in the 75-79 age group.
20 – The number of laps swimmers will make in the 500 yard freestyle at the 25 yard course in the Long Center. The fastest time recorded in 23 previous years of competition was 5:34.57, by Brian Voisard, of Winter Haven in 2007. That’s an average of under 17 seconds per lap. The fastest women’s time was by Pat Sargeant, of Melbourne, in 2006, with a 6:05.60.
21 – The number of Florida Senior Games Series Qualifiers held throughout the year leading up to the annual Florida Senior Games. The 2016 Calendar of Series Qualifiers begins on January 20, 2016 with the Lee County Senior Games and wraps up with the Golden Age Games, in Sanford, in November 2016.
26 – The minimum number of holes on a pickleball (40 is the max). Over 200 athletes will participate in one of the fastest growing sports of the Senior Games. Besides the growing number of players in Florida venturing to the Florida Senior Games, players from 12 other states and Canada competed in the 2014 Games in Fort Myers. Of the 21 Florida Senior Games Series Qualifiers, 17 now have pickleball competition. A total of 50 Florida pickleball players traveled to the 2015 National Senior Games in Minnesota over the summer and won 20 medals.
29 – The number of U.S. States represented at the 2015 Florida Senior Games. Beside the U.S. states, three Canadian provinces are represented as well as Great Britain and Trinidad and Tobago.
39 – There are 39 one-inch wide individual pieces of wood pieced together on a bowling lane. Board 1 is on the far right for a right-handed bowler and on the far left for a left-handed bowler.
86 – The golf score shot by Corkey Nydle, of The Villages, in the 2014 Games. The 86-year old Nydle will be on the course again in 2015, shooting for her 12th consecutive gold medal. 300 – The score of a bowling perfect game, achieved by only four bowlers in 24 years of the Florida Senior Games. Nydle is a member of the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame and won six state amateur titles over three decades.
91 – The percent of free throws Umatilla’s Andy McGuffin has made in Florida Senior Games Basketball Shooting events since 1994. In 18 years of competition, McGuffin has connected on 466 of 510 free throws for a 91.4 completion rate. Putting McGuffin’s free throw accuracy in perspective, Mark Price, the NBA free throw percentage career leader connected on 94.8% of his free throws in 1992-93 when he hit 289 of 305 free throws for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
226 – The length in feet of the longest javelin throw in Florida Senior Games history, a feat accomplished by Jacksonville’s Michael Brown in 2004 to win a 50-54 age group gold medal. To put Brown’s throw in perspective, the gold medal winning throw at the 2012 Olympic Games was 277 feet, by 22 year old Keshorn Walcott, of Trinidad and Tobago.
290 – Kilograms, or 639 pounds, deadlifted by Segismundo Pares at the 2009 Florida Senior Games. He also deadlifted 263 kg (537 lbs) at the 2011 Games to earn Male Athlete of the Year honors.
361 – Total number of medals won by 469 Florida Athletes at the 2015 National Senior Games in Bloomington/Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
576 – The number of tennis balls to be used during the six days of Tennis competition at the Innisbrook Resort and Spa.
For more information about the 2015 Florida Senior Games visit www.floridaseniorgames.com.
