The Rhode Island Senior Games are making a resurgence in 2024. Over the course of the late summer and early fall months, athletic events across Rhode Island will be held for participants who are 50 and older.
After the past few post-COVID years compelled a shorter schedule of events, Mike Lyons, who has run the Senior Games for the past 30 years, has recruited volunteers to assist in revitalizing the games.
Lyons and the RISG will hold eight events this year with the help of David Belhumeur, Tom Arcangeli and Jane Headley.
“In the past, pre-COVID, when Mike was running things on his own, he probably had it up in the 18 to 20 range, and we'll get there again over the years," Belhumeur said. "But for this year, we're going to be very happy to sponsor eight events very, very successfully."
With those eight events — including RISG’s premier event, pickleball — competitors can participate in RISG to qualify for the National Senior Games.
RISG’s organizers say that despite the chance to compete nationally, a vital part of the games is that all skill levels can and should participate.
“It's a real opportunity for people over 50 that may think that those opportunities won't exist anymore, to learn that they do and they do all over the country,” Lyons said.
The National Senior Games occur every two years, with the off-year as the qualifying year for individual state games. The NSG in 2025 will take place in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Once somebody goes to the nationals," Lyons said, "if they've never experienced it, they become really big proponents, because once they experience it at the national level and go and see just what a large undertaking it is and how much fun it is, they really do get hooked."
Pickleball will be the premier event of this year’s Senior Games in Rhode Island, which will start on Aug. 11 with bowling.
Ocean State Pickleball, a new air-conditioned facility in Narragansett, opened last year with eight indoor courts.
“Pickleball has become huge, with lots of folks playing it, especially the older folks,” Arcangeli said. “It's exploding and lots of fun.”
RISG will host a new event in horseshoe pitching this year after the Horseshoe Pitching Association of Rhode Island reached out.
Not only does RISG accept all skill levels, but participation is not limited to just Rhode Island residents.
People from all over the country travel to participate in the Rhode Island Senior Games, including some from Michigan, Tennessee and Washington, as well as from New England states. Organizers estimate 800 to 1,000 participants, or about 15%, will be coming from out of state.
“I definitely believe as the word spreads," Lyons said, "that we will get a lot more participation from the New England states, the ones close to us, because all of these people are looking for additional opportunities to participate, and they don't exist in a vacuum."
Longtime competitors, including Lyons and Arcangeli, emphasize the great competition and the physical benefits, but they stressed another major value of the games — meeting others.
“You reach a point where you can no longer play competitively,” Lyons said. “The word they use in sports all the time is camaraderie. I think maybe at our age, maybe the better word is friendship.”
Here's a full list of the eight events, their locations and dates.
- Bowling on Aug. 11 at Lang's Bowlarama (225 Niantic Ave., Cranston)
- Track & Field on Sept. 7 at Conley Stadium (434 Mount Pleasant Ave., Providence)
- Basketball (3-on-3) on Sept. 7 at South Kingstown Recreation Center (30 St. Dominic Road, Wakefield)
- Pickleball Sept. 27-29 at Ocean State Pickleball (360 South Pier Road, Narragansett)
- Horseshoe pitching on Oct. 6 at Rhode Island Horseshoe Pitching Association (184 Boston St., Coventry)
- Table Tennis on Oct. 6 at Rhode Island Table Tennis Association (30 Railroad St., Manville)
- Golf on Oct. 9 at Triggs Memorial Golf Course (1533 Chalkstone Ave., Providence)
- Cornhole details have not been released.
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