January 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 37

Strength training is particularly important
for seniors, and senior-focused recreation
events can encourage older community
members to take steps to improve their
overall wellness.

ercise to be a key strategy to healthy
living. The word " senior " has a lot
of meanings; however, those who
embrace the opportunity to compete
in physical fitness competitions seem
to recognize the key role physical activity plays in an active and healthy
lifestyle.
To address the senior spectrum, El
Paso's Parks and Recreation Department staff has worked on introducing new events to the Senior Games.
They understand that not every senior will be able to participate in every event, but someone who does not
feel up to participating in track and
field events may be perfectly at ease
in table tennis, horseshoes, washer
toss, race walk or bowling. By offering a wide variety of events, the city
hopes to attract seniors of all ages
and ability levels. Lopez also counts
on another factor to address the low
participation rates and lack of publicity: the participants themselves.
These seniors are great examples for
other seniors who may not yet be
convinced that they are up to running
a 100-yard dash. Although many seniors might not see themselves as
ready to compete, they can become
motivated to take a few steps toward
becoming more active by visiting the
city's senior centers and participating in a variety of events, including
dances, Zumba, tai chi, walking and
low-impact aerobic exercises.
The partnership with UTEP has
boosted the visibility of the Senior
Games in El Paso. As students attend
the events, they serve not only as volunteers, who are able to help set up
and monitor the games, but also as
cheerleaders and as physical activity
ambassadors for the athletes and the
local community. In the past two years,
students have organized " Pack the
Bleachers " efforts to bring students to

the track and field competition.
They spread the word throughout the college campus and in
local high schools, and they
invite their peers to show up
with motivational signs. Poster
parties were held on the college
walkways, inviting students to
send their positive messages
to the senior athletes. On the
day of the event, students play
a big role, as score/time keepers, safety patrol personnel,
and water, fruit and sunscreen
distributors to spectators and
participants alike.
Through a grant funded by
State Farm, a group of students
have formed a Youth Advisory Board at UTEP to bring
volunteers and spectators to
the Senior Game events. This grant
is helping to create a bridge across
the generations and is closing the gap
that separates older adults from young
adults in El Paso. Students at UTEP
who sought this grant are reaching
out to high-school students to involve
them in physical fitness by sharing
health tips and information through
health modules, and inviting students
to develop their own service learning
projects to involve their peers in physical activities. With the rising obesity
and diabetes rates in our nation and
particularly in this community, the Senior Games athletes are held as great
examples of what getting active and
healthy can do to improve the quality of life as you age. By emphasizing
service and learning, the city's Park
and Recreation Senior Games have
served as a space for both community
service and for learning from great exemplars. Students have learned to put
these lessons to work by becoming
more physically active and motivating
others to do so as well.

The 2014 El Paso Senior Games
wrapped in May, and Lopez and his
staff are already planning for the 2015
events and dreaming up ways to make
them even more successful. Lopez
hopes to get a social media intern to
help him promote the Games in the
future, and with so many capable students looking to help, he is sure to find
one. The university students are currently looking for more high-school
students interested in participating in
service learning. In the meantime, the
participants at the 2014 Senior Games
are grateful for the support of the
city's Department of Parks and Recreation, and for the students' enthusiastic support and encouragement.
During times in which many cities are
seeing cuts to these sort of programs,
El Paso is ready for this challenge.
Guillermina Gina Núñez-Mchiri, Ph.D., is
an Associate Professor of Anthropology at
the University of Texas at El Paso (ggnunez@
utep.edu). David Lopez is the Senior
Division Coordinator for El Paso Parks and
Recreation (lopezjd@elpasotexas.gov).

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