Senior Olympics: Athletes thrive in competition at state, national games

The Texas Senior Games took place March 30 through April 9 in San Antonio, and, as usual, sent several veteran Houston-area athletes to the National Senior Games, which are taking place through today, June 15, in Birmingham, Alabama.

The Texas Senior Games, coordinated by the Barshop Jewish Community Center, allows senior athletes to compete in more than 20 sports categories, from pickleball and tennis to track and volleyball.

Top winners are eligible to move on to the National Senior Games, which are held every two years and were created with the mission to motivate active adults to lead a healthy lifestyle through the senior games movement.

DeEtte Sauer, 75, participated in her eighth consecutive National Senior Games this year, and won her first gold medal June 5.

Having been very sedentary and obese into her 40s, she traded in her poor health habits for a membership at the Memorial Athletic Club.

[...] this year, she had never won a gold medal at the National Senior Olympics and worked toward achieving that goal.

Local basketball team the Ball Hawgs have participated in the Texas and National Senior Games since 1998, when they won the state games and then the Gold Medal at the National Games in 1999 in Orlando.