This Saturday, May 8th at 9am, the Cherokee/Clay County Senior Game’s Opening Day Ceremony will kick off 3 weeks of non-stop games and fun for seniors at the Andrews Recreation Park in Andrews. There will be competitions in 18 sports and games along with over 30 categories of arts and crafts in the SilverArts Showcase competition. Immediately following the Opening Day Ceremony, participants will start the game schedule with the Football throw, Softball throw, Basketball shooting, Shot Put, Discus and 1500 meter Powerwalk events. Anyone who is 50 and over and a resident of Cherokee, Clay or Graham counties are invited to come and join in and participate. If you haven’t registered yet for the Senior Games, there is still time as you can even show up at game time, register and play!
And for those with a slightly competitive streak, this year, ALL sports competitors qualify for the NC State Finals to be held later in the year. SilverArts qualifiers for State Finals are as follows; only the first 3 places in each of the Heritage and Visual Art categories, the first 2 places in the Literary Art categories and the Best in Show in the Performing Arts category.
The full schedule of events for next week is:
May 10, 9am: Pickleball (men’s singles/women’s doubles) at Hayesville
May 11, 9am: Pickleball (mixed doubles) at Murphy
May 12, 9am: Pickleball (women’s singles/men’s doubles) at Hayesville
May 13, 11am: Golf at Chatuge Shores Golf Course (golf fee extra)
May 14, 9am: 10K Road race starting at the Murphy Health & Fitness parking lot
May 15, 9am: Track & Field events (1500m run, 1500m Race walk, Standing & Running Long jumps)
For anyone submitting a Heritage or Visual Art entry, these should be dropped off at the Murphy Art Center (the MAC) this Friday, May 7 from 10am to 1pm.
For more information about the complete list of sports and arts events and dates, check out the Senior Games website (cherokeecountyseniorgames.org) or call the Murphy Senior Center (828-837-2467). Come and join us at Opening Day for a morning of fun and games! Everyone is welcome!
By Terence Faries