OSG History and Stats

Oklahoma Senior Games 2016-2023

MISSION

The mission of the Oklahoma Senior Games is to encourage physical wellness for men and women ages 50 and older by providing quality sport opportunities conducted in an enjoyable social environment at sites throughout the state of Oklahoma.

PARTICIPANT INCREASE

Between 2986 and 2012 Oklahoma Senior Olympics were produced by a nonprofit board which used the services of the Oklahoma City Recreation Department and the Tulsa Recreation Department in alternating years to produce the Oklahoma Senior Olympics.  When the two cities experienced financial difficulties in 2013-2014, both cities cut funding to the senior games.  No Oklahoma Senior Olympics were produced between 2013-2015.

With approval from the Oklahoma Senior Olympic Board of Directors and with encouragement from National Senior Games in the Spring of 2016 a group of senior athletes formed the new nonprofit organization, Oklahoma Senior Games (OSG). The Oklahoma Senior Games have now been successfully produced for eight years.

Growth is measured by the number of OSG participants each year and by the number of participants each year, the number of local games that are offered, the number of sponsors and the amount of their financial support, the number of athletes who attend national competition and their success as measured by the number of medals they win.

Over the past eight years, OSG has drawn 5,439 participating athletes from 42 states.  Seventy percent (70%) of the participants are Oklahoma residents.

Prior to COVID fifty percent (50%) of the OSG competitors were from Oklahoma; twenty-five percent (25%) were from Texas and twenty-five percent (25%) were residents of other states. This year seventy-six percent (76%) of the OSG participants were Oklahoma residents.  The increase in resident participation was in great measure due to the 2023 monies from the TSET grant which coached Oklahoma seniors ages 50+ in lifetime sports.  But, also, seniors are not traveling the way they used to before COVID.

INCOME

Number of Participants

You can see from the graph that as the number of participants has grown so has the income from participants grown.  This growth enabled OSG to attract sponsors starting in 2018.  In 2016 OSG had 349 participants with registration income of $22,291.  This year, 2028, OSG had income of $71, 137 from 1,010 participants.  The number of events in which athletes choose to participate has increased as well.  This year 1,011 athletes participated in 1,360 events.  Thirty-five (35%) of athletes participated in more than one event. This is an increase of 14% since 2016. This is because OSG offers more events in 2023 than were offered in 2016.

As you can see from the graph below donations by athletes who want senior games to grow has increased too.

The Average Spend per Athlete varied year by year but has remained steadily below $60.00.  The figure for 2023 is up because of ballroom dance event fees.

    2016              2017               2018             2019            2020             2021              2022                2023

$ 63.87

$ 57.08

$ 59.10

$ 57.44

$ 51.03

$ 57.96

$ 51.65

$ 67.75

Sponsors

The number of sponsors has increased dramatically as has the amount of their financial support.  In 2018 there were 8 sponsors who provided $7,000 in support money.  This year (2023) OSG received $65,000 from 31 sponsors.

Grants

In 2018 Oklahoma Senior Games received a $10,000 grant from Ardmore Institute of Health in.  This spark ignited the flame to increase participation in the games.  It allowed OSG to print the first OSG registration book, have outreach programs for Native Americans and train local power walk and race walk officials. AIH  support was invaluable and was the start of the successful growth OSG has experienced.

This year (2023) OSG received the first $100,000.00 of a $500,000 3 year grant to provide coaching services for Oklahoma adult residents ages 50+ in lifetime sports.  The first 6 months of this program has been successfully completed.

Participant Donations

Since 2016 athletes have donated $12,370.00.  This year 70 athletes donated $1,988.00.  The average donations was $28.40.  Several athletes donated $200.00 and more donated $100.00.

Funds from the State of Oklahoma

In 2020 the OSG Board of Directors started a conversation with the Oklahoma State Legislature members to allocate funds to administer the Oklahoma Senior Games.  At first, no progress was made.  Finally in 2022 contact was made with John Talley, who represents Oklahoma House District 33, Logan and Payne counties. He is a proud member of the Oklahoma State University’s O Club having lettered in wrestling. He is the Director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes for North Central Oklahoma. Because of his life experiences, he understood the importance of exercise being incorporated into a healthy lifestyle as one ages.  After the OSG presentation he forwarded information about the games to Representative Kevin Wallace, the Chairman of the Oklahoma House Appropriations and Budget Committee.  When the budget was approved in June of 2022, there was no money in it for the Oklahoma Senior Games.

In 2022, the process of asking the Oklahoma State Legislature for funding began early.  This time Representative Talley assisted in setting a meeting for OSG with Representative Wallace who invited administrators from the Oklahoma Human Services Department to attend.  Representative Wallace was very impressed with the OSG program and recommended setting an appointment with Senator Thompson.  After that meeting Senator Thompson’s staff assisted OSG in developing a plan which integrated the different funding sources (OSG registration and sponsorship money with the TSET grant money with State of Oklahoma funds).  After that it was a time of waiting to see if OSG funds would be added to the 2023 State of Oklahoma Budget. It was.  $250,000 was allocated annually to provide a staff to produce the Oklahoma Senior Games.  The staff’s goal is to increase participation in the games and to raise awareness of the importance of including exercise and fitness components in maintaining a healthy lifestyle as one ages.

REGISTRATION FOR VETERANS

Veterans receive a fifty-percent (50%) discount when they register to participate in the Oklahoma Senior Games.  This discount is funded each year by sponsors who want to recognize veterans’ service to the United States.

ATHLETE ETHNICITY

Based upon 2021 DATAUSA figures the population ethnicity of Oklahoma is 64% White, 11% Hispanic, 7% Native American, 7% Black, 2% Asian and 9% other or mixed.  The ethnicity of the 2023 OSG participants mirrors this distribution except that there are 73% White participants, 9% above the White population in Oklahoma and only 2% Hispanic participants and only 4% Native American participants.  OSG has had an ongoing effort to encourage Native American athlete participation since 2018 and started in 2022 to market to the Hispanic population.

Athletes spent an average of $67.75 in registration fees in 2023.  This number includes the registration fee which was increased by the OSG Board of Directors by $5 this year to assure there would be money for the Celebration of Athletes.

GROWTH OF LOCAL SENIOR GAMES

In 2016 Yukon was the only local senior game.  The Yukon Park and Recreation Department had hosted senior games for 20-some years at that time.  The Oklahoma Senior Games Board of Directors decided at that time to encourage the growth of local senior games because as people age, they are less able to travel to compete in events that are more than a half hour from their home.  OSG encourages city recreation departments and the YMCA to host senior games in their respective communities.  To avoid time-conflicts with the Oklahoma Senior Games, most of these competitions are held during the spring or summer months.  Local competition is not as robust as state competition and not as many events are offered.  There are now five cities which offer competition:  Yukon, Ardmore, Muskogee, Moore and the Metro Senior Games in Oklahoma City.  The Metro Senior Games were produced by a successful partnership between the Greater Oklahoma City YMCA and the Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department.

OKLAHOMA SENIOR GAMES VIDEOS

In 2022 OSG contracted Mike Getto to produce videos for each event in the Oklahoma Senior Games.  The videos he produced are posted on the Oklahoma Senior Games website, OKSeniorGames.com with each event. To view them, click on the website then Events.  When you click on each event, you will be able to watch athletes participating in the event you selected.  The videos help athletes who are not familiar with the games view the event(s) for which they plan to train.

A video was produced that is used to educate and entice new sponsors.  It highlights events and features interviews with event directors and athletes explaining the value sponsors receive through their financial support of the games.

There are two videos which have been produced for the Celebration of Athletes.  The one produced for the 2022 celebration is used at presentations and at the OSG booth at the Oklahoma State Fair.  It features video of all the events and gives a great overview of the games.  The video produced in 2023 has photos from the different events and video showing disc golf and the Oklahoma Senior Games Senior Prom.  The music on both of these videos was composed by Sarah Getto.  This is the music OSG plays when medals are awarded to champions.  It is called “The Heart of a Champion.”  Both videos and “Heart of a Champion are posted on the homepage of the OSG website, OKSeniorGames.com.  Click on them to watch and/or listen to them.

OSG will have another video with scenes from this year’s very successful 2023 Senior Prom.  The prom featured the music of the Talk of the Town band.

THE OSG MEGA BOOTH AT THE 2023 OKLAHOMA STATE FAIR

Each year for 11 days in mid-September OSG hosts a 20’ by 63’ booth at the Oklahoma State Fair. This year it was used to test fair attendees’ fitness, sign adults ages 50+ for TSET practice sessions and for playing cornhole.

There were three components of the fitness testing:  One Foot Balance to evaluate the person’s balance, the Up and Go to evaluate the person’s mobility and the use of the hand dynamometer to measure the person’s grip strength.

Balance evaluation has importance as it pertains to the safety of ambulation.  There is a direct relationship between balance test abnormalities and falls.  Balance impairments have been shown to increase inpatient lengths of stay and poor rehabilitation outcomes.

Mobility evaluation is important because limited mobility can increase the risk of falls and related injuries.  Being aware of your mobility issues can lead to strategies aimed at fall prevention, such as home modifications, assistive devices, and physical therapy.

Strength evaluation is important because it gives an indication of the quality of life one can expect as one ages.   Being aware of potential strength deficits can motivate a person to take proactive measures to maintain or improve their strength. This can include regular exercise, strength training, and adopting a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of physical decline.

There was space at the booth dedicated to giving adults ages 50+ information about the TSET grant for coaching seniors in lifetime sports.  Attendees were given information about the program and if they were interested they gave their name and contact information which was then relayed to either Janet Thornton or Rod Bynum or both.

The cornhole boards were there for recreational fun for all fair goers.

COMMEMORATIVE PROGRAM

The OSG Commemorative Program began as a registration book.  Because almost everyone now registers online it has evolved into a commemorative program.  It lists all the locations, dates and director contact information for each year’s OSG events along with a brief description of each event.  The program includes pages featuring the OSG sponsors and a page with contact information for all Oklahoma local senior games.  Athlete stories and photos are included.  They make the publication more interesting.  The stories are selected for inclusion because they feature active athletes.  This encourages other seniors to join and participate.

OSG SHIRTS AND MEDALS

OSG medals and t-shirts are designed each year by Jerry Su.  Participants love wearing shirts he designs.  This year many of the pickleball players were wearing shirts from past OSG year’s games. The shirts are produced especially for the Oklahoma Senior Games.

When Jerry was introduced at the 2021 Celebration of Athletes he was rewarded with a standing ovation.  Athletes collect and display the OSG medals and the OSG shirts are worn year around as an athlete’s favorite shirt.

Each year representatives from NSGA member state vote on the best t-shirt, the best medal, the best website and the best collaborative literature. In 2022 OSG won the competition for both the best medal and the best t-shirt.  This year OSG won for the best t-shirt.  This is especially a great honor last year because OSG is in competition with all the state senior games who have annual budgets of $50,000 or more.

OSG WEBSITE

OSG was going to hire an outside company to upgrade its website.  After reviewing the options OSG decided it now has the in-house talent and does not need to hire an outside firm to accomplish the task of upgrading its website.

PLACEMENT OF ATHLETE STORIES

CREATION OF AN OSG AMBASSADOR PROGRAM

Regina Stewart, the OSG Volunteer Co-Ordinator is working to create an Ambassador Program. Regina will be in charge of training volunteers for service at health fair (especially the Oklahoma State Fair) and for distribution of OSG collateral materials at their local recreational facilities, churches, banks, businesses, and grocery stores.

 

CREATION OF AN OSG SPEAKERS BUREAU and PLACEMENT OF ATHLETE STORIES

Both of these programs are under construction,

 

Oklahoma Senior Games Board of Directors and Staff