Delray Senior Games underway: ‘The medal doesn’t matter. You just want to come here and have some fun.’

Basketball skills at the Delray Beach Community Center recently kicked off the 34th annual Delray Beach Senior Games. The competition will continue through Jan. 24 at locations throughout Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. The competition is open to residents and nonresidents.

For more than three decades, older athletes from throughout South Florida have competed in the Delray Beach Senior Games.

For Delray Beach 83-year-old John Butler, this was his second time competing in the games.

“I’ve done well,” he said. “I won a couple of gold medals in basketball (skills) and track (100-, 200-meter dashes). “Everybody is very pleasant out here and the staff is very helpful. I am glad to see that Delray sponsors the Senior Games. I think that more towns should do that.”

Delray Beach resident Brian Sheeran, 79, also took part in the basketball events. He won the free throw shooting and was second in the spot shooting event for the 80-84 age group.

“This is the greatest,” he said. “The city staff runs a great tournament. I just wish there were more people to participate, and that will happen. I look forward to it every year.

“I tried to go to the (YMCA) to practice, but they were doing the floors, so this was it,” he said. “This is my fourth year doing it. They used to have it at Pompey Park, but now it’s here. The medal doesn’t matter. You just want to come here and have some fun. At our age, just getting up and coming here is a good idea.”

Rashod Smith, a recreation supervisor III/athletics for the city of Delray Parks & Recreation Department, praised the athletes and their perseverance in past events and is looking to grow the event even more in the future. He said most of the participants are out of Delray Beach, but there are some from the surrounding communities.

“I think it is a way for the senior citizens, who were great in their past time and are still at heart great athletes, the opportunity to come out here and perform,” he said. “It gets them out of the house and doing some physical activity.

“I look at it as an inspiration to see them running for balls, running, jumping and throwing in the track events,” Smith said. “Watching them swimming…it is very inspiring to me.”

Smith, who is 41 and just nine years away from being eligible to compete in the games, said he is proud that his city is offering the Senior Games. Smith started with the city in 2012 and started overseeing track for the Senior Games. Now, he oversees all of the Delray Senior Games.

“I have a 10-year-old son,” Smith said. “When I look at him, he will be where I will be soon. When I look at my elders and they are still able to do what we did when we were 15, 20 and 25 years old, it makes me want to go join a gym, put up a shot or play at a very active pace so I can do what I do.”

Smith said the most difficult part of getting the older athletes to compete is simply letting them know it is going on.

“We don’t know who is on Facebook or computer savvy,” he said, “so we have to get the information to them. I hope next year we will open the advertising and registration up early to generate more.

“I have a vision of what I want to do,” Smith said. “It has to be approved by my supervision, but I would love to have an opening ceremony. We can announce all of the athletes, announce the events they are going to be in, maybe even have a dinner.”

The Delray Beach Senior Games gives people who are 50 or older the chance to revel in the spirit of goodwill, good sportsmanship and good health, win medals and advance to the Florida Senior Games every December. This year’s Senior Games will take place in Pasco County from Dec. 1-10.

For the Delray Beach Senior Games, age divisions for all singles competitions will be determined by the athlete’s age as of Dec. 31, 2024. Age divisions for all doubles, mixed doubles and team competitions will be determined by the youngest player as of Dec. 31, 2024. The age divisions are in five-year increments unless otherwise noted in the event description, starting at 50-54 to 90 and up.

Competitors can enter any of the six competitive events, starting at $10 per person for Delray Beach residents and $20 per person for nonresidents. All of them are state qualifiers.

The remaining events are golf (Jan. 18) at Delray Municipal Golf Course; archery (Jan. 20) at Merritt Park­­; pickleball (Jan. 23-25) at Pompey Park; and swimming (Jan. 25) at Aqua Crest Pool.

Custom medals will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners in each age division for each event.

Contact Rashod Smith at 561-243-7250, ext. 5240, or smithra@mydelraybeach.com.