My Thoughts · square dance

Huntsman Senior Games—Our Third Year!

Gold Medal Winners banner with three pictures of dancers

Lin and I just returned from our third Huntsman Senior Games, and we had a fabulous time winning three gold medals in square dancing—yes, square dancing!  We had a set square with three couples from Albuquerque, New Mexico and one couple from St. George, Utah. As a square, we won gold medals for the Mainstream category and the Plus.

My three gold medals
My Three Gold Medals

            Then, Lin and I won a gold medal for the Random square competition. We were lucky in the random square to have Aaron and Kathy Beans, a caller and her husband from Utah and two Japanese couples! What a square we had!

            While there, we participated in all the fantastic events connected with this event! Check out my post from last year—October 15, 2018–for the specific fun activities.

            This year was different because the Japanese contingency was there, and we reconnected because we met some of them three years ago! We also made new Japanese friends, too!

            As we traveled home, I wondered about all the rewards of participating in this activity, so my answer is within a poem:

Man with trophy

Is Winning Everything?


Our square just competed in
            The Huntsman World Senior Games,
                        A friendly contest
                                    Amongst dancers,
                                                Many personal friends.
 
We won two gold medals
            As a set square.
 
Then, Lin and I won
            Another gold medal
                        In the Random squares competition.
Ben and Monica from Albuquerque
            Won silver.
            This event revered
                        By many!
                                    The luck of the draw!
 
As we celebrated our victories,
            I pondered,
                        “Is winning everything?”
 
Yes, I am competitive
            To the bone!
 
Dad’s often repeated mantras
            Have guided my life
                        “Winners never quit
                                    and
                                                quitters never win!”
                        “Stay in there
and
            drink a lot of ice water.”
 
We, as a set square, are competitive!
We participate to win!
                        Positive talk fills
                                    Our conversations!
 
But as I thought about it,
            A quote a speaker said
                        At the Awards Brunch
                                    Caught my attention,
                                                “Be satisfied with
                                                            your performance.”
 
I can honestly say
            We were! No matter what!
So, before we did our traditional
            Screaming and hollering
                        When the first names were called,
                                    We were winners!
 
We won because
            We participated
            We reconnected with Japanese dancers
                        From two years ago
            We made new friends
                        Locally and from Japan
            We laughed
            We danced
            We encouraged others
            We hugged
and
                                    Danced more.
 
We arrived at the event
            With our winning ways!
It wasn’t housed in a medal.
 
Yes, we came to win medals!
And we did
            But we left with
                        So much more!
 
Full hearts
Happy souls
            Rich
Memories of a time
            Where language barriers
                        Didn’t exist!
We were one (WON)
            In the dance!

What are the rewards of competition? Have you ever felt this way?


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Christmas · family · My Thoughts · square dance

Lin & Larada’s Christmas Letter

Our Christmas newsletter is one of my favorite traditions–I have been sending out a Christmas letter for 30 years. Here’s this year!

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas to you and yours! Feliz Navidad!

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My Thoughts · square dance · Travel

The Huntsman World Senior Games–A Life Changing Experience!

Every year in October, thousands of seniors descend on St. George, Utah for the Huntsman World Senior Games. All athletes must be 50 years old by December 31, 2018. This year 11,300 athletes from 32 countries will compete in 30 events, and we competed  in square dancing.

Our week started off on Monday with practice sessions all day to prepare for the square dance competition Tuesday morning. We had a set square with another couple from Albuquerque, New Mexico–Jerry and Mary Beth Gilbreath–and two couples from St. George, Utah. That evening we had a square dance with Gary Shoemake and Ken Bower calling the squares and Steve and Lori Harris doing the rounds. We danced the whole evening with our square to practice.

Tuesday morning we competed in three categories of square dancing: Mainstream, Plus and Random. We competed in our set square in Mainstream and Plus. In the Random category, couples put their names in and the square is formed randomly.

IMG_9567 WP.JPG
Our Square Danced in Red, White & Blue for Competition Day

Each square had two judges watching to see if the square broke down. When the square broke down, the timer started, and it stopped when the square formed facing lines at the head position–that’s what down time is on the scoring.

Each competition has three tips that are five minutes long with each tip progressively getting harder and harder. Whew! When it was over, I was exhausted. I wanted to do as well as the previous the year, so I felt the pressure.

Last year we took a square from Albuquerque for our first time, and we brought home Gold medals for Mainstream and Plus and one of our couples won a Gold medal for the Random square.

Tuesday evening was the Opening Ceremony at Trailblazer Stadium at Dixie State University. We marched onto the field with our square dance banner waving. We each carried a flag and I felt like a real athlete in a world competition.

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The evening program was outstanding with entertainment by a local youth troop, the Diamond Talent Dancers. We were welcomed by the mayor of St. George, John Pike, and the lieutenant governor, Spencer Cox. Mr. Cox’s storytelling ability captured my heart. The guest speaker for the evening was Dan Clark, a renown author and speaker that held our attention with his motivational stories and humor.

IMG_5978 Flags
The 32 Country Flags Represented

Each competing country was honored with a person dressed in a flag of that country, then each country was recognized during the evening. The delightful evening ended with the lighting of the torch and a magnificent fireworks display.

Running concurrently throughout the week was our own Cribbage tournament with Lin and Jerry against Mary Beth and me. We played whenever we had free time and ended up playing about 22 games. The guys won with 14 wins to our 11, but they double skunked us Tuesday night after the Open Ceremony and that counted as 3 wins. We laughed and enjoyed the competition and the fun.

Wednesday morning we danced and enjoyed the awesome dancers in attendance, then we were free for the afternoon for a variety of health screenings, provided by the Senior Games. We danced Wednesday night again. One of the perks of attending the Senior Games is all the dancing.

That evening Steve and Lori Harris, the cuers and dear friends of ours, were inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Senior Games–so deserving!

Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame Recipients

Thursday morning was the celebratory brunch and medal ceremony–I was so nervous this year because the pressure was on after our first year’s performance.

It’s been hilarious over this past year as Lin and I have traveled to festival across the country because dancers knew we won and some solicited to join our square, if we needed someone!

The 2018 results are in: our square won a Gold medal for Mainstream with a down time of .32 seconds. Our square won a Silver medal for Plus with a down time of 8.75 seconds. And Lin and I won a Gold medal for the Random square with a down time of 8.73 seconds. We had dancers in our Random square from California, Washington, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

My Medals
My Three Medals – Yahoooooo!

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Whew! How exciting! A big thank you goes out to Dave and Rose Marie Chapman for organizing the square dance competition!

More than anything, this event is about the people–the dancers–and the fun!

 


Are you 50 or older and would like to compete in the Senior Games? What sport do you play? Leave a comment below.


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Visit the Senior Games web site: https://seniorgames.net