From pickleball courts to touch football fields, Australia’s older athletes are proving that age is no barrier to passion, performance or play.
ONCE upon a time, getting older supposedly meant swapping the footy boots for slippers, the racquet for the remote and anything resembling a sprint for a very sensible stroll around the block.
Try telling that to today’s seniors.
Across Australia, older adults are heading back onto courts, fields, greens, pools and bike paths with enthusiasm, determination and just enough competitive fire to make everyone else nervous.
Organised sport is enjoying something of a silver revolution and it turns out retirement from the workforce does not necessarily mean retirement from the scoreboard.
For decades, health experts have preached the benefits of staying active as we age, from maintaining mobility and reducing the risk of chronic disease to improving mental health and wellbeing.
Older Australians are increasingly looking for sport that provides skill, strategy, competition and, perhaps most importantly, a good laugh afterwards.
Lawn bowls and golf remain favourites, while swimming, cycling, tai chi and yoga continue to attract plenty of devotees.
Pickleball has also burst onto the scene with all the subtlety of a fluorescent tracksuit, while walking sports are proving that taking the pace down a notch certainly doesn’t mean taking away the competitive spirit.
Then there’s touch football.
Fast, tactical, social and importantly without the bone-rattling collisions of its rugby cousins, touch has become an increasingly attractive option for players who still want to test the legs and lungs without spending Monday morning explaining mysterious bruises.
It is a game of quick passes, sharper thinking and constant movement, and having almost one in 10 players aged over 50 represents a significant change in who is pulling on the boots.
Ask many of those players why they keep coming back and the answers are remarkably similar: fitness, friendship, fun and that little buzz that comes from still being part of a team.
