Pensacola Senior Games
The 2022 Pensacola Senior Games will be held September 9 - 23!
The City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Department and Cigna are proud to present the Pensacola Senior Games. During the month of September each year, athletes age 50 and better can compete in 21 sporting events including bocce, horseshoes, bowling, darts, track and field, tennis, swimming, and more. Whether this is your first year to compete or you are a seasoned athlete, we are sure you’ll find an event just for you!
The Pensacola Senior Games is sanctioned by the Florida Sports Foundation and is a qualifier for the Florida Senior Games held at the end of each year in Broward County.
Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to each age group in each event. A closing ceremony complete with food, giveaways, and sponsor booths is held at the Bayview Senior Center from 4 to 6 p.m. on the last Sunday of the games to celebrate the accomplishments of all participants.
Registration opens each July and participants can register at Vickrey Resource Center at 2130 Summit Blvd. The cost is $10 for your first event which includes registration, t-shirt, and admission to the closing ceremony. Each additional event costs $1. There are additional fees for golf and bowling.
View the 2021 Pensacola Senior Games Results.
We are very excited to announce that some of our Pensacola Senior Game athletes will compete in the National Senior Games. Find out more about their efforts in the press release issued by the Florida Sports Foundation.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2022
Contact: Nick Gandy, (850) 322-3404 or media@playinflorida.com
Northwest Florida to be Represented by over 40 Athletes Competing in the 2022 National Senior Games
TALLAHASSEE - The 2022 National Senior Games, presented by Humana, will be held in the Greater Fort Lauderdale Area, with over 12,000 athletes registered to compete. Among those athletes are a total of 1,656 Florida Senior Games athletes competing in the 21 sports offered.
The Games begin on Tuesday, May 10 and conclude on Monday, May 23, with a Celebration of Athletes to be held on Monday, May 16. The 2022 National Senior Games were originally scheduled for 2021, but were postponed until May, 2022, due to Covid-19 precautions in the Greater Fort Lauderdale area.
Athletes from every area of the state will represent the State of Florida including 47 from the Northwest Florida. Among the 47 athletes traveling from Northwest Florida to Southeast Florida are nine bowlers who regularly compete in the annual Florida Senior Games.
Lawrence Draeger, of Pensacola, who will bowl in all three events in the 80-84 age group, is one of only six bowlers to roll a perfect game in the 30-year history of the Florida Senior Games. He accomplished the feat in 2011. At the 2021 Florida Senior Games, Draeger won a Men’s Doubles gold medal in the 80-84 age group, a Mixed Doubles silver and placed fourth in Men’s Singles.
Ginger Barbacovey, of Cantonment, will pair with Theda Hicks, of Pace in the Women’s Doubles 60-64 age group. Barbacovey has won at least one gold medal every year since 2018 and paired with Hicks to win a silver medal in 2021 and the gold in 2018.
Pensacola’s Debra Whipkey, will be on the golf course in the 65-69 age group, looking to repeat her 2017 National Senior Games success, when she won the 60-64 age group gold medal. Her three-day total of 255, for an average score of 85 per day, had her at the top of the leaderboard for all three rounds.
Northwest Florida Athletes competing in the 2022 National Senior Games, May 10-23, in Fort Lauderdale
Donald Hires, Archery - 80-84, Pensacola
Theodore Gorder, Beach Volleyball - 50+, Pensacola Beach
Paul Stupek, Beach Volleyball - 60+, Destin
Dawn Stein, Beach Volleyball - 50+, Santa Rosa Beach
Stacy Ellsworth, Beach Volleyball - 50+, Panama City Beach
Mary Hegarty, Beach Volleyball - 55+, Pensacola Beach
Ginger Barbacovey, Bowling – 60-64, Cantonment
Lawrence Draeger, Bowling – 80-84, Pensacola
Tom Armstrong, Bowling - 60+, Pensacola
John Israel, Bowling - 60-64, Pensacola
Robert Veit, Bowling - 60-64, Pensacola
Al Crockett, Bowling - 60-64, Pensacola
Ola Briggs, Bowling - 80-84, Milton
Ben Eaton, Bowling - 85-89, Pensacola
Theda Hicks, Bowling - 65-69, Pace
Herman White, Golf - Mens - 70-74, Pensacola
Joseph Murphy, Golf - Mens - 70-74, Cantonment
Donald Dineen, Golf - Mens - 90-94, Ft Walton Bch
Debra Whipkey, Golf - Womens - 65-69, Pensacola
Brian Majka, Pickleball - 55-59, Niceville
Don Payne, Pickleball - 60-64, Fort Walton Beach
Ray Braswell, Pickleball - 60-64, Destin
Dawn Stein, Pickleball - 55-59, Santa Rosa Beach
Luzzet Macdonald, Pickleball - 55-59, Lynn Haven
Carla Curtis, Pickleball - 55-59, Fort Walton Beach
Cheryl Majka, Pickleball - 55-59, Niceville
James Myers, Racquetb,all - 65-69, Gulf Breeze
Jerry Wickliffe, Racquetball - 70-74, Navarre
Alan Swigler, Road Race - 65-69, Lynn Haven
Jeanette Swigler, Road Race - 55-59, Lynn Haven
Cheryl Trapnell, Softball - Womens - 55+, Fort Walton Beach
Elaine Wellem, Softball - Womens - 55+, Ft Walton Beach
Margaret Carroll, Softball - Womens - 70+, Fl - Freeport
Cindy Holland, Swimming - Womens - 55-59, Inlet Beach
Steven Nelson, Tennis, Cycling - 55-59, Shalimar
Kimberly Hopkins, Cycling, Tennis - 55-59, Shalimar
Catherine Sparacello, Tennis - 75-79, Miramar Beach
Tim Sullivan, Track & Field - 60-64, Shalimar
Bob Cooper, Track & Field - 60-64, Baker
Michael Werner, Track & Field - 80-84, Gulf Breeze
Mike Debrabant, Track & Field - 65-69, Pensacola
Karen Crahan, Track & Field - 70-74, Panama City Beach
Cindy Holland, Triathlon - Womens - 55-59, Inlet Beach
Carl Litzinger, Volleyball - Mens - 50+, Gulf Breeze
Jason Struck, Volleyball - Mens - 50+, Pensacola
Maria Lupton, Volleyball - Womens - 50+, Holley Navarre
Kathleen Mattes, Volleyball - Womens - 70+, Pensacola
Since 2001, Over 7,000 Florida athletes have registered to compete in the National Senior Games.
Visit www.nsga.com for a complete schedule of events taking place between May 10-23.
Florida Sports Foundation Sports Information Coordinator, Nick Gandy, will be in Fort Lauderdale at the National Senior Games from May 11-17. Please feel free to contact him for athlete information during that time.
