Proud to be medalists
This is the first in a series of articles profiling Butler area athletes’ success at the recent National Senior Games
They’re not getting any younger.
But the desire to compete within Butler residents Carol McCollough and Kathy Blair, both 80, isn’t exactly fading away.
Both have been members of the Senior Olympics of Western Pennsylvania organization — based out of the Butler Cubs Hall and founded by McCollough herself — for 20 years or longer. They’ve played basketball and volleyball with other members of the organization through the years.
“Once you turn 80, it’s harder and harder to find enough people to form a team,” McCollough said.
Senior Games competitions take place in age groups of 5-year increments — 50-55, 55-60, 60-65, etc. — and McCollough and Blair were the only 80-year-olds left in the group still playing.
“When I was putting together our (seniors basketball) event in Slippery Rock, I was talking to a team from Virginia,” McCollough said. “They didn’t have enough 80-year-olds to field a team and neither did we. We decided we could round out a team together.”
The Aebersold Recreation Center at Slippery Rock University hosted the “Rivalry at the Rock” Seniors basketball tournament last spring, but the Virginia team couldn’t make the trip. The Senior National Games were held in Pittsburgh last month.
The Virginia-based team, known as Nova United Classics, made that trip. McCollough and Blair joined their squad, as did a couple of players from Virginia and North Carolina.
“I wasn’t planning on playing,” Blair said. “It turned out they needed one more person. I felt healthy enough, so, sure, I was happy to help them out.”
Nova United Classics wound up winning the bronze medal despite McCollough and Blair having never played with that group of women before. McCollough saw her first basketball action since undergoing a knee replacement in July of last year.
She said her and Blair had no trouble getting used to their new teammates.
“We’re a bunch of 80-year-olds,” she said. “None of us could play for very long, so there was a lot of subbing in and out. Basketball is basketball.”
However, Nova United Classics played one team that had three women sinking 3-point shots and had been playing together for a long time.
“That group was unbelievable,” Blair said. “We had a lot of trouble with them.”
“They have been playing together since high school and we were playing together for the first time ever,” McCollough said, laughing. “We were at a bit of a disadvantage.”
One thing their team did not fall short of was support.
Blair recalled as much when their team left the court and headed downstairs to the locker room area.
“Other teams were stopping us, asking how we did,” Blair said. “When we told them we were in the 80-year-old division, they couldn’t believe it. They made us feel really good about ourselves. Everything was so positive. Everyone’s just out there having fun.”
Besides basketball, Blair plays pickleball. She has played volleyball and been a swimmer as well.
“I feel very blessed not to be hurt and to still be healthy enough to do this stuff,” she said. “We’re always looking for more women to join our group. I’ll continue to play as long as it’s fun ... and it’s still fun.”
Senior Olympics of Western Pennsylvania has approximately 85 members now. All are female. They get together each Saturday morning at the Butler Cubs Hall.
“We’re on hiatus for a month or so right now,” McCollough said. “Sometime in September, we’ll be back in the gym again.”
