THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 24, 1995 TAG: 9503230157
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PAM STARR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 180 lines
JEAN UMPEROVITCH, wearing a teal headband and matching T-shirt, squats at the foul line and tosses a basketball underhanded.
Swoosh! Unbelievably, the ball sails through the air at a slow pace, bounces off the backboard and lands in the basket. Umperovitch breaks into a wide smile and shrugs her shoulders.
``I didn't even know I could make baskets till now!'' she says. ``I don't know why they're going in.''
Making baskets is not something the short-legged Umperovitch would normally do. She never played sports in school and is the first to admit she's not athletically inclined.
So what is this 62-year-old doing at the Great Neck Recreation Center, making those amazing baskets? Umperovitch is practicing her tosses for a shot at glory next month - a gold medal in the Virginia Beach Senior Olympics.
Granted, this isn't the real Olympics. It isn't even a qualifying event for the state senior Olympics in May in Williamsburg.
But you'd never know it after watching these determined senior athletes work out day after day. They swim laps. They run miles. They lift weights. They hit softballs. They play tennis.
They do everything their younger counterparts do, except at a different age and pace.
Take 64-year-old retiree Joe Capell. Six-feet-two and deeply muscled, Capell is fitter than most men half his age. He works to stay in shape. Three times a week he walks two miles, takes an aerobics class and then does circuit training in the weight room. Capell will compete in the softball hit and throw, basketball, shotput and discus events.
``I never practice (the events),'' said Capell, who was shooting baskets with Umperovitch and Al Hopkins. ``I haven't thrown a softball since last year. This is fun for everybody.''
That's the point Bayside recreation specialist Joan Averette wants to get across - that competing in the Olympics is fun. Too many seniors, she says, think they aren't good enough and will look foolish trying.
Nonsense, says Averette, 58. She started a Golden Swim Club at Bayside last fall to help seniors develop and sharpen their skills and to encourage them to enter the Olympics. Averette will be competing in the swimming events along with friend Jeanne Meredith and Janie Shaw.
The three, looking lithe and limber in their Speedo suits, swim three times a week at the rec center.
``A lot of women in my age group are hesitant to compete,'' said Averette, who swims a mile each time. ``They're afraid of the unknown. My goal is to do the best that I can for me.''
Edwin Howe and Virginia Ledwitch are mainstays of the senior Olympics. Primarily swimmers, the spry pair has branched out into other events like basketball throw, bowling, shuffleboard, jump rope. He's 86, she's 84, and they have enough medals between them to sink a small ship. Like fine wine, they just seem to get better with age.
And you can't discuss the senior Olympics without mentioning world class track and field athlete Leonore McDaniels, 67. She was named Woman Athlete of the Year in Virginia last summer, and Sports Illustrated named her as one of the Faces in the Crowd last January. McDaniels has competed in the senior Olympics on the local, state and national levels for several years and in the masters' world championships.
Last week she was throwing baskets in the gym, trying not to aggravate her back. She had surgery three months ago but hopes to compete in her regular events - the 50-meter and 100-meter races, shotput, discus, one-mile race walk and basketball throw.
``I'm going to try and see what I can do,'' said McDaniels as husband Russell looked on. He'll be competing in the 50-meter and 100-meter races, shotput, discus and softball throw.
McDaniels stopped and held the ball against her side. She knows that her success may be intimidating to those who have never participated in sports, but she doesn't want to scare anyone off.
``I hope more people get encouraged to compete,'' said McDaniels. ``I always tell them if I can start this late, they can, too.
``Even if you think you can't do anything, come out and try because you never know,'' she added, watching Ledwitch skip rope all over the gym.
George Langill would agree. The 72-year-old has won the freestyle swimming event in his age group two years in a row. He religiously swims three times a week at the rec center, 50 lengths each time, and also performs circuit training on the weight machines.
And he has only one leg.
``I'm just doing this for fun,'' said Langill, who lost his leg 10 years ago after he broke it and a staph infection took over. ``We cheer for each other. . . . I think it's great. I would like to see more seniors come out. Everyone's a winner.''
You don't even have to break a sweat to compete. Card games will be going on throughout the two-day event, said Susan Topping, recreation specialist at Great Neck. What's different about the 1995 senior Olympics is the addition of educational sessions, entertainment and vendors. And a training clinic will be held for several weeks beforehand, to help seniors sharpen their skills.
``I want to emphasize that this is not a qualifying event for the state Olympics - it's just a practice session for those who do go on to the state,'' said Topping. ``We don't want seniors to think you need to be a world class athlete to compete. Just have some fun and socialize.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
GIVING IT THEIR BEST SHOT
ON THE COVER
Leonore McDaniels, named Woman Athlete of the Year in Virginia last
summer, practices the shot put at Great Neck Rec Center. Staff photo
by MORT FRYMAN
Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
Joan Averette, right, started a Golden Swim Club at Bayside last
fall to encourage them to enter the Olympics. She will compete with
Jeanne Meredith and Janie Shaw.
Jean Umperovitch, 62, practices her shuffleboard techniques. She
plans to compete in several events and likes to do weight-training
to help her prepare.
Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
Al Hopkins gets in a few cuts at the softball, also one of the
events in the Senior Olympics.
Virginia Ledwitch, 84, is among the mainstays of the senior
olympics. Primarily a swimmer, she has branched out into other
events like bowling.
Joe Capell, 64, fitter than most men half his age, practices his
basketball shooting. He also will compete in the softball hit and
throw, shotput and discus events. "I never practice (the events),"
said Capell. "I haven't thrown a softball since last year. This is
fun for everybody."
FACTS AND FIGURES
When: April 25 and 26 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Great Neck Rec Center and Cox High School track and tennis
courts.
Deadline for registration: April 18 at the Great Neck Rec
Center.
Age groups: 50-59; 60-64; 65-69; 70-74; 75-79; 80-84; 85-89;
90-95; 96 and over.
SENIOR OLYMPICS EVENTS
Tennis Softball Hit & Throw
Discus Shotput
Badminton Billiards
1 mile walk race 50/100 meter dash
Running long jump Shuffleboard
Frisbee bowl Indoor golf
Long distance driving contest Bowling
Swimming Croquet
Jump rope Standing jump
Horseshoes Table tennis
Basketball (15 free throws and 10 lay-ups)
SENIOR OLYMPICS TRAINING CLINICS
If you've thought that your softball throw is short, or your
tennis backhand is weak, here's a chance to improve your skills.
Training clinics will be held at Great Neck Rec Center, 2521
Shorehaven Drive, on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 to 11 a.m.
beginning March 29.
The clinics will focus on tennis, softball hit and throw,
walking, track and field events, swimmming, billiards, badminton,
shuffleboard, frisbee bowl, bowling, basketball, jump rope,
horseshoes, table tennis and croquet. All sports equipment,
excluding tennis rackets, will be provided by the rec center.
For more information, call the rec center at 496-6766.
VENDORS STILL NEEDED
This is the first year that vendors can participate in the 1995
Virginia Beach Senior Olympics. Susan Topping asks that you have
information materials and a carnival type game for seniors to
participate in and win prizes.
The entrance fee is $25. Please contact Topping at 496-6766 for
a registration form. Checks are to be made out to Treasurer, City
of Virginia Beach.
Here are the sponsors of the Virginia Beach Senior Olympics:
Hillhaven Holmes Health Care
Hillhaven Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
Smith and Williams Funeral Home
Abbey Home Health Care
Virginia Beach Task Force on Aging
City of Virginia Beach
by CNB