Oxford’s older residents stay active — and competitive — with Masters Games
The Masters Games have given members of Oxford Seniors opportunities to compete in dozens of sports and other contests in its 35 years.
For two weeks every September, Oxford’s older residents get a bit more competitive.
That’s when Oxford Seniors holds the annual Masters Games, now in the 35th year. The games, which run from Sept. 9 until Sept. 20 this year, span two dozen events and have attracted more than 100 participants in everything from pickleball to euchre.
Jennifer Marcum, volunteer and Meals on Wheels coordinator for Oxford Seniors, has helped coordinate the Masters Games for two decades. She said planning begins in May with monthly committee meetings that include chairpeople from each sport. The games involved can change year to year, and even over the course of the planning process as some get less sign-ups than necessary.
“Sometimes to add an event, we have to take an event off,” Marcum said. “Over 20 events in two weeks is a lot.”
Marcum said three new events were planned this year, but only one made the final cut. They had planned on holding both team trivia and a dance event, but neither one got enough involvement. The dexterity games, though, proposed by a member of Oxford Seniors, had a successful run for their first year being included.
Jessica Kopp has been a member of Oxford Seniors for seven years. She decided the games needed a dexterity option to encourage people to keep working on mobility in their hands.
“A lot of our games are large muscle activities, and I thought, a lot of our people have been talking about at the lunches, they can’t pick up the spoons and forks easily,” Kopp said. “I thought, well, you know, we need some sort of dexterity [game]. And then I thought, well, that one dexterity thing is not enough. We need a few more.”
The dexterity games attracted five participants this year and included three activities: rope braiding, marble digging and dart throwing. For some, braiding was a new skill, and it took a bit to decide whether everyone should stand or sit for darts. Kopp is already thinking ahead to how she can improve the event next year, though, and maybe even add new activities.
(Left) Emilie Ratterman throws a dart and hits a bullseye. (Right) One of the dexterity contests involved digging out marbles from a bucket of sand. Photo by Sean Scott
Dexterity may be new in 2024, but other events are old classics. Members don’t just play pool every year at the Masters Games, they play it every Thursday throughout the year.
Ron Zemko is the defacto organizer for pool. He keeps track of Team Hamilton and Team Oxford, the two leagues that compete against each other each week, then he recaps the results in the Oxford Seniors newsletter each month. For the Masters Games’ two pool events, 8-ball and 9-ball, the leagues are thrown out, and it’s all individual.
While all the pool players have a healthy sense of competition and come from different backgrounds, Zemko said they’ve grown close over the years.
“In addition to playing pool, everybody’s big sports fans,” Zemko said. “We talk about the Reds and the Bengals and college sports and all that. Despite the fact that it’s an extremely diverse bunch of people, it’s just run very, very smoothly.”
Nick Asher, 85, has been a member of Oxford Seniors for almost two decades and has been taking part in the Masters Games’ pool competitions for about 10 years. He said it’s a tight-knight group of people, and having the games each year especially gives them something to look forward to.
“It gets competitive to say the least,” Asher said. “It gives you a good inner feeling when you win and a sadness when you lose.”
To pull the Masters Games off each year, Marcum said they rely on community partners and sponsors like local businesses to offer support. Several locations including The Knolls of Oxford, Oxford Country Club and more also host some of the events at their facilities. As the two weeks wrap up each year with an awards ceremony and meal, Marcum said they get food donations from restaurants.
This year is the 35th time Oxford Seniors has hosted the Masters Games, but the first time was 36 years ago. The games were canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic before returning in 2021 with some restrictions and requirements like wearing masks. While some events have also gone away over the years — swimming, badminton and ping pong to name a few — Marcum said it’s still a major highlight for the members every fall.
“It’s something for them to look forward to. It’s something that is going to make them physically active, plus socially active.”
