What: Registered members of UTEP’s Physical Fitness in the Golden Age will compete in the first Golden Age Games, which are free and open to the public.
When: 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2
Where: UTEP’s Kidd Field
May is Older Americans Month and this year’s theme is Get into the Act, which is a familiar refrain for a growing number of El Pasoans who are taking advantage of the programs available through The University of Texas at El Paso.
The two main programs the University offers to seniors who want to exercise their minds and bodies are the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) and Physical Fitness in the Golden Age. Together they draw about 650 El Paso area residents age 50 and older per semester.
The 2010 U.S. Census registered about 124,842 persons age 55 or older in El Paso County and the Paso del Norte Health Foundation estimated that 166,000 El Pasoans will be older than age 60 by 2020. Research has shown that senior citizens who exercise their bodies and brains live longer, healthier and more productive lives. The University stepped up its efforts to serve that population years ago to provide older adults with outlets to maintain their mental, social and physical well-being.
To celebrate the completion of a milestone year, the Physical Fitness program has organized its first Golden Age Games from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, May 2, at Kidd Field. Program participants will compete in individual or team track and field events. The competition is free and open to the public.
The fitness program is open to people age 60 and older with a doctor’s note stating they are healthy enough to exercise. The approximately 200 seniors enrolled in the program use the Fitness Research Facility in the Ross Moore Building near UTEP’s Kidd Field, and in 2014 started at the Gary del Palacio Recreation Center, 3001 Parkwood Drive on El Paso’s East Side. The program runs in the fall and spring semesters and costs $90 per semester.
Seniors use free weights, machines and other equipment to build strength and stamina under the supervision of Sandor Dorgo, Ph.D., associate professor of kinesiology, certified kinesiology graduates and undergraduates doing their fieldwork.
Dorgo, an international expert in strength training and conditioning, started the program in 2006 with a $50,000 grant from the Paso del Norte Health Foundation’s Ageless Health Initiative.
“We provide the expertise, the motivation and the environment to engage in proper exercise to improve your health,” Dorgo said.
OLLI marks its 25th year of providing an eclectic assortment of classes to older adults in 2015. It registers almost 450 students per semester who select from a catalog of about 100 courses in arts, dance, history, politics, languages and more. Six-week summer courses begin June 1 with most classes held in Miners Hall. The institute is open to adults age 50 and older who pay a one-time $25 membership fee and $70 per semester to take an unlimited number of courses. The summer session is only $30.
OLLI opened in fall 1990 as the Center for Lifelong Learning. It received a $1 million endowment from the Bernard Osher Foundation in 2010.
“We offer good courses and great experiences,” said Ian Wilson, OLLI’s executive director.
The University also hosts the annual Estate Planning Conference for Women. It launched in 1966 and is done in partnership with UTEP’s Woman’s Auxiliary. More than 40 women attend the weekly morning sessions over five weeks in the University Library’s Blumberg Auditorium. Business professionals offer advice about asset protection, elder law, charitable giving, life insurance and aspects of estate planning.
“This conference is a wonderful opportunity to help those who may or may not have completed their estate planning,” said John Aranda, a UTEP director of development.
Older Americans Month was established in 1963 and is celebrated nationally.
For information about OLLI, visit olliatutep.org or call 915-747-6280, about Physical Fitness in the Golden Age, visit goldenagefitness.utep.edu or call 915-747-6091, and for the Estate Planning Conference for Women, call 915-747-8533 or email development@utep.edu.