The Gator Bowmen Archery Range welcomed senior archers for the Gainesville Senior Games. Birds chirped from the trees as archers set up their scopes, their bows and their foldable chairs.
The 23rd Annual Gainesville Senior Games are now in full swing. They began Friday and will end Oct. 6. On Saturday, the archery competition showcased a community of archers, some newer to the sport than others.
Susan Pulsipher, 67, was looking for something to do when she retired to Gainesville. About two years ago, she saw classes offered at Easton Newberry Archery Center, a nonprofit training facility, and decided to sign up.
Her interest in archery has only grown as she purchased her own equipment and participated in other tournaments, like the Sunshine State Games in June, which were also held at Gator Bowmen Archery Range.
“I’m still new shooting at these distances, so it’s a challenge,” Pulsipher said. She earned a gold medal, although she was the only person in her age group and division. She said her score of 577 was a new personal best.
Also present at the competition was a group of seven archers from The Villages. Five of them earned a gold medal, one earned a silver medal and one earned a bronze medal.
John Gauger, 79, and Anna Hartman, 89, were part of that group.
Hartman said she always thought about shooting archery, but never had the time until she retired. She went to the archery range, and that is where she met Gauger. He taught her how to shoot.
“He was divorced, and I was widowed, so, gee, strange things happen on archery ranges,” Hartman said. Gauger and Hartman now live together.
Gauger is a confident shooter, having practiced for about 60 years. He said he took up archery as a means of hunting. He’s not worried about the competition.
“I normally take first anyway,” Gauger said. He earned a gold medal.
Hartman isn’t into “worrying about scores.” When Hartman does take home the gold, she just says: “I’ve outlived my competition.” She also earned a gold medal.
On Sunday, the Gainesville Senior Games’ swim meet took place at the Dwight H. Hunter Pool. Swimmers came to show off their skills.
Yukako Walters, competing at the senior games for the first time, is considered young at 56.
“I’m so nervous because look at everybody. Can you believe they are like 70s, 80s? They are in good shape,” Walters said.
She’s competing with the team Swamp Water Aquatics Gainesville (SWAG), which she discovered on Facebook. Walters finished fourth in the 100-yard individual medley for the women's 55-to-59 age group.
Rae Suttie, 80, got her start swimming competitively in high school, but did not return to the sport until she moved to The Villages from Michigan in 2002. She is part of Villages Aquatic Swim Team (VAST). Her teammates cheered her on as she competed.
“There is people I've known for years and years, and we're all getting older. But there's a lot of young ones coming up, and it's encouraging to see,” Suttie said.
Suttie finished second in the 200 yard backstroke for the women’s 80-to-84 age group.
Another competitor, Fred Wood, 84, not only competes in the senior games but in triathlons, as well. He grew up in North Carolina and was in the Navy for 26 years.
“I started swimming as a kid. I mean, I was semi competitive. I just enjoyed it, good at it or not,” Wood said.
Wood returns to compete in the senior games each year because “it gives you a reason to train.” He finished second in the 200 yard freestyle for the men’s 80-to-84 age group.
The next Gainesville Senior Games event is cycling on Sunday. The event was postponed from Friday due to the likely arrival of tropical weather later this week.
