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ST. GEORGE, Utah — While the Olympians were competing in London, thousands of other elite athletes were setting their sights on a major international event this fall.

The Huntsman World Senior Games are the world’s largest annual multisport event for athletes 50 and older. They will be held Oct. 8-20 here in southern Utah, two hours northeast of Las Vegas. Since their inception in 1987, the games have lured athletes from every state and 65 other nations.

In 2010, a record 10,079 men and women competed for gold, silver and bronze medals in 27 events. The sports are a potpourri, running the gamut from conventional sports such as track and field, swimming, golf, tennis and basketball to such exotic activities as cowboy action shooting, horseshoes, pickleball (like a combination of tennis, ping-pong and whiffle ball) and square dancing.

Competition is in five-year age divisions, starting at 50-54. The oldest competitor on record is the late Russell Clark, who was 105 when he participated in track and field.

“It’s not unusual for us to have a handful of athletes in their 90s, some in their late 90s,” said Kyle Case, chief executive officer of the games.

A voluntary bonus for participants is access to free health screenings. Doctors from Brigham Young University oversee tests for breast and prostate cancer, glaucoma, diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, hearing, bone density and balance. Individual records are updated yearly.

Among the athletes who have competed every year since the games began is Cal Dilworth of Southfield, Mich., a member of the Harlem Globetrotters after starring in football and basketball at Heidelberg University in Ohio.

“Basketball was not even listed as a sport when they started the games because they thought it was too strenuous a sport for people over 55,” said Dilworth, 80. “I was playing in an (Amateur Athletic Union) Tournament in Salt Lake City in 1987 and someone from the games contacted one of the guys about the possibility of playing in St. George. We were able to get three teams, and they put it on the list.”

Though Dilworth was a basketball pioneer at the games, 80-year-old Jim Brett of Palos Heights didn’t start going to St. George until he was 68. He has gone back “about seven times,” and in 2010 his USA Warriors basketball teams won a gold medal in the 75-plus division.

For Brett, excelling in basketball is only part of the Huntsman World Senior Games experience.

“Aside from the fact that it’s beautiful country from the visual point of view, you find yourself spending time with very nice people you don’t see that often and in some cases their wives,” he said. “That makes for a very pleasant time when you’re not playing.”

Though most of the male athletes at the games have high school and college sports backgrounds — and some such as former NBA star Flynn Robinson and Dilworth played professionally — most of the older women were athletically deprived until the passage of the Title IX federal legislation in 1972.

Bette Helland of Bountiful, Utah, has won 50 medals at the games after starting her tennis career at age 55, and in 2011 she collaborated with Barbara West of Salt Lake City to earn a silver medal in the 80-84 division’s open doubles.

Participants in team sports can register as individuals and get picked up by teams needing players. That’s how Bill Doell, a 73-year-old softball player from Lombard, started.

“A friend of mine and I just signed up; a (volleyball) team from Oregon contacted us, and we went out there,” Doell remembered. “I started playing volleyball (at the games) before softball. I got in with a couple of other teams and started playing softball.”

Back in Chicago’s western suburbs, a Doell teammate in weekly pickup softball games is Tony Gurdak of Villa Park, but in St. George they play on different teams in different divisions.

Gurdak is a member of the ProHealth Care team from Brookfield, Wis., the defending champion in the 74-plus Major Division.

“As we get older, teams get combined,” Gurdak said. “Some guys get hurt and can’t continue. You’re always looking for good ballplayers. I also compete in a lot of big senior events in track, but I choose to be with my softball teammates at the Huntsman Games. We’re all brothers in this sport.”

Outstanding athletes such as Valerie White of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., who played college volleyball at Brigham Young, are coveted additions.

“Last year was my first year,” White said. “I had competed in the USA Open for many years, and several of my teammates had been waiting for me to turn 50 so I could play at the Huntsman Games (named for the sponsoring Huntsman Corp.). It’s a well-run, super fun tournament; our (Pasadena Mavericks) team has players from all over the country; and we beat out a team from Calgary to get the gold.”

Senior Games by the numbers

Oct. 8-20: Dates of this year’s games in Utah

27: Sports for men and women

10,000: Approximate number of participants

50 to 100+: Age range of competitors

5-year increments: Age divisions

To learn more

Web: seniorgames.net

E-mail: hwsg@seniorgames.net

Phone: 800-562-1268

Registration is closed for participating in this year’s games, but those interested might want to make the trip to think about 2013.