It was my third time competing in this year’s Huntsman World Senior Games, held each year in St. George, Utah. The competition is an international multi-sport event featuring over 30 different sports, including “my” sport, table tennis. Athletes 50 and over are eligible to compete. The games promote healthy and active lifestyles, including free health screenings.
We like to road trip, and this year was no exception. We left Colorado, drove over I-70 and enjoyed Colorado’s beautiful fall colors, before stopping at Green River. We love the Green River Terrace motel, an old-timey hotel with comfortable beds, cooked-to-order hot breakfast, and gorgeous gardens on the banks of the Green River.
We arrived in St. George, Utah on Sunday (Oct 5th) in time to check in, and walk to the Dixie Convention Center, conveniently located next to our hotel to register for the games. In past years, the lines have been long, but this year we breezed through, picked up our credentials, and our T-shirts before checking in at our event hall in the same building. There we signed our waivers, and picked up our competition tags. (The rules are that if you are competing you must either wear a shirt with your name printed on the back, or you must have your competition number tagged to the back of your shirt.)
We played for four days, with 222 players registered to compete. The first day was the age singles event. I competed in the women’s singles age 50 – 59 age group. (There were other events divided between men’s and women’s based on your age.) In my event we had a total of 10 players, and round one we were divided into three groups: two groups of 3 players, and one group of 4 players. In the first round we played all the players in our group (called our draw.)
The matches are best out of 5 games, and each game the first player who reaches 11 points (or if you reach deuce you must win by 2 points) wins. The top two players from each group advanced to the next round. I was lucky in my draw of 3 players; I won one match and lost the other. The match I won was very close. I was initially down 2-0 games and had to come from behind to win 3 consecutive game to win that match. That’s very hard to do mentally. It’s so easy to get despondent, and once you “get in your head” the match is over. Table tennis is such a mental sport. I was very pleased because that meant I advanced to the next round.
In the quarter finals I played a very strong player. Again, it would be easy to let that get in my head. I guess, I’m weird. When I think I’m going to lose anyway, I relax, focus on one shot at a time, for example, like focusing on my backhands, and magically and mysteriously I find myself winning points and doing well. I was very surprised to win my match in the quarter finals. It too was a hard fought match. I ended up winning it 3-2. And in this match the reverse happened- I was initially up 2-0 when my oppenent leveled the match 2-2. I figured that in the final game I was probably going to lose, and once again I simply concentrated on my game, and what was working. It was very, very close. 3 of our games went to deuce. It could have gone either way, but it didn’t. That meant I was through to the semi-finals.
Now, I was starting to freak out. To put it into context, out of the 10 players in this event, I was rated 6th place. Which means if I played the way I was rated, I shouldn’t be anywhere near a quarter-finals, let alone a semi-finals. Talk about imposter syndrome. My competitor in the semi-finals was vastly more skilled than I. But I was very pleased that I was able to get a game off her, eventually losing 3-1. But it didn’t mean that my day was over, because in Huntsman you still get to play for who wins the bronze. By this stage in the day, I had played quite a number of matches, with most of the matches going to 4 and 5 games a piece. In the playoff for 3rd place, I managed to win that match 3-1, with two of the games going to deuce. And there it was, my very first day of the competition, and I had won the bronze, third place in my event. Talk about overachieving!
The next days followed a usual pattern: Tuesday, the second day of competition was doubles day. Mens, Womens, and mixed doubles. I played with Kim, my new doubles partner in our event. And I played with Kevin in the mixed doubles event. We had a blast.
In the women’s doubles event we had a draw of 2 groups of 4 teams each, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the next round. Matches were best out of 5 games. We won one, and last two, and did not advance. One of the matches we lost, we lost 3-2.
In the mixed doubles event, I played with Kevin. This draw consisted of 3 groups of 4 teams each. We had a tough draw, and one of our games, we were two games ahead, and we eventually lost 3-2. We did not advance, but had the best time.
Wednesday, the third day of the competition was the rating singles events. In competitive table tennis here in the USA, competitors belong to the USATT which assesses players ratings. The way it works is that the lower the skilled a player is, the lower the rating, and the more highly skilled players have the higher ratings. When you compete in a sanctioned tournament, if you lose to a player with a rating lower than yours, then that’s an expected win, and nothing happens to your rating. But if you beat a higher rated player that’s regarded as an “upset” and your rating will be adjusted upwards, and the losing player’s rating will be adjusted downwards. For a better explanation about how the ratings are calculated check out this explanation. Ratings are only vulnerable to this during singles matches – such as the age singles events, and the rated singles events.
I competed in two singles rated events- the 1200- 1399 and the 1400- 1599. In both events I was competing against more highly rated players (for the most part) and I did not advance. But overall, I was pleased with the way I played. I did make a tactical mistake in one of the matches where I had a good chance of winning, but I’m going to chalk that one down to experience. (My tactical mistake was to forget to use my weapons. I ended up playing my opponent’s game, and not mine.)
The final day of competition was the doubles super tiered event. This was the third year, Kevin and I competed. The morning round is the seeding round, and the afternoon round is where you play in your seeded divisions for first, second and third place. Kevin and I had a very tough division. We came fourth, but did manage to beat the team who won the gold in our division. The doubles super tier event is a little different because you play best out of 3 games, instead of best out of 5. This changes the nature of the game completely.
It was lovely being back and playing at this Senior Games. Each year we make new friends, visit with old ones, and get to compete in a sport that I love.
Oh, and Kevin and I did have one of the free health screenings – the one where they measured our carotid arteries. I’m married to a man whose arteries are that of a spritely 40 year old. And me? I’m ok, but I know that I have lots to work on to make sure that I can remain active and healthy.
There’s a lot to look forward to.
