December, 2011, Cheer News & Views

DSO Sports News

By Marion Lisehora mlisehora@mchsi.com

After almost five enjoyable years of writing the DSO (Delaware Senior Olympics) Sports News column, I am retiring. Teal Richards (Seahawk55@mchsi.com or 302-245-6651) will write the column starting with the January, 2012, issue of CHEER News and Views. Teal has lived in Sussex County her entire life and now lives in Ocean View with her husband Scott. They have two daughters. She is a financial consultant for TWK Group, and she participates in senior volleyball and softball. Teal is looking forward to writing the column, which will help keep the community informed of the DSO activities that are available for seniors. She will also be reporting on our Delaware senior athletes’ achievements. Teal will be the new Women’s Volleyball Coordinator for Sussex County, too. She will be teaching a volleyball class for senior women 45-70+ through the Indian River School District’s Adult Education Program starting in January. The class will be held at Millsboro Middle School on Tuesday nights from 7-9. The catalog with registration forms for Adult Education classes will be posted on the IRSD web-site soon.

Pickleball: Pickleball enthusiasts have found indoor facilities to use during the winter months. In the beach area Shields Elementary in Lewes and Rehoboth Elementary will both be used. Contact Georgia Billger for details gojoe57@verizon.net. Dudley Sluder snowbirds77@yahoo.com. has obtained the Community Center in Ocean Pines, MD, while Dana Aultman dana.aultman@comcast.net. has scheduled times to play at Delaware State University in Dover. For the Wilmington area contact p.olivero@comcast.net. New players are welcome at any of these locations. Other indoor venues are also being sought. Pickleball is played with large paddles and a special wiffle ball on a badminton-sized court with a net about the height of a tennis net. Either doubles or singles can be played. The inventor of the game had a dog named Pickles that used to love to chase the ball – thus the name pickleball. USA Pickleball Association has a website where you can find rules and purchase equipment. http://www.usapa.org/

Awards Luncheon: The 2011 DSO Awards Luncheon was held at Jonathan’s Landing on November 5. The Senior Group Challenge Awards were presented to four groups according to their size. The Silver Sneakers from Pelican Cove won again this year in the largest group category. The Easy Striders took first in the next division, while Cokesbury Village and Methodist Country House won in the third and fourth size divisions.

Outstanding Athlete Award: Winners of the coveted outstanding athlete awards were Harriet Mair and Jim Kerr. Harriet has been a DSO competitor since 1998, having won medals in Track and Field, Swimming, Tennis, Recreational Walk, Basketball, Volleyball and Softball in Delaware and in several other states. She won softball silver medals in the Softball Players Association Nationals in Gallatin, Tennessee in 2005, 2008 and 2009 and bronze medals in 2010 and 2011. The Softball Players Association has recognized her as an All-American for the last three years. Her most recent accomplishments were gold medals in softball at the 2011 Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah and the World Softball Championships in Phoenix, where she was also voted the Most Valuable Player while playing with the Golden Girls from Virginia. Jim is the DSO golf coordinator and a former Board of Directors Member. He started competing in the DSO games in 1994. He has earned medals in bowling, golf and softball. He has bowled several 279 games and a 792 series. At the 2005 National Senior Games in Pittsburgh he set a 70-74 age group bowling record with a 735 series. He consistently wins medals and ribbons at National events. In the 2011 National Senior Games in Houston, TX, Jim earned a bronze medal in doubles bowling.

Charlie Marten Award: The recipient of this award is Wayne Saulsbury, who has returned to competition following a serious car accident a year ago, which was followed by a seizure. He made an amazing comeback and won the World Horseshoe Pitching Championships in Monroe, Louisiana in July. Wayne is a DSO Board Member and also the horseshoes coordinator.

Sussex YMCA Women’s Volleyball Play-offs: Although Net Access came into the play-offs as the #3 seed, it won all 3 of its play-off matches and defeated the SWAT team in the championship match. Net Access has won the championship every spring and fall since 2007.

Remember to check out the Delaware Senior Olympics website often. http://www.delawareseniorolympics.org/

Pete and Barb: Barbara Sweeney (R) accepted the Senior Group Challenge Award for Large Groups for the Silver Sneakers of the Pelican Cove CHEER Center, while Pete Gisler (L) accepted the Senior Group Challenge Award for the Second Largest Group category for the Easy Striders at the DSO Awards Luncheon at Jonathan’s Landing on November 5.

Harriet Mair (R) poses with Awards Chairman Barbara Viera after receiving the Outstanding Athlete Award at the DSO Awards Luncheon at Jonathan’s Landing on November 5.

Jim Kerr (R) holds the Outstanding Athlete Award while DSO Awards Chairman Barbara Viera looks on at the DSO Awards Luncheon at Jonathan’s Landing on November 5.

Wayne Saulsbury (R) stands with Diana Roche prior to receiving the Charlie Marten Award at the DSO Awards Luncheon at Jonathan’s Landing on November 5.