Jacque Texeira
The Sun Lakes Senior Games project has concluded for this year and was considered a resounding success. Close to 200 players and spectators enjoyed getting to know members of their neighboring communities through a range of competitive sporting events, which took place at Sun Lakes Country Club (SLCC), Cottonwood Palo Verde (CWPV), IronOaks (IO), and Robson Reserve at Sun Lakes (RR).
Here are the winners of the 13 events that took place over a three-week period:
Water Balloon Toss at SLCC: Sheila East, Lori East, Paul Schneider, Debbie Lockhart
Social Pickleball at SLCC: Kerry Barton, Paul Schneider
Putt-Away-Putters Mini-Golf at CWPV: Dave Patterson, Vaughn Hale
Cornhole at CWPV: Rick Miller, Colleen Linko, Jeff Michelin, Wendy Schneider
Target Golf at IO: Barbara Arakelian, Carl Hurst
Chip & Putt at IO: Christine Nelem, Steve Ficker, Nathan Ellis, Susie LaSalvia, Marybeth Smith, Barbara Arakelian
Mah Jongg at RR: Karen Donohoe, Tracy Thornoch
Mexican Train at RR: Cherie Hale, Lori East
Competitive Pickleball at IO:
3.0 Women: Ginny Doughtery, Sylvia Sanchez
3.0 Men: Rob Marinelli, Nathan Ellis
3.5 Women: Kimberly Brenner, Marta Brenner
3.5 Men: Joe Bujak, Dwayne Speager
Bocce Ball at CWPV: Jeff Blankenship, Terry Sporleader, Doc Heckler, Vicki Zerletti
Ray Texeira, the founder and director of the Games, thanked all of the sponsors at an awards ceremony dinner acknowledging that this wouldn’t have been possible without their generous support: Robson Resort Communities, Robson Reserve at Sun Lakes, Semper Fi Heating-Cooling-Plumbing, Homewatch Caregivers, Skunky’s Junk Removal, Modern Physical Therapy, and Canine Creek Dog Wash & Boutique.
He also thanked the club leaders for organizing the various competitions and the activity directors at each of the communities for their cooperation. Then the much anticipated announcement of the overall winner based on community points accrued for participation by both players and spectators was made. Although the competition was close, the Cottonwood Palo Verde community earned the grand trophy.
There are many others to whom we owe a debt of gratitude, including all of the volunteers who donated their time and talent, as well as each of the four communities and Sun Lakes Community Theatre for their generous gift donations to the participants.
When asked about his final thoughts on spearheading this huge project, Ray says, “It was a ton of work, but the many positive comments we heard from players who enjoyed the activities and are happy to have new friends now in other communities made it feel more like a festival than a serious competition. It was well worth the effort.”
Can we look forward to the Sun Lakes Senior Games in 2026? Ray says, “I’ll think about that after I have a long nap.”