All the details to get involved with the Colorado Senior Games, national qualifying events in June. Rands Keasler, with the Colorado Springs Sports Corps, highlights why the Games are so important to produce, along with the how and when to sign up as an athlete. More importantly, come to cheer on athletes, from around the State and beyond, in over 16 sports. Listen to learn about the sports and the various venues around the Pikes Peak Region.
Aging with Altitude is recorded in the Pikes Peak region with a focus on topics of aging interest across the country. We talk about both the everyday and novel needs and approaches to age with altitude – whether you’re in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida or Leadville, Colorado. The Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging is the producer.
BEACON Senior News is a proud sponsor/partner for this podcast. BEACON Senior News empowers Colorado seniors with inspiring local stories, timely coverage of senior issues, health and travel features, retirement and financial guidance, senior expos and local resources — all presented in a fun, engaging way that helps older adults lead happier, healthier lives. Catch all the news at: beaconseniornews.com/
Transcript
MELISSA MARTS:
May is Older Americans Month. Across the country, we are telling great stories about aging well. This year’s theme is Champion Your Health. That’s the theme for the Older Americans Month this year.
Today’s show features the when, where, and how to compete, volunteer, or watch the wonderful Colorado Senior Games.
VOICEOVER:
This is Studio 809 Podcasts, informing, connecting, and empowering the residents of the Pikes Peak region.
MARTS:
Welcome to Aging with Altitude, a podcast providing information, advice, and resources for seniors, families, and caregivers to help you live your best life, courtesy of the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging. We’re coming to you from the Studio 809 Community Podcast Studio at The Next Us, a professional, cooperative environment for small businesses in downtown Colorado Springs. I’m your host, Melissa Marts, with the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging.
Well, it is May in Colorado Springs. Here we are, broadcasting hopefully not just in Colorado Springs, but in many other places as well. And I’m happy to be in the studio with one of our sponsors, Beacon Senior News.
So thank you, Beacon Senior News, for all the work that you do to get the word out about aging with altitude. And tell us a little bit about what your May edition holds for readers.
RHONDA WRAY:
Right, well, I don’t know if we have hikers out there. I’ll bet we do. But we are spotlighting a program called Women Stepping Up, which pairs very experienced climbers with beginners to go up all the steps of the Manitou Incline.
MARTS:
Wow, so when you said climbers, I was thinking, are we talking rock climbers? Are we talking hikers? We’re talking about Manitou Incline hikers.
Wow, very good. How did you find this person? Or these people, this group?
WRAY:
They contacted us.
MARTS:
Oh, good.
WRAY:
Yeah.
MARTS:
And you decided to tell the story.
WRAY:
Yeah, I thought, well, that sounds cool.
MARTS:
Good, good. Well, I will look forward to that. I have done the incline many times.
WRAY:
Yay.
MARTS:
And I would be, my first time, I probably would have been happy to have someone take me up that together. So that’s great that they’re doing that. What other kind of features are you guys having in May besides that?
WRAY:
Well, I think we’ve got warm weather on the brain because we’ve got a couple flower-related articles, those who arrange flowers. There’s a Rose Society here in Colorado Springs, so we’re spotlighting them.
Also the Colorado 150, US 250 semisesquicentennial. Did I say that right?
MARTS:
I think you got that right.
WRAY:
That’s a mouthful, right? About how years in the sun can take their toll. Okay, I’m the generation where we just, you know, put it all out there and wanted to fry and get as tan as we could, and now we’re sorry. But it just gives some helpful pointers for how to deal with that sun.
MARTS:
Good, good.
WRAY:
And then something called, are you familiar with over tourism?
MARTS:
I don’t think so.
WRAY:
Yeah, I had to look it up.
MARTS:
Okay.
WRAY:
But just when a lot of people go to sites and maybe that’s not good for the site and how we can be more conscientious in our traveling.
MARTS:
Okay.
WRAY:
So that is our travel article for May.
MARTS:
Great, yeah. And we have a lot of wonderful places that people visit here in our region, all over our different counties, down there from Cañon City to Pueblo to here. So I guess over tourism could happen here too.
WRAY:
It absolutely could.
MARTS:
Very good to be looking forward to that article as well. Well, thanks.
WRAY:
Yeah, thank you.
MARTS:
And where can people find a copy of The Beacon?
WRAY:
Oh boy, lots of places. Every Safeway, most King Soopers, banks, restaurants, thrift stores is a big one for us.
MARTS:
Good.
WRAY:
YMCA’s, library branches. Yeah.
MARTS:
And again, the communities that you guys are covering are not just Colorado Springs, but name a few of the other communities as well.
WRAY:
Well, our counties. El Paso, Teller, Fremont, and Pueblo counties.
MARTS:
Okay.
WRAY:
So that’s a lot of towns in there, big and little.
MARTS:
Good. Thank you for that reminder of all those counties. I’m glad you guys are able to spread the word in all those areas. And then you also have a website if people wanted to check out a website.
WRAY:
Yes, beaconseniornews.com. And then it has two different Beacons and you’ll wanna click on the Colorado Springs, Pueblo edition.
MARTS:
Okay, super. Well, thank you, Rhonda.
WRAY:
Thanks, Melissa.
MARTS:
Keep telling the good news of our region. And I will look forward to talking with you next month.
WRAY:
Sounds great.
MARTS:
Take care.
WRAY:
Thanks so much.
MARTS:
Today in the show, I am excited to bring back the Colorado Springs Sports Corps again. It’s really important that we’ve talked with you guys a couple of times because, you know, last year in 2025, you guys brought back the Colorado Senior Games to our region.
And it’s not just our region, it’s the state and then outlying areas as well. And of course we have the Colorado Senior Games coming up again this coming June. So here we are in May, wanting to do another shout out to our listeners to be reminded of the Colorado Senior Games and what we’re up to.
And so in the studio, I have Rands sitting with me today. And in a minute, she’s gonna remind us what she does with the Colorado Springs Sports Corps. But I’d also like you to tell us what is the Colorado Springs Sports Corps for people who haven’t heard already. And again, tell us what you do with them.
RANDS KEASLER:
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me, Melissa. I really appreciate it.
My name is Rands Kiesler. I am the Director of Marketing and Communications with Colorado Springs Sports Corporation. And we are a nonprofit organization that was established in 1979, originally with the mission of bringing Olympics from New York to Colorado Springs.
And since then we have expanded significantly. So now our mission is to inspire and advance Colorado Springs, Olympic City, USA, and the Pikes Peak region through sport and community events.
MARTS:
Great. So 1979 was the start. Okay, thanks. Good.
KEASLER:
So now we’ve transitioned a little bit from that Olympics to a broader scale. And we do everything from putting on large scale events like the Pikes Peak Regional Air Show to the Pikes Peak APEX Bike Race and Colorado Senior Games. Bringing these sporting events to Colorado Springs, we also have our sports commission arm that does nationals and state games, bringing them into Colorado Springs.
And then finally our YES Program, our Youth Education Support Program. It provides afterschool programs for free to students all around Colorado Springs to help them learn sports and life skills throughout the year.
MARTS:
Oh, good. So it’s interesting to realize that you guys started as that Olympic mindset, but have really grown. I know I’m super impressed with what you guys do and all the different, you know, like I’ll see an event happening, the Rocky Mountain State Games, and then I’ll find out Colorado Springs Sports Corps is behind it.
I’m like, oh, you guys are, sometimes I say the darling of Colorado Springs in terms of helping to, you know, keep our image of being a fit community moving ahead. So when you guys were tasked with bringing the Senior Games last year, I was very excited. And of course, we were approached by you guys to potentially be the volunteer sponsor.
And so we signed on to be the volunteer sponsor, which means that we’re just there to spread the word and encourage more people to get involved with volunteering with the games and have a great time. Those games are happening June 5th through the 7th, just as a reminder.
But I wanna come back to you, Rands, and I’m wondering how did you come to be with the Sports Corp? What’s your background and what have you been doing since you’ve been in Colorado Springs?
KEASLER:
Yeah, so I am actually new to Colorado Springs. I moved here in July of 2025 from Baltimore, Maryland. So I am brand new over here.
MARTS:
Welcome.
KEASLER:
Thank you. And Colorado Springs Sports Corporation really drew my eye. They have so much impact on the community, and you can see firsthand how sports bring people together and build confidence within the community. So that’s what really brought me in.
MARTS:
Oh, good. And are you an athlete? Do you do things? What do you do?
KEASLER:
I would call myself an amateur athlete. I love getting involved in foot races and have set a personal goal of running a marathon in every state.
MARTS:
Okay, that’s a lot.
KEASLER:
But my pace is very middle of the pack, so I’m not breaking any records, just there to have fun and get to know the area.
MARTS:
Yeah. So you like to run.
KEASLER:
Yes.
MARTS:
Do you have a particular place in Colorado Springs that you found that you really love to run right now?
KEASLER:
I’m still learning a little bit. Garden of the Gods is beautiful.
MARTS:
Yes it it.
KEASLER:
Anywhere you go, you’ve got a great view around here.
MARTS:
That’s very true.
KEASLER:
I’m still, the altitude kind of knocks you on your butt every once in a while, but coming from the East Coast, I’ll take it.
MARTS:
Yeah, yeah, it is a great place to live. We’ve got a lot of beautiful things to keep us inspired, keep us outdoors. So yeah, we are very lucky.
Although for those who are playing hockey out there and indoor volleyball, I have to say, I’m glad you guys are doing that, too. But anyway, for the people who love their indoor sports, too. You guys do the Rocky Mountain State Games, too.
KEASLER:
Yes.
MARTS:
And so there’s a lot of older adults, because the Rocky Mountain State Games, they have age categories, too. And they run, in some ways, back to the Colorado Senior Games. How would you describe the difference between those two, kind of, very, very, you know, we’ve been doing the Rocky Mountain State Games forever in our community, so they’re really well-known.
The Senior Games, a brand new thing. So how would you describe the difference between those two events and what people can get out of them?
KEASLER:
Sure, so the Colorado Senior Games are an Olympic-style multi-sport event for adults ages 50 and older. They’re about promoting healthy aging, giving people a chance to compete and stay active and connect with others, no matter their skill level. So the Colorado Senior Games are the only qualifying opportunity in the state of Colorado for the National Senior Games.
So what that means is if you medal in the Colorado Senior Games this summer, you will have an opportunity to represent Colorado at the National Senior Games in 2027. And those will be taking place in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
MARTS:
Okay, great. And let me circle back to one thing, because you also said something about regardless of skill level in some ways. So it’s okay if somebody is very much an amateur athlete, they can come out and compete in the Senior Games and actually have a chance of becoming the top dog and then going on to the National Senior Games.
KEASLER:
Yeah, absolutely.
MARTS:
So I heard that right.
KEASLER:
Open to any and every skill level, whether you have a past in the sport or just starting to get into it, no matter the age, as long as 50 or older, we’re absolutely inviting you to come.
MARTS:
Wow, yeah. And again, remember that’s 50 and older folks. So there’s a lot of people out there who think, oh, I’m not a senior, I’m not old enough, but truly the Senior Games are for 50 and older.
And from being there last year, I was at the track and field events and there were a lot of competitors who were definitely in their 50s and they were really happy to be there to have that opportunity to actually compete and put their skill out there. And then talk a little bit about then the Rocky Mountain State Games and what that’s about.
KEASLER:
Yeah, so the Rocky Mountain State Games are similar in structure. They are also a big multi-sport event, but they’re open to all ages and athletic abilities. So anyone from youth to adults, including those with physical disabilities.
And it’s Colorado’s largest annual multi-sport festival. Right now we’re on track to have over 35 sports at the event. So everything from archery to lacrosse, speed puzzling, paddleboard racing.
And you can absolutely do both Colorado Senior Games and Rocky Mountain State Games this summer. We encourage you to do so if you’re interested and there’s a sport that’s across both.
MARTS:
Yeah, so I am happy to hear about paddleboarding. I might actually enter that, but I do have to admit, I’m not a real competitive paddleboarder, but I might just be happy to be out on the lake and paddling. Do you know what lake you guys are doing it on? Put you on the spot here.
KEASLER:
Nope, apologies, that one I do not know top of my head.
MARTS:
I’m guessing that most likely it’s gonna be Prospect Lake cause it’s big. I can’t imagine trying to pull that off on our Little Quail Lake. So I’m thinking it’ll be Prospect Lake. Plus it’s like a mile around, so it’s easy to gauge that. Going down the rabbit hole of paddleboarding for those paddleboard fans out there that are listening.
I’ll just also mention the important thing about, you know, you’ve said how people can be at any level. We don’t have to be pro athletes here. Although I do know that in the senior games with the powerlifting, there were some really serious powerlifters last year at the senior games. So some pretty stiff competition in that realm.
Also the pickleball folks were a pretty stiff competition too. But other events I think were a lot more casual and just nice to have people get out and move.
Again, the theme for May, Older Americans Month, Champion Your Health. You know, this is just a great opportunity to be doing that. Championing your health, as I work on getting that out of my mouth. So any ideas? Do you have a kind of a date on when those Rocky Mountain State Games are?
KEASLER:
Yeah, so the Rocky Mountain State Games will take place the core weekend. So the majority of the sports will be this weekend. A couple are gonna fall outside of it. But the core weekend for the Rocky Mountain State Games will be this July 17th to 19th.
MARTS:
Okay, so they’re about a month apart really. So people don’t have to worry about, you know, competing in one or the other.
Now I know that there is a fee for athletes to compete in probably both events. What’s the fee for the senior games? And actually I’ll say to listeners that the fees vary across the sport. So people really do need to go to the website, Colorado Springs Sports Corps, and check out whether it’s Colorado Senior Games or whether it’s Rocky Mountain State Games and see what the costs are to compete.
But just kind of on average, what is the cost for senior games versus Rocky Mountain State Games on average?
KEASLER:
Yeah, so definitely the cost will vary per sport. And you’ll definitely see a significant difference between the individual sports and the group sports. Team sports, you will sign up as a team, so you’ll see a higher fee there. But the individual sports will definitely be a little bit lower.
But this year we are excited to share that the Senior Resource Council has sponsored the Active Aging Scholarship Fund to help cultivate in the Colorado seniors. So if you are facing a financial barrier and still interested in competing, this scholarship fund helps to cover that cost of registration, and it will cover your full cost of registration for one sport per eligible athlete, hopefully ensuring that we can get more seniors to compete, connect, and stay active.
MARTS:
Yeah, yeah.
KEASLER:
So the costs vary per event, per sport. We have both costs for athletes’ individual level or it is a higher cost for playing as a team. So each sport is different.
But we were excited to share this year the Senior Resource Council was able to sponsor the Active Aging Scholarship Fund to help older adults participate in Colorado Senior Games. The scholarship covered the full cost of registration for one sport per eligible athlete to ensure more seniors could compete, connect, and stay active. The applications did close on May 1st, but we were excited to be able to offer it and see the expanse of additional athletes come and participate.
MARTS:
Yeah, I think that was brilliant. And I’m so glad that Senior Resource Council stepped up, that you guys were able to do this, and so excited that athletes could take advantage of that. So thank you to Senior Resource Council. Thank you to Colorado Springs Sports Corps too. Just, that’s great.
So we talked a little bit about some of the sports just briefly. Again, anybody interested in paddle boarding, you need to sign up for the Rocky Mountain State Games. My own father is going to be competing in the Senior Games in the archery event. When he went on and looked, my dad’s been doing archery for a long time, he and his wife.
And there were a lot of different types of archery. So you guys are not messing around with the Senior Games. And, you know, we are in the Olympic City here where we do have people who go to the Olympics for archery, and we have people who are practicing.
So it was really great to see all these different types of archery events that the Senior Games are doing. What other kinds of sports will people see that they could be signing up for if they haven’t already?
KEASLER:
Yeah, the games feature a wide variety of sports from traditional individual competitions to events that are team sports. So there’s truly something for everyone who wants to participate. As you mentioned, we have archery, we have badminton, basketball, both skills and 3v3, billiards 8-ball, bowling, golf, pickleball, which as you mentioned is super popular, power walking, power lifting, race walking, racquetball, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball.
MARTS:
So really a full slate of sports. And where are some of the places? Because again, if I want to be a spectator and watch some of this, I have to know where I’m going.
And so where are some of the venues that some of these sports are being held at? And then of course, as it gets closer, where would a spectator go to learn? Well, I think I want to watch volleyball.
Where do I go to find out? So again, first question, where are some of the venues that things are being hosted? And then second, where does a spectator go to find out more?
KEASLER:
We are at facilities all across Colorado Springs and super grateful for all of our partners who have been able to host us and will host us in the future. It really depends on the sport, I would say. So the best place to find that information is to go to coloradoseniorgames.org to find out which sport is being hosted where.
MARTS:
Okay, good to know. When we were part of it last year with the track and field event, we were at the Garry Berry Stadium. Do you know, is that going to be where it’s going to be again?
KEASLER:
Yeah, we’re doing softball there as well.
MARTS:
Oh, okay. What’s a sport that you’re super excited to see come up this year? Are there any?
KEASLER:
Pickleball, I’m always excited for. I’m just learning how to play that myself. So love that one.
And then track and field is always an incredible sport to watch because it really, it’s something that you’ve always done, running is part of every sport and to see the wide variety of individuals competing is incredible.
MARTS:
Well, and I’m glad you brought that up. Our second podcast for the month of May is interviewing a couple of the athletes from last year.
One of them is a woman, local athlete here, and I’m not going to give away too many secrets, but she’s a track and field competitor. She’s been doing it for a long time. She’s one of the biggest champions of the senior games herself. So she’ll be one of the folks that we interview.
And then we’re interviewing one of the power lifters. We’re going to bring in those individuals and hear their stories. That’s our second kind of part two podcast to the Colorado Senior Games happening here in June.
So can’t wait for people to hear their stories and be inspired by how they got to be where they are and what keeps them going and how happy they are that we’re doing the senior games in Colorado Springs. So really good that we’re doing that. I’ve mentioned a couple of times that my agency is the volunteer sponsor for the Colorado Senior Games.
So again, just putting a plug out there for people to sign up and volunteer. Rands, what are some different activities people might find that they’re doing if they volunteered?
KEASLER:
So if you’re interested in participating in the senior games, but not as an athlete, we do have lots of other ways to get involved. And this definitely includes volunteer opportunities. So we have them across several sports, including, as I said, track and field, volleyball, golf, and you do everything from check-in to scoring, timing, and then general events support.
No experience is required. We really would love to have anyone participate. Our registration for volunteers does close May 15th.
And so if you’re interested, please sign up at coloradoseniorgames.org.
MARTS:
Great, so people have a little bit of time to sign up. So please do. May 15th is the deadline for that.
And I will say it was a wonderful experience being a volunteer, because even though we were the volunteer sponsor, we also were volunteering and everybody was wonderful. Just really a great opportunity. And I don’t know, do you do anything special for volunteers outside of just making sure that they’re comfortable and get what they need and get pointed in the right direction? Do folks get anything else as being a volunteer?
KEASLER:
Yeah, you will get a volunteer t-shirt with our event logo on there. In addition, we will make sure you have meals provided for you. We understand you’re doing a lot of work out there and we could not do these events without our volunteers.
They’re absolutely the backbone of the events. So we want to make sure you’re well-fed and you’re comfortable as you’re helping these events go on.
MARTS:
Well good, and lots of water, right?
KEASLER:
Yes, absolutely.
MARTS:
At least for those of us who were outside, oh my. Yeah, what a deal. And then what about being a spectator?
If people want to just watch, again, how could they find out more, know when to show up at what time? What does that look like?
KEASLER:
Yeah, absolutely. Our events are definitely open to the public. Please come by, check it out, see if you want to compete next year.
KEASLER:
That’s true.
MARTS:
Definitely check it out on our website, coloradoseniorgames.org. You’ll be able to find all the information for timing and locations. They do vary across events, but it’s a packed weekend, June 5th through 7th.
So if you want to hop around to different sports, definitely encouraged to do so.
MARTS:
I think I’m going to be at the archery event because my dad will be competing. So I think I’ll probably be at the archery events. But I would love to be talking to people who would be like, oh yeah, we’ve visited this one and we’ve bounced around and stopped in and had lunch someplace along the way and now we’re over here to see this event. And so I hope to hear that from some of the spectators that are coming and checking it out.
So for listeners, it really is quite an event to put on and takes a lot of man hours. And in addition to all the other things that Colorado Springs Sports Corps does.
So one of the things I wanted to bring up too, I have a small group of people who at the area agency on aging, we host best practices in dementia care. So we have this group that meets once a month and talks about, you know, most of it is professionals in the community who serve people who are at different stages of dementia. And so a lot of conversations happen there. And at that meeting, people started talking about the senior games and trying to make, you know, is there a way to maybe have the senior games actually have some athletes who might have dementia or if a caregiver who’s caring for somebody who has dementia might wanna bring that person, or even if that caregiver wants to have their care recipients stay home and they wanna get out for the day. So this group has been talking about some different things to support caregivers and people with dementia.
And one of the things we looked at as a group was our Colorado Springs Airport has this hidden disabilities program that’s an international program and they’re a part of it. And we’re just kind of starting to explore it and hoping that maybe next year’s senior games might have kind of more of a stream of something that’s around being dementia friendly.
But in the meantime, I think we’re gonna have a couple of people who are gonna be thinking about either possibly having their person who has dementia, signing up and being an athlete and seeing how that goes. I think we’ll have a couple of caregivers who are gonna bring their care recipient to a few events and we’ll see how that goes.
So what are your thoughts on being this, you know, dementia friendly games as well? Have you had much thought about that or what are you thinking?
KEASLER:
I think that would be incredible. The goal of senior games is really to be open to anyone over the age of 50 who wants to participate. And the goal is to break down barriers to get there.
So the more ways we could do that, the more ways we can get people involved, definitely encouraged from our side.
MARTS:
Yeah, yeah. So breaking down barriers. May is Older Americans Month about championing your health.
And so we’re grateful to be able to talk about the senior games happening in June, this whole entire month of May, really ramping it up, getting people excited to get out and participate. So again, you’ve mentioned a couple of times the best place and the best way for people to get more information is, what’s that website again?
KEASLER:
You can visit coloradoseniorgames.org. And then I do want to take a moment to thank our partner and the organization of this event. So we work with the YMCA of the Pikes Peak region, co-partner of the Colorado Senior Games.
And they are a huge piece of how we’re able to get this happening and to hold the events day of.
MARTS:
Good. So that is the YMCA for people who are members of the Y. Make sure you tell them thanks for supporting the senior games as well.
Well, great. I think that brings us to a close here today, and I’m again, really looking forward to a fun weekend in June, June 5th through the 7th. Thank you listeners for tuning in to this great show today with Aging with Altitude.
It is put on by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging. You can visit us at ppacg.org and click on aging services to find out more of what we do in the region and have a great rest of your day.
That’s the show. Thanks to all of you for being with us today. Aging with Altitude is created by the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging. Visit us at ppacg.org and click on aging services for more information about the programs of the area agency on aging.