Six County Senior Olympics
Illinois

I've been busy researching my current novel, Six County Senior Olympics: A Senior Center Murder, and it occurred to me that someone might be interested in the miscellany that I've found so far.

State of Illinois Senior Olympics

For current information you can check the official website.

The best historical source for me has been back issues of Illinois Parks and Recreation, which can be found at Illinois Periodicals Online at Northwestern University. The following is a list of all issues that reference the Games:

Rough History of Six County Senior Olympics

First things first. The six counties are: Cook, Du Page, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. The second thing is that there are two (perhaps, more) supervising bodies for regional games throughout the state: the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association and the Illinois Health and Sports Foundation. The 6-County Games come under the auspices of the IPRA.

Venues

According to Theresa A. Forthofer in Illinois Parks and Recreation (Nov/Dec 94), the first IPRA Six-County Senior Olympics were held in 1981 at Northwestern University with 198 participants.

I have been unable to find documentation online but have it on good authority that the games were once held at Elmhurst College. (As an FYI, the bicycle race was held at Mount Emblem Cemetery.) They have also been held at Maine South High School in Park Ridge. They moved sometime after 1994 to Maine East, also in Park Ridge, where they are currently held.

Participation

From its beginning with 198 participants, the games have grown to average between 500-600. In 1994 there were 648 participants ranging in age from 55 to 85.

Events

Everything about the Six County Olympics begins with volunteers. No one is compensated for any time spent -- which the success of the event and any hopes for expansion in the hands of those willing to step up and do it.

For years it has been hoped that softball team play would be added. There was good reason to hope:

"For 10 successful years, the Palatine Park District has offered a drop-in softball program for men age 50 and older. ... As the program has developed, other park districts (Wheeling, Deerfield, Prospect Heights, River Trails, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, and Arlington Heights) have joined this softball league." (IPR Jan/Feb 98)
What is needed is someone qualified who will volunteer to assume the responsibility for chairing a softball event. Until that time, the 6-County games must be content with the "softball throw" -- a pretty lame event compared with the possibility of perhaps a hundred players in a tournament.

Other Regional Senior Olympics

  • Western Illinois Senior Olympics
    Came up empty on my searches
  • Heart of Illinois Senior Olympics - Webpage (not site)
  • Rend Lake College Senior Games - Press Release 2004
  • Quad Cities Senior Olympics - Website - great photos
  • Southland Senior Games - All I could find was a 2004 release about Moraine Valley Community College hosting the cycling events.

Posted by Cheryl Hagedorn