Carol Martinez has been hard at work tossing bean bags and throwing horseshoes, Frisbees and foam rings twice a day for about a month.
“Every day at lunch time,” she said.
Her method?
“As hard as I can,” she said with a giggle.
Martinez put her skills to the test Friday at the Louisiana Nursing Home Association Region VII Senior Olympics at the Ward 3 Recreation Center.
Martinez, who will turn 75 on Christmas Day and is affectionately known as “Christmas Carol” at High Hope Care Center in Sulphur, said she’s been competing in the Senior Olympics for four years.
“We’re all winners,” she said. “And I get to see some old friends today.”
Faith Dailey, 71, took a different approach to the competition. Daily, who competed in the shot put and ring toss events, didn’t practice at all.
“No, I’m not a gifted athlete. I just felt like coming,” the Resthaven Nursing & Rehabilitation Center resident said with a laugh. “I’m just going to throw as hard as I can.”
Martinez and Dailey were among residents from 11 nursing homes who tossed bean bags; answered trivia questions; and threw horseshoes, foam rings and frisbees in various events.
“They start looking forward to this months in advance,” said master of ceremonies Drew Fontenot, a chaplain at Brighton Bridge Hospice. “They’re just like real, actual athletes. They look forward to this, they start studying, they start practicing in each event.
“I had someone tell me, ‘Mr. Drew, I came in second last year. I’m going to win it this year,’ ” he said. “They’re great competitors. It means a great deal to them to win — not only have a good time but to win.”
Fontenot said residents will proudly wear their medals for days afterward.
Elaina Perkins, a junior at Washington-Marion High Schools, said competition was tough in the shot put event. Perkins, who played clarinet during Friday’s opening ceremonies, also served as judge.
“By the looks of it, we have a lot of strong American women that have been throwing at least 27 feet at a time,” she said. “It’s going to be a hard contest to judge.”
But Perkins said she was happy to do it.
“We feel like we should give back to the community and help our senior citizens of Lake Charles in nursing homes,” she said.
“These kids from Washington-Marion are awesome,” Fontenot said. “They come here every year, they play the national anthem, and then after that they offer their services to measure all the games. I’ve always been so impressed. All of them are always busy. It’s quality kids every year.”
Linda Alston, 65, wore a yellow and black bumblebee headband as she waited for her turn to compete in the Frisbee toss. “I’m just going to do the best I can,” she said.
Alston, a Resthaven resident, said this was her second year to compete. “It’s fun, it’s good exercise and you get to meet new people,” she said.
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