The president of Sports Goods Manufacturers Association says you are, and it’s his business to know. The organization does an annual survey of Americans’ exercise activities, and it sees a boom in boomer sports.
“Are the boomers playing more sports than 20 years ago? I think the answer to that is yes,” says Tom Cove, who heads the association. “[They] are dramatically more active and the numbers are much more skewed to fitness and outdoor activities.”
The AP’s Betsy Blaney has a nice article about that boom and how more active seniors are competing with younger enthusiasts for soccer pitches, ball fields and hockey rinks. (She cites an over-50 softball league in Texas that had games starting at 10:30 p.m.)
Facilities for unorganized, individual activities are also being squeezed as hordes of gray athletes take over the treadmills and exercise machines at health clubs. “Those 55 and older are joining at a rate of 34 percent a year, while the rate for ages 35 to 55 is growing by only 18 percent a year.” (Still, impressive growth for both groups, we’d say.)
Expect the competition for space to continue but morph with the tastes and preferences of each aging generation. Eventually, that could mean a flood of seniors in climbing gyms and on mountain bike trails. “I keep waiting to see the first senior skate park,” Cove said. “I won’t be surprised when it shows up.”
Photo: “A senior citizen in trying to slow down his process of aging by physical fitness exercises” by Shustov at fr.wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons.
