By STEVEN VIERA
Staff Writer
SPOTSWOOD — Rio de Janiero may be thousands of miles away, but the Olympic spirit is alive and well in the borough.
Spotswood’s Office on Aging is hosting its first-ever Senior Olympics on Aug. 25, which will give local seniors the opportunity to compete in tests of skill at the borough’s own stadium, better known as the Senior Center, located at 1 Arlington Ave.
According to Beth Blatt, administrative assistant and program coordinator for the Office on Aging, the idea for the Senior Olympics was suggested by the organization’s chorus leader, Barbara Cottrell.
“The seniors like to have a good time, and I thought this would be out of the box for them,” Cottrell said.
The festivities will begin with an opening ceremony of passing the Olympic Torch, or in this case, a flashlight.
Games will include a javelin toss of a pool noodle through a set of rings, hockey, volleying a beach ball across a table, cornhole, Olympic trivia, basketball free throws from a 10-foot line, Olympic trivia, tossing ping pong balls into cups from across a table and team crossword puzzle solving.
All games will be played indoors.
Cottrell anticipates between 25 and 30 participants, who will be organized into teams and compete against each other for points. The teams with the highest scores will receive a gold, silver or bronze medal, as well as small trophies.
“I’m very excited,” Blatt said of the event.
Spotswood’s Office on Aging hosts a number of other special events for seniors, such as its upcoming “Best of Broadway” performance as well as monthly presentations from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
The Senior Olympics is open to Spotswood residents only, and while anyone can spectate, only seniors are eligible to compete in the games. To register, call Blatt at 732-251-3432.