You might think you are good at table tennis, but you are no Mary Luick. The Gwinnett County resident has multiple gold medals in the sport — and in others, for that matter — and she’s won most all of them in her 80s. Luick, a New Jersey transplant who will turn 90 in May, is one of the stars of the Gwinnett Senior Golden Games, begun in 2000 to give older residents of Gwinnett and neighboring counties a chance to be active and, maybe more importantly, to interact with other people. The 2016 games, featuring dozens of events, from pickleball to bowling to shuffleboard, kicked off March 30 and will end May 11. The AJC talked to Luick, this year’s torchbearer, fresh off of taking gold in the football throw and Frisbee toss. For more information on the Golden Games, visit www.gwinnettseniorgoldengames.org.
Q: What brought you to Georgia and how do you like it here?
A: I have a son who lives here and he thought it would be good if I moved to Georgia. I checked it out and there are many cultural interests — the Fox Theatre, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the list goes on and on. We have four seasons. I do lots of gardening and the weather is perfect most times. I am retired so if the weather is bad, I can stay in and look at the ice on the street.
Q: How is your health?
A: Excellent. I don't take any prescriptions at all.
Q: What’s your secret?
A: I don't know. Maybe good genes and lots of fruits and vegetables my entire life. I am very active. I belong to a garden club and I work in my yard. I don't sit around and do nothing.
Q: How long have you participated in the Gwinnett Senior Golden Games?
A: Probably 13 years. I do quite a few events every year and most of them are outside. I do the football throw, which I'm good at, holeyboard, which I'm sometimes good at, and Frisbee, which I'm not that great at except for this year. I do darts, the basketball throw, croquet, putting and bocce ball. My main things are table tennis and the half-mile walk.
Q: What do you like about the games?
A: I make new friends and see the ones I met the year before. My only complaint is that I wish more seniors in the higher age brackets would participate. This year, I am in the 90 and up bracket and I may not have anyone in my age group.
Q: Then won’t you win all the gold medals?
A: They have me playing younger people and I never had any difficulty getting gold medals. I like competition.
Q: How many medals do you have?
A: Oh, my gosh, I have never counted. Every year that I participate, I've probably won about five or six gold medals. I have been at this for a long time.
Q: Why do you think more older people don’t participate?
A: Possibly they are not aware of the organization. Maybe they are afraid they will come out and lose. Maybe they think they have to participate in a lot of things but you pick what you want to participate in.
Q: What would they get out of it?
A: Your muscles get better and sometimes you lose weight. Being active is healthier than sitting at home watching television. If you can't be too physically active, there are things like shuffleboard and mahjong. It's just a lot of fun. You get to meet a lot of people. You talk and you laugh.
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