fitness: masters athletes are changing the trajectory of aging

views of life after 60 are changing, thanks in part to an increasingly large cohort of active older adults who are pushing the boundaries of what it means to age. once considered a time of declining health, activity, independence and productivity, baby boomers aren’t as ready to retire to their barcaloungers as previous generations have done.

instead, those born between 1946 and 1964 are embracing new challenges, sports and activities once thought too strenuous for the grey hair set. golf courses, gyms, curling rinks, pickleball courts, swimming pools and ice rinks are welcoming more and more older adults into their facilities, and it’s not unusual to see runners and cyclists in their 60s and 70s getting in a vigorous workout on the streets of local communities.  

anyone 35 or older is eligible to compete as a masters athlete, with masters divisions offered in most sports, including golf, swimming, curling, badminton, tennis, diving, athletics, hockey, weightlifting and windsurfing. there are also seniors games in most provinces and the annual canada 55+ games in cities across canada. so while opportunities to compete with age-matched peers can’t always be found locally, there are some regional and national organizations that welcome older athletes.  

not everyone competing in masters events were competitive in their youth. there are “continuers” who played the sport with little or no disruption over the years, “rekindlers” who return to the sport after an extended period of absence and “late bloomers” who take up the sport at a later age. and while not all masters athletes choose to compete, they typically have higher-than-normal levels of physical activity as compared with their peers and are committed to regular workouts/training and improving their skills  

but it’s not just the well-documented physical benefits of playing sports that contributes to the positive aging of masters athletes. a team of researchers from western university and the university of alberta interviewed 40 canadian masters athletes, 50 to 79 years of age and representing 15 different sports, to better understand the positive influence sports has on their lives.  

“almost half of the participants in this study indicated a sense of positive well-being in terms of being happy, having less stress and enjoying life through sport,” the researchers said.  

“many of these athletes seem to have their own communities within their sport that allow them to engage in other activities outside of sport, which was seen as a positive benefit of their participation in sport,” the researchers said.  

about one-fifth of the athletes felt participation in sports had a positive effect on their cognitive abilities, commenting that they felt more alert and better focused. others remarked that sports required problem solving and strategic decision-making, which kept them mentally sharp.