ROBERTSDALE, Alabama --- Seniors from the George P. Thames Senior Center in Robertsdale were once again successful, bringing home more than 70 medals from the 2012 Alabama Masters Games Tournament held last month in Chambers County.

“We had a great turnout and they are already looking forward to participating in next year’s games,” said Center Director Sarah Duncan. “As always we want to thank the City of Robertsdale for their support, along with everyone who participated and everyone who came to cheer us on.”

Twenty-six seniors qualified in local competitions held throughout Mobile and Baldwin counties in May through July with 23 seniors making the trip to the games.

“We had a lot of new participants this year,” Duncan said. “I think it helps develop camaraderie within the group that carries on throughout the year.”

Paticipants, ranging in age from 50 all the way up to 92, brought home 23 gold medals, 16 silver and nine bronze, along with 24 fun walk medals.

According to the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission Website, the Masters Games of Alabama is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles for active adults age 50 and over through social, mental, and physical activities.

They were developed in Oxford in 1990 to provide adults age 50 and above an opportunity to maintain an active lifestyle by participating in a variety of events. Each year there are between 600 and 800 participants from across the state.

With nearly two dozen participants, the group from the Thames Center is one of the largest from one participating organization in the state, Duncan said, and is the largest group attending from District 7, which includes Baldwin, Mobile, Escambia, Conecuh, Washington, Choctaw, Clarke, Wilcox and Monroe counties. Participants are also attending locally from Orange Beach, Saraland, Chickasaw and Mobile.

The Thames Center serves Robertsdale, Loxley and Silverhill in Central Baldwin, Duncan said. They also have participants from Fairhope, Gulf Shores, Elberta and Malbis.

This is the seventh straight year the Senior Center brought home medals from the state games, which is sponsored by the Area Agency on Aging, also locally by the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission.

Duncan said the Senior Center hosts various activities throughout the year and activities are held almost every weekday at the Center with no charge for seniors age 50 and older. The Senior Center relies on funding from the city and donations, and holds fundraisers throughout the year. Most recently, the Senior Center’s Christmas Bazaar was held at the PZK Civic Center.

“I don’t have all the figures yet, but I know we made a profit from it,” Duncan said.

The Senior Center and the City of Robertsdale will sponsor the annual Thanksgiving Lunch beginning at noon on Friday at the PZK Civic Center. Participants are asked to bring a dish for the potluck lunch. The Senior Center will also be hosting a 12-12-12 celebration at noon on Dec. 12 at the PZK, Duncan said.

Duncan also thanked Wayne Ellis for providing a charter bus for the trip and former RHS coach Ronnie Malone for serving as a driver for the trip.

Over the last seven years, the Center has averaged around 22 competitors who have brought home more than 200 medals over the last four years of competition, including 51 gold, 53 silver, 38 bronze and 70 fitness medals, earned for walking a one-mile track at the competition.

Competitors this year included, Claudia Barbee, earned a silver medal shuffleboard, and bronze medals in billiards and table tennis, plus a fun walk medal; Eddie Joan Bedwell, gold medal, shuffleboard, plus fun walk medal; Kathleen Bender, silver medal, billiards, gold medal, checkers, bronze medal, domino singles, plus fun walk; Emma Davenport, silver medals in Nerf and table tennis, bronze in checkers, plus fun walk; Bessie Duncan, gold medal domino doubles, fun walk; Royce Duncan, gold medals in domino doubles, Frisbee and two-man scramble golf, silver medals in billiards, golf singles, pitch & putt and Nerf, bronze medal in bowling, and fun walk; George Fontaine, fun walk; Jean Fontaine, fun walk; Cappi Fugua, bronze medals in billiards and domino doubles, fun walk; Mary Fuller, fun walk; Becky Hayes, fun walk; Barbara Landers, gold medals in swimming breaststroke, 25, 50 and 100 yards, and freestyle, 25, 50 and 100 yards, fun walk; Jack Mercer, silver medal in horseshoes, fun walk; Steve Metz, gold medal in domino doubles, fun walk; Matthew Nguyen, gold medal in checkers, fun walk; Judy Rabren, fun walk; Dorothy Reisel, silver medals in swimming backstroke, 100 yards, and freestyle, 25, 50 and 100 yards, two bronze medals in backstroke, 25 and 50 yards, fun walk; Ken Reisel, gold medal in 5K run/walk, fun walk; Ellen Roberts, fun walk; Jean Sobol, gold medal in checkers, silver medal in billiards, bronze medal in table tennis, fun walk; Dot Thorne, silver medal in bowling, fun walk; and Heidi Warner, gold medal in domino doubles, silver medal in horseshoes, and fun walk; Sarah Duncan, cheerleader and fun walk; Olivia Campbell, cheerleader and fun walk.

For more information about activities at the Center, contact Duncan at 251-947-8973.