Press PageTHREE-TIME OLYLMPIAN FREESTYLE SKIER SOARS TO EVEN GREATER HEIGHTSMay 6, 2010Park City, UT — In 2002, when Olympic Freestyle skier, Tracy Evans, was twisting and turning through the air, the farthest thing from her mind was probably the fact that she would soon be involved in a competition that would involve a lot less risk, even less energy and a large community of people who were two to three times her age. On the other hand, maybe this thought did occur to her. After all, it was Evans who created the Utah Golden Games later that same year. A three-time Olympian (1994, 1998, 2002), Evans grew up Hornell, NY in an avid sports family. Ever since taking her first steps, Evans has skied. An aerialist on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, her brother, Bob, was also a two-time Olympic coach, who introduced her to the sport of Freestyle Aerials in 1989. Tracy swore she would never become involved in a crazy sport like that, but with a gymnastics background, aerials came naturally. Evans went on to compete on the World Cup circuit for 10 years, performing some of the most difficult triple back flips that still only few women in the world can perform today. Retiring from skiing in 2002, Evans focused her attention on her duties as the director of AthleteSource, the premier Sports Casting company in the commercial, print and film industry. She then created People Helping People International, Inc. - a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the quality of life for disadvantaged individuals in the United States and abroad through education and sports. From there, says Evans, "My dad ran a food service company that worked with senior communities, so I was introduced to this population early on and my exposure told me that seniors were not getting the recognition they deserved. My brother, Bob Jr., now runs the company which developed and markets Mealtracker dietary software for the same senior communities." Because of her interest in seniors and her desire to see that they have the opportunity to receive some type of recognition, Tracy called around and found the Olympiatrics, a sporting event for seniors, run by several volunteer recreational therapists who worked for long-term care facilities. Tracy assisted with the Olympiatrics in 2003 and in 2004, and then held her first Golden Games event for seniors at the Dimple Dell Recreation Center, inviting fellow Olympians to volunteer and help present the medals. Since 2005, to better accommodate the number of seniors participating, Evans moved the Golden Games to the South Towne Exposition Center. With a team of committees preparing for this year's games-- including the organizers of this year's event, Senior Management Concepts-- senior participants from all over the state will gather at the Exposition Center, once again, on September 10th to compete. Currently, plans are being carried out to make sure all Utah senior communities are invited to motivate their seniors to jump onboard and prepare to bring their "team" to the games. Says Tracy, "The Golden Games' goal is to provide a healthy lifestyle program and event to seniors residing in Long Term, Assisted Care and Retirement Communities here in Utah." She feels persuading seniors to participate in this program is vital because it encourages seniors to continue to set goals and stay involved in activities that keep their minds sharp and their bodies strong. By taking part, seniors are better able to lead a longer, healthier and higher functioning life. "My exposure to seniors growing up," she adds, "has motivated me to improve the quality of life for them through expanding and developing the Golden Games into a year-round Golden Games Activity Program. All things considered, one could say at least part of Tracy's vision for these games must be found in the fact, found in Vincent Lombardi's words, that, "Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is." For more information on the 2010 Utah Golden Games, visit goldenolympiangames.com or email utahgoldengames@yahoo.com. |
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