Wine Country Senior Games, Coming This Spring

Senior athletes will take part in the inaugural Sonoma Wine Country Senior Games at venues throughout the county -- except for Sonoma --this June.

The first Sonoma Wine Country Senior Games are scheduled for June 2-5 and will feature seven sports -- basketball, bocce ball, bowling, running, swimming, soccer and tennis.

Swimming, tennis and basketball competitions will be held at Santa Rosa Junior College, which will also provide volunteer coaches. Bocce ball will be held at Juilliard Park in Santa Rosa; and soccer at A Place to Play in Santa Rosa;

Bowling will be at Double Decker Lanes in Rohnert Park; golf will be at The 5k and 10k road-running races will be within the city limits of Cloverdale.

Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce is the taking lead with the new tournaments. 

“Last summer, the Council on Aging (COA) came to me with an idea to create an event for the county,” McElroy said. “Part of my job responsibility [at the Santa Rosa visitors bureau] was to grow existing events or create new events that might generate room nights and a strong economic impact.”

McElroy said she joined forces with the Sonoma COA and met with area business leaders, hospitality leaders and the California State Games Association.

She and Stephanie Domenichelli, COA’s development manager, were part of a group that traveled to the Huntsman Games in St. George, Utah, which has been held for more than 20 years and which draws more than 10,000 athletes as well as a lot of spectators.

“We concluded that this event had great potential in Sonoma County and, if produced right, could grow into a major event drawing the demographic that fits Sonoma County,”  said McElroy, who is still on the planning team assisting with publicity for the Wine Country Games.

The games' first year will only be the beginning, said event director Dena Lash.

An addition to the competition itself, there will be special events, such as an opening night ceremony, and walking tours -- as well as an option wine and cheese reception at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa.

“We want to make it special,”  Lash said.

Additional sports planned for 2012 and beyond include table tennis, track, lawn bowling, bridge, archery, badminton, ballroom dancing, chess, croquet, cycling, horseshoes, racquetball, trap shooting, triathlon and volleyball.

Also talked about have been bass fishing, extreme mountain biking, fencing, polo, rugby, softball, trail running and water polo.

Registration, which began this month, costs $39 with additional fees for specific events -- some as low as $7 and others, such as golf, closer to $50.

For information on the Senior Games, to go www.councilonaging.com, or www.winecountrygames.com.

Information is also available at local partners and sponsors, including:  Cloverdale and the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce; Sonoma County Parks and Recreation; Flamingo Hotel and Convention Center; ; Santa Rosa Convention and Visitors Bureau; Santa Rosa Junior College; Santa Rosa Parks and Recreation; Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce; Sutter Medical; Windsor Chamber of Commerce, and Winzler and Kelly.