The estimated 11,500 international athletes who will converge on St. George, Utah, in October for the annual Huntsman World Senior Games will be vying for more than medals, spots on the podium, and bragging rights. Beginning this year, every Games gold medalist will take home the title of Senior World Champion.

On July 1, 2024, the Huntsman World Senior Games staff announced that the Games would be recognized as the Senior World Championships. Kyle Case, Games CEO, said the organization, which offers more than thirty-five sports to athletes aged fifty years of age or older, was uniquely positioned to take on the new mantle.

“This year will be the thirty-seventh year of the Games, so we’ve been around for a while,” Case noted. “With patience and hard work, the Games have become the largest multi-sport event of its type in the world that happens on an annual basis. We realized that in the senior sports community, there really weren’t any world championship competitions. No one was better positioned to take on that role than the Huntsman World Senior Games.”

Case added that the organization’s decision to accept the role was based on a unique combination of factors: exclusive opportunity, historical precedent (given that the Games were founded in 1987), and a wish for enhanced engagement, particularly with athletes from diverse international backgrounds.

“Sending athletes home this year as Senior World Champions is not a designation that we take lightly,” Case said. “We have always felt that someone who earned a medal at the Games should feel a tremendous sense of pride. We believe this announcement will allow the Games to grow and expand, and we will be able to continue to recruit high-level athletes.”

Despite the drive to include more “marquee” competitors, Case is quick to point out that beginning or recreational athletes will be welcomed as warmly as they were in the past. In keeping with the standard practices of many international governing bodies for masters and senior sports, there will not be a qualifying process for the Huntsman World Senior Games; all competitions will be open to any athlete fifty years of age or older. The Games will also continue to offer a variety of skill levels and age divisions, making the competitions even more equitable.  

“It’s important to recognize that we’re not turning away entry-level athletes,” said Case. “We’ll continue to provide the world-class experience that our athletes have come to expect, even if it’s their first time power walking, throwing a javelin, or participating in whatever their sport may be.”

Case and his team have spent the last several months reaching out to and establishing partnerships with international governing bodies, sports federations, athletic associations, and both governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in active aging and senior sports, touting the new Senior World Championships and their attendant opportunities. Though the response has been overwhelmingly positive, Case acknowledges there may be pushback from athletes who have posted better results in other competitions. 

“That’s just the nature of any sporting event. On any given day, the person who wins the World Championships may or may not be the best athlete in the world across the board, but they’re definitely the best who showed up that day. The athlete who makes the effort to be here, puts in the work, and goes home with a Huntsman World Senior Games gold medal should be very content in their World Championship,” Case said. Then, laughing, he added, “And if someone is uncomfortable with that, we would heartily extend an invitation for them to participate next year!”

In addition to the new Senior World Championships descriptor, the Huntsman World Senior Games are marking their thirty-seventh anniversary with the purchase of a new headquarters building. The site, adjacent to their current locale, will house offices, ample staging areas for equipment and supplies during the Games, and—most importantly—storage and more storage. Looking toward a future where all staff will work under the same roof and where employees’ and volunteers’ garages, dining room tables, and closets will no longer serve as Games outposts, Case and his team are more energized than ever.

“We think the new building will be a significant resource to the sporting community here. We can loan out swimming equipment, for example, without having to climb over the cycling and track and field supplies to get to it,” Case predicted. “Plus, it will be more efficient in the way we can run our events. Moving into a new facility and using it as the launching pad for the exciting new direction of the Games…it feels like it’s all coming together now.”

The 2024 Huntsman World Senior Games/Senior World Championships take place October 7-19 in St. George, Utah. For more information or to become involved in the Games, visit seniorgames.net.