Montgomery County: Montgomery County officials to honor Maryland Senior Olympic participants

Seniors who competed in the 2008 Maryland Senior Olympics (MSO) and qualified for the Summer National Senior Games in San Francisco, CA, were honored at a ceremony on Sunday, July 12 at the Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center, 1000 Forest Glen Road, Silver Spring.The Montgomery County Department of Recreation presented each senior who is traveling to San Francisco with a shirt, hat and jacket with the MSO logo. More than 3,000 seniors participated in last year's games and approximately 275 qualified to compete in the national games, which are scheduled for August 1 through 15 at Stanford University.

The Maryland Senior Olympics were held in Towson since the first state competition in 1980, where approximately 300 seniors competed. Today, more than 3,000 athletes over the age of 50 compete in the games, considered to be one of the top senior athletic competitions in the nation. It is the largest competition of its kind in the Northeast region of the United States and ranks in the top five nationally.

Following the retirement of its two long-time leaders, the games needed a new home, and Montgomery County accepted the opportunity and challenge of administering the State games. For more information about the national games, go to www.2009seniorgames.org.