NSGA Announces Changes to Sports Line-Up for Upcoming Games

Every two years following The Games, the NSGA Board of Directors acts on recommendations made by the Games Committee based on staff observations, sport trends and public input. As a result, one sport has been removed, one elevated to qualifying sport status, and three new open sports will be added for the 2021 National Senior Games presented by Humana. Here’s a summary of sport changes:

Horseshoes Removed- After many discussions and research, the National Senior Games Association (NSGA) Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to remove horseshoes from the National Senior Games competition. 

The NSGA has been closely monitoring the participation numbers in the sport of Horseshoes since 2008 and have found that the numbers have declined over the course of several National Senior Games. Some of our state senior games might choose to continue to offer horseshoes, just know that it will no longer be a qualifying sport for the National Senior Games.

Power Walk Upgraded – Due to its successful debut as a 2019 open sport, Power Walk has been elevated to full qualifying sport status for the 2021 Games. Athletes will need to compete at a 2020 Senior Games State Qualifier in order to participate in the 2021 games. All athletes who compete in Power Walk at a 2020 NSGA qualifying games will qualify for the 2021 National Senior Games.

Power Walk was an open sport for 2019 to jump start interest, and the results were impressive. In 2018, 34 states included power walk in their games and 471 athletes competed in Albuquerque this year.

Three New Open Sports Added - The following open sports (no qualification needed) will be added to the lineup for the 2021 National Senior Games in Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida: 

• Cornhole – Several states already offer this growing sport, also known as bag toss. 
• Soccer 8v8– There will be men’s and women’s age divisions. The 8v8 format will be played on a smaller field. 
• Beach Volleyball– This competition will feature teams of four in both women’s and men’s age divisions.

There were also a few other rules changes approved for specific sports. NSGA staff is currently working on updating the 2020-2021 Official Rulebook and will make it available soon on the NSGA website.