Most of the questions regarding quality of events were evaluated as “Excellent” or “Good.” Over 80% said that New Mexico Senior Olympics compare as “Excellent” to “Good” over other events they attend. This tells us you are enjoying the games and they are running smoothly. Opening Ceremonies is still too long, but you do feel it is important. You are enjoying the socials, banquet and dances.

One item over which we have little control is the heat—a constant complaint. Many helpful suggestions were made on how to schedule some of the outdoor events to avoid the hottest part of the day. This year we brought in the misting tents and put extra volunteers on fruit and water. Your feedback tells us our water supply-lines can still use some improvement. You also asked that we consider moving the Games to a cooler location such as Santa Fe or Albuquerque.

The second reason is to get a sense of what you think about the potential changes for the future.

One consideration we have heard a lot about was extending the length of the games so events overlap less.

Over 75% indicated it was very important they participate in more than one sport; yet only 43% indicated they would be interested in a longer stay.

Over 55% indicated they had quality year round activities and 45% that indicated they wish they had more.

About 34% of those returning the Evaluations had attended the Senior Trek to Healthy Fitness events. 90% of the comments were “Excellent” to “Good.”

For the State Board of Directors—about 40-50% indicated they understood their role and felt their area was represented by the board membership.

■ A veteran athlete from Valencia writes: “Planning for the Track and Field events was so apparent this year, as the events were on schedule for the first time.” He also stated that the facilities were excellent with the one exception of a a “slippery” discus ring.

■ A San Juan County athlete expressed frustration that the transportation shuttles did not run as scheduled and she had to wait 40 minutes in one instance.

■ A swimmer from Santa Fe asked that the outdoor pool be made available to the athletes—even if she had to pay the standard fee for using it. She also suggested more time be allotted to a Athlete Social and less to the Opening Ceremonies. She felt the comraderie was more enjoyable than the speakers.

■ A shuffleboard athlete wrote: “A lot of time is put into setting up the bracketing/game times, in a double elimination tournament.” This athlete felt that too much time was invested in re-working the brackets—that the original brackets should be adhered to as much as possible.

■ A 7-year Roswell veteran athlete wrote to say that overall they had a great time at the Olympics, especially at the Volunteer Social, Athlete Social and Final Ball—“The music was great.”

■ A San Juan Pueblo athlete suggested that the Opening Ceremony be made more interesting with less Board and Staff and if talks are made—make them short and brief.

■ A Carlsbad athlete recommended making Bowling a handicap event to level the playing field.

■ A couples dancer from the north was concerned that many dancers did not follow the rules and that the judges favored those with formal training.

■ A golfer from Grants was frustrated by the greens keepers mowing while she was trying to play.

■ An Albuquerque runner thought the volunteers, police and signs for the road race were great—but there was not enough water!

■ An Alamogordo bowler wrote to say she was very impressed with the Bowling venue, the volunteers, staff and how the event was run.

■ Another Track and Field athlete commented that she really like the mist tents.

■ A Rio Arriba gentleman (50+) commented that Track events should be stopped at 10:00 am due to the heat.

■ A runner from Las Cruces added that Track events should be started up again after 7PM to avoid the heat of the day.

■ A Colfax athlete expressed disappointment that there was no Official Spirit Award—she and her group had practiced and she felt they might have won.

■ A local Las Cruces Athlete suggested a “Local Restaurant Guide” for out of towners.