Unlike many amateur sporting events, the Senior Olympics welcomes athletes beginning at age 50 and continues through age divisions extending to 95 years and older.
Source: Visit Las Cruces, New Mexico Senior Olympics, Inc.
Photos: Courtesy
When most people think about sports, they tend to think about youth.
They think about Friday night football, state championship runs, rivalries and school colors. They think about athletes chasing personal records before graduation and wondering what comes next. What often goes unmentioned is that for many competitors, sports do not end when school does.
That reality will be on display across Las Cruces from June 17-21 as the 2026 Ernesto Ramos New Mexico Senior Olympics State Summer Games bring approximately 800 athletes to our broader community for five days of competition.
The annual event, now in its 45th year, serves as one of New Mexico’s qualifying competitions for the 2027 National Senior Games in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Athletes from 19 states are expected to participate, including more than 100 competitors from outside New Mexico.
Unlike many amateur sporting events, the Senior Olympics welcomes athletes beginning at age 50 and continues through age divisions extending to 95 years and older. Competitors will contest 22 sports ranging from traditional events such as golf, tennis, swimming, cycling and track and field to cornhole, shuffleboard, billiards, powerlifting, archery and pickleball.
Perhaps the most remarkable statistic isn’t the number of athletes or sports involved. It is the age range. The oldest registered competitor this year is Las Cruces resident Anne Nauman, who at 99 years old remains active enough to participate in organized athletic competition.
That perspective changes the way many people view sports.
At a time when high school championships have recently concluded across New Mexico, the Senior Olympics offers a reminder that competition, fitness and personal achievement are not limited to a particular season of life. The same determination that drives a teenager toward a state medal can also be found in athletes competing decades later.
Events will be spread across numerous venues throughout the city, including New Mexico State University facilities, the Las Cruces Convention Center, the Field of Dreams complex, the Las Cruces Natatorium, Mesilla Valley Christian School and several other locations.
Among the largest events are track and field competitions at Field of Dreams, swimming at the Las Cruces Natatorium, golf at the NMSU Golf Course and the increasingly popular pickleball tournaments hosted at the NMSU Activity Center.
The Games officially open with a ceremony at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at the Las Cruces Convention Center. Competition begins Wednesday morning and continues through Sunday.
For local sports fans, the week offers something unusual: the opportunity to watch competitors ranging in age from 50 to nearly 100 years old pursuing medals, records and national qualifying opportunities.
The uniforms may be different than those seen during the high school sports season, but the competitive spirit remains very much the same.
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