Goldmedal

Wisconsin Senior Olympics September 2021

The youth of my day never received any medals, trophies or awards after competing in city wide sporting events. That's even after we won the City Softball Championships back in the 1950's. That's unlike today's youth who are given awards just for being on the team. In some instances no score is kept so winning or losing doesn't even matter. Win, lose or draw participants of todays youth sports are made to feel good with some type of reward. Consequently, after the game and awards are handed out, there's no crying or sad faces. As per custom, for an additional reward after the game, the team members are usually treated to their favorite confectionary.

Recently I signed up for the Senior Olympic Table Tennis event. After paying the fifty dollar entry fee I was disappointed to learn there weren’t any other competitors entered in my age group. To my chagrin I was automatically awarded the gold medal just for showing up at the tournament. Sadly though, the tournament officials didn’t even bother to take me out for an ice cream.

Anecdote: Just for the sake of some competition, I was allowed to compete against two competitors in the next age group younger than my own. Although I handily beat both of them, I received no additional accolades, medals, or even a trip to Dairy Queen!