Huntsman World Senior Games Open in St George |
The 2026 Huntsman World Senior Games begin with an opening ceremony |
St. George welcomed the 2026 Huntsman World Senior Games on Tuesday night with an opening ceremony at Burns Arena.
A parade of athletes brought participants together on the Utah Tech University campus before two weeks of competition across the area.
For a city that knows this event well, the familiar procession still carried a charge of excitement.
Organizers expect more than 12,200 athletes this year, a registration record, with competitors representing 33 nations.
Athletes from Ecuador are participating for the first time, adding another country to the gathering in southern Utah.
Those numbers are impressive, but the people behind them give the Games their staying power.
Yuet Yu Ma, a 101-year-old table tennis player, is making her Huntsman World Senior Games debut.
She first took up the sport as a child in Shanghai and traveled to St. George with her son.
Her arrival offers a powerful reminder that a long sporting life can still hold firsts.
Closer to home, St. George resident Alta Pierson, 100, has entered her first track and field competition.
Pierson signed up for six events, spanning short and longer runs as well as three throwing disciplines.
For Pierson, the opening ceremony marked a beginning, not a return.
The night also gave spectators an endurance feat of a different kind inside Burns Arena.
DonnaJean Wilde held an abdominal plank for more than five hours, setting a female world record as the crowd cheered her on.
It was an astonishing display of resolve on an evening already devoted to athletic persistence.
Competition at the Games is evolving, too, with cornhole joining the lineup for the first time this year.
That addition gives athletes another way to take part while the long-running event welcomes both newcomers and familiar faces.
For St. George residents, the next two weeks offer opportunities to watch competitors at venues in and around town.
The Games are scheduled to continue through Saturday, October 17, with athletes pursuing goals built over years of practice.
Tuesday’s senior games opening ceremony made one point hard to miss: the courage to begin belongs at every age. |
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33 nations coming to southern Utah is pretty remarkable honestly. St George is a long way from most of those places.
Love that the opening ceremony is at Burns Arena. Easy to get to and the energy in there is always great for these events.
Five hour plank world record set right here in town and I missed it. That is the kind of thing you want to see live.
RandyHSame! I had no idea it was happening until I saw it on here after the fact. Five hours is just hard to even picture. My arms give out folding laundry.
Alta Pierson is a local! Proud of her. Hope she crushes it in those track events.
Anyone know which venues are free to watch at? Would love to take the kids out to see some of the events.
kris_sgutA lot of the track and field events at the UTech stadium are free to watch from what I remember past years. Pickleball courts too. Worth calling the Games office to confirm but we've taken our grandkids before with no issues.
Registration record this year too. Good to see St George putting itself on the map for something like this.
Yuet Yu Ma learned table tennis as a kid in Shanghai and is still playing at 101. That story needs its own documentary.
Cornhole is a sport now I guess. Not complaining just surprised it took this long to add it.
My neighbor volunteers at these games every year. Says it is one of the best two weeks in St George. Easy to believe.
Linda_FYour neighbor is right. My wife and I went for the first time two years ago just to watch some cycling and ended up spending basically the whole day out there. The energy is really something.
DonnaJean held a plank for FIVE HOURS. I can do maybe 45 seconds on a good day.
Mike SorensenHa same. And she did it in front of a crowd which honestly makes it even harder. Just the mental side of that alone is something else.
Ecuador competing for the first time is cool. Wonder how they heard about St George all the way down there.
jgrant_utahThe Games have been around since 1987 so word travels! My uncle in Canada heard about it through his cycling club. It has a pretty solid reputation in the senior athletics world.
Alta Pierson is 100 and signed up for SIX events including throwing. I can barely get off the couch. Respect.
Rhonda P.Right? I read that again twice. SIX events at 100 years old. She lives right here in St George and I had never heard of her before this. What an incredible woman.
12,200 athletes is a lot of people to have in town. Hope the traffic on Bluff isn't too bad this week.
Tom WilkesBluff is always rough during the Games honestly. I just start leaving earlier in the morning and avoid that stretch around noon. Red Cliffs Drive has been decent as an alternate the past few years.
Been watching the parade of athletes every year and it never gets old. Burns Arena was packed last night!
101 years old and playing table tennis for the first time at these games. That is wild. Good for her.
Dave K.Her son traveled with her from Shanghai which I thought was really sweet. Hopefully she does well and comes back next year too.