HURRICANE — A famous line from the iconic movie says:”You can get busy living or you can get busy dying.”
Herb Powers couldn’t agree more. The 73-year old from Katy, Texas, doesn’t worry about his age much. He doesn’t have time. Powers and girlfriend Wanda Newsom, from Taylor, Texas, have a grueling schedule that has them traveling around the country, competing in track meets and shooting in archery competitions.
“It’s fun,” Powers said. “It beats sitting on the front porch sipping lemonade.”
Just days after finishing a track and field event in Arkansas, the couple was in southern Utah, winning medals in the archery competition in the Huntsman World Senior Games.
“I love Utah,” Newsom said. “I’d move here if my kids would let me.”
Powers regularly competes in all the sprint events in the various Olympic-style games around the country. Newsom also does the sprints, but excels especially at the throwing events, where she has qualified for national competition.
But in Utah, the duo was here to focus on archery. Newsom won gold in the Barebow Compound Target competition (women, ages 70-74) earlier this week. Powers took gold in the men’s Freestyle Limited Recurve (70-74), beating out competitors from Arizona and Nebraska.
Friday the couple enjoyed the varied 3D course, which laced its way through the hills of the ironically-named Purgatory Flats. The targets, foam 3D animals, were placed from 20 to 40 yards from the shooting stations. There were 14 stations with two targets per station.
“It was really different and challenging,” Powers said. “I liked it a lot. It was a lot of fun. We wound all over these hills.”
Powers has been shooting archery for about 14 years after his daughter “informed me I was going to teach the girls scouts how to do it.”
“I figured if I was going to teach it, I’d better learn how to do it myself,” he said.
About 100 or so competitors took to the hills, with competition wrapping up Friday late afternoon.
The first week of events is nearly over in the 2014 Senior Games. Eleven events take place Saturday, including Cowboy Action Shooting, Lawn Bowling, women’s soccer, tennis and men’s and women’s volleyball.
The Games take Sunday off before resuming with a full slate of events Monday through Saturday next week.
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Herb Powers (in red) and and Wanda Newsom (blue) get set to shoot at one of the 3D targets during the Hunstman World Senior Games 3D Archery Event, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 10, 2014 | Photo courtesy Herb Powers Hunstman World Senior Games 3D Archery Event, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 10, 2014 | Photo by Shelly Griffin, St. George News Hunstman World Senior Games 3D Archery Event, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 10, 2014 | Photo by Shelly Griffin, St. George News Hunstman World Senior Games 3D Archery Event, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 10, 2014 | Photo by Shelly Griffin, St. George News Hunstman World Senior Games 3D Archery Event, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 10, 2014 | Photo by Shelly Griffin, St. George News Hunstman World Senior Games 3D Archery Event, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 10, 2014 | Photo courtesy Herb Powers Hunstman World Senior Games 3D Archery Event, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 10, 2014 | Photo courtesy Herb Powers Hunstman World Senior Games 3D Archery Event, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 10, 2014 | Photo courtesy Herb Powers
Resources
- For more information about the Huntsman World Senior Games click here
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