In Sports and Aging a wide-ranging group of physically active people, including many scholar-athletes, fifty years and older, discuss sports in the context of aging and their own athletic experiences. This collection of personal accounts includes a spectrum of contributors across genders, social classes, and racial, ethnic, national, religious, and educational backgrounds to determine whether there are any common characteristics that can promote long, happy, healthy, and meaningful lifespans. In this fresh look at the role of sports in the process of aging, contributors range from a ninety-six-year-old great-grandmother to a former Olympian. Many contributors have used education to better their lot in life or to find solace and meaning in the service of others. For all, sports or physical activity has enhanced their health and temperament and provided a sense of community.

Acknowledgments Introduction Gerald R. Gems 1. A History of Aging Gerald R. Gems 2. Life with a Purpose Frances Gems 3. Looking Back Tony Kaleth 4. It Was Not Easy! Maha Ebeid 5. My Life of Physical Activity and Fitness James R. Coates Jr. 6. Aging, Antiaging, and Infinite Youth in Taiwan Chia-Ju Yen 7. A Matter of Perspective Samuel O. Regalado 8. Dance until the Music Stops Tansin Benn 9. Carpe Diem Luciane Lauffer 10. Aging as an Adventure M. Ann Hall 11. An Antiaging Sporting Life in an Aging Society Kohei Kawashima 12. Going Strong Gary Osmond 13. On a Meaningful Life with Sport as a Permanent Companion Else Trangbaek 14. Making a Difference Janice J. Crosswhite 15. Fit, Fun, Forever Young Gertrud Pfister Conclusion Gerald R. Gems Appendix: Aging Project Survey Contributors Index