ATHLETES OF THE 2018 FSG
It’s not about
winning,
but instead…
Spreading
the word Walt Deal is in his third decade
For many Florida Senior Games
athletes who have lined up to
compete for many years and
won their share of medals,
it’s not about how much more
winning they can do. It’s about
how many more folks they can
convince to line up themselves
for a chance to win medals.
Between Joann Sampson, Walt Deal and
Joan Campbell, they have spent plenty
of time on the track, in the gymnasium
and in the pool. They’re now trying to find
others to join them as well as educate
them to a healthier and wealthier lifestyle
as they add candles to their birthday
cakes.
Any athlete who has been on the track for
the running events over the last 15 years
knows Joann Sampson. She could carry
the title of the “Official Greeter of the
Track.” Everyone gets a hug and a how are
you doing from Joann.
“It’s what I do and a lot of people know
me from the Florida Senior Games,” said
Sampson. “I’ve been involved since 2002
and I’ve been able to bring a lot of people
into the Games. It’s a talent that I have from
my years as a school teacher. I’m proud to
be a Senior Athlete and the Senior Games
gives me a platform to talk about it.”
Sampson is a sprinter, running in the 50,
100 and 200 yard dash events. When she
began her sprinting Senior Games journey,
she ran in the 60-64 age group. She now
competes in the 75-79 age group. She
has competed at a variety of Local Senior
Games around the state and has been
to the Florida Senior Games in Lakeland,
Fort Myers and Clearwater. She has
ventured to eight National Senior Games
every other year since she has been
competing beginning in 2003, traveling
from Virginia Beach to Birmingham to Palo
Alto and all points in between.
“I tell folks all the time, because of the
Senior Games I’ve been able to travel
to so many places and meet so many
wonderful people,” she said. “Everyone is
so nice and they help me to improve. They
tell me to ‘try this skill, or try it this way.
We’re like a big family.”
Sampson volunteers regularly at a local
Senior Center in Hallandale Beach and
shares her medals with folks at the
center. She speaks to South Florida
8 · 2018 FLORIDA SENIOR GAMES PRESENTED BY HUMANA · SOUVENIR PROGRAM
in the FSG community.
seniors in an effort to get them up and
moving in Senior Games events.
“I want to be a part of the Florida Senior
Games for a long time,” she said. “I’ll
decide when I’m going to become an old
lady.”
Clearwater’s Walt Deal is now in his third
decade as a member of the Florida Senior
Games community. He began competing
in basketball, track and field and volleyball
in 1999 and was named the 2014 Florida
Senior Games Male Athlete of the Year.
These days, Deal serves as the Games
Coordinator of the Good Life Games,
providing senior athletes the opportunity
to compete in the Tampa Bay area.
“I call myself an Ambassador for the
Good Life Games from time to time,” said
Deal, who was a member of the University
of Evansville NCAA Division II National
Championship basketball teams of 1958-
59 and 1959-1960 seasons. “I go to
events around the area and represent the
Good Life Games to spread the word.”
Besides the sports and events of the
Good Life Games, he helps promote other
healthy lifestyle initiatives like “Walk
With Doc,” with Dr. John Norris, a local
cardiologist. The program encourages