- December 18, 2025
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Joe Taynor eyed the horseshoes he had just thrown.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
This time Tom MacDonald took his turn throwing horseshoes.
The two men continued this back and forth along with a small group around them. And while on any other day the games of horseshoes would have simply been for fun, on Monday, March 12, the stakes were higher — competing to win in the 2018 Port Orange Senior Games.
The game of horseshoes kicked off what would be a week-long series of about 12 different sporting events for residents and non-residents 50 years of age and older. This year, almost 200 people signed up to compete, according to Hannah Merlo, recreation coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department.
"The importance of having this is staying active," Merlo said. "Our slogan is staying active never gets old. Studies show that the more active you are the less you have hospitalizations, injuries, things like that. That's what the whole point of this is."
Bob Hunt, who is a member of the Port Orange Horseshoe Club, said in addition to staying fit, the games allow for camaraderie. First-time Senior Games horseshoes competitor Thomas Dale agreed camaraderie was a major part of participating in the event. He added he was hoping to get at least win third place.
"It's just fun to be out with some friends I haven't seen in a long time and just play," Bill Netterville, a racquetball player, said.
Fighting a disease one lap at a time
However, for one athlete the games were more than just a competition.
Terril McBride had entered three swim competitions and has previously participated in the Senior Games. Last year, she placed second in the 50-yard butterfly and sixth in the 50-yard freestyle for the national games.
McBride's journey to becoming a serious swimmer started three years ago when she was diagnosed with a fatal lung disease: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which shrinks and scars the lungs, eventually causing asphyxiation. McBride was given three to five years to live.
So McBride began swimming every day.
"Swimming has actually prolonged by life," McBride said. "What swimming has done, because it forces you to breathe so deeply and hold your breath in the water, it has kept my lungs elastic, so I'm basically doing this to fight this disease."
McBride now swims every day to stay healthy.
And watching McBride glide through the water, it's clear to see she is winning more than just a local competition.
