More than 300 compete in annual Hoops for the Ages tournament

Growing up on the West Side of Chicago, Rob Bady shared a love of basketball with his brother, Ray Bady, who is a year younger.

Now 54 and 53, respectively, the brothers are still playing basketball, most recently on opposing teams in the Hoops for the Ages Tournament on Saturday, April 27, at the Robert Crown Community Center.

“It was a hard-fought game, but it was fun,” said Rob Bady after his team, Slow and Steady, scored a win over his brother’s team, VKM All Stars.

The victory would be the second in a three-game win streak for Slow and Steady, earning them a gold medal.

More than 300 men and women, ages 40 and up, participated in the single-day 3-on-3 tournament, which is the Illinois state qualifier for the 2025 National Senior Games in Des Moines, Iowa. The NSG, a 19-sport biennial competition for men and women 50 and over, is the largest qualified multi-sport event in the world for seniors.

Hoops for the Ages – presented by the City of Evanston, Levy Senior Center Foundation and Illinois Senior Games – welcomed 30 men’s teams at Robert Crown and 10 women’s teams at Levy Center. Teams were grouped by age: 40-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80-plus. The top three teams in each age bracket received gold, silver and bronze medals, which qualified 140 players for the National Games. Because eligibility for NSG begins at age 50, the 40-49 teams will not compete in Des Moines.

Rob Bady co-chaired the event with Cathy Wilson, a player in the 65-69 division. Bady said the tournament was opened to players in their 40s “because we want to introduce them to basketball for life.”

Wilson said it was their third year organizing the event, along with a committee of eight other volunteers, half of whom serve on the Levy Senior Center Foundation board.

“It’s just great,” Wilson said. “Our goal is to keep people active playing basketball. … We’ve got people who are 90 years old; we have some [in their] 40s here. So, we’re trying to get the 40s used to playing senior ball.”

Edwina Dennis, 90, played in the tournament on the Chicago North Stars, with players younger than herself. Tournament rules allow players to “play down” in other age brackets.

More than a few participants said that older players serve as role models for younger players.

“They’re all excited,” Wilson said about the women’s 40-49 division. “They say they are very inspired by the older players. That’s what we all want to be. We want to be vertical and playing basketball for as long as we can.”

Hooked on hoops

Arne Duncan, who served as U.S. Secretary of Education and chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools, played on Bady’s Slow & Steady team in the 50-54 division. Having played basketball for as long as he can remember, Duncan said, “I’ll play till I drop. I know how lucky I am to be out here. You see some of these older guys out here. It’s really inspirational to see them. It’s pretty amazing.”

His wife, Karen Duncan, was among the spectators cheering on the teams. She said it was her husband’s first time playing in the tournament.

“But I’ve been watching him play, and his teammates, for 30-plus years, and I’m just glad that they’re still out here,” she said. ” … Yes, they move a little differently, but they’re still playing for the love of the game. … I think it’s a terrific thing that all these people are here, enjoying something and doing something great for themselves and for their bodies.”

Although the level of play and competition vary, events like Hoops for the Ages prove basketball is a sport that can be enjoyed by people of a variety of ages and skill levels. Some, like Duncan, Wilson and Bady, have played basketball throughout their lives, including in college. Others started playing much later in life.

“We’ve got a lot of ladies in the 60-65 age group and above,” said Wilson, “who were in high school before Title IX, so they didn’t have this opportunity. … Some high schools had [women’s] sports, some didn’t. It was the luck of the draw.”

Hoops participant Christie Bowman said she has been playing basketball three times a week for more than two decades, not starting until age 50, when she enrolled in a basketball class.

Hoops for the Ages committee member Dorrance Halverson, 80, is a Levy Senior Center Foundation board member who played in the men’s competition. He said he played basketball “as a kid,” but stopped doing so in adulthood. “I restarted when I was 40,” said Halverson. When asked how he feels about “aging in motion,” Halverson said, “I think it’s a wonderful thing, and I’ve been doing it for 23 years at the Levy Center.”

No matter their age, or when they started playing, Hoops participants are committed to staying active. Rob Bady said he resists negative views on getting older, and instead focuses on “aging well.”

The spirit of competition and camaraderie are closely intertwined at the Hoops tournaments. Ken Mitchell and Vince Stefanelli play on a team named I like Indiana, which includes players from Indiana and Illinois.

“We just play for the fun of it and for the camaraderie with each other,” said Mitchell, adding, “We haven’t played our first game yet, but we expect to win.”

Teammates are, above all, supportive of each other, and their fellow athletes. Many were quick to acknowledge that injuries can take longer to heal, and that it is natural to slow down as you age.

Dennis Spooner, a teammate of Halverson, offered his take on aging in motion:“I get tired,” he said with a smile and a laugh.

Eric Miller, who plays in the 65-69 age bracket, said it was his second year playing on the J-Town team. He competed with his teammates in the 2023 National Senior Games in Pittsburgh. He said the concept of older adults playing competitive basketball “is all new and exciting to me because I didn’t know anybody did this at this age. It renews my youth.”

Rob Bady said he is now looking forward to the 2025 National Games in Des Moines.

“Midwest, here we come,” he said.