The Parker Shuffle
ZELIENOPLE — Ruth Parker returned to her apartment at the Passavant Community recently with two silver medals to add to her ever-growing collection.
Parker had just finished competing in the National Senior Games Association biennial tournament where more than 10,000 seniors compete in sports ranging from basketball and track to golf and shuffleboard.
“I'll tell you what, I really like to shuffle,” she said.
Originally from the Pittsburgh area, Parker first hit the shuffleboard courts in 1996, when she and her husband, Art, were living in Florida.
“It was just something I wanted to do,” she said. “Next thing I knew I signed up for the tournament.”
She and Art moved to the Passavant Community, 105 Burgess Drive, three years ago where she continued to spread her passion for shuffleboard and senior sports both in Zelienople and everywhere the NSGA tournaments have taken her.
“I've been to California, Houston, Cleveland, Minnesota and Birmingham (Ala.),” she said. “It shows that people can do it.”
The foundational message of NSGA is seniors can stay active and do more than they thought possible.
“I'm 94 years old!” Parker exclaimed. “I don't know it yet, but I am.”
Parker has used her passion for shuffleboard for more than just winning medals, though she has many: four gold and two silver. She also has strengthened relationships with her family, as well as the community at Passavant.
“The first time we went, I went to California,” she said. “I asked my daughter to go with me, and we ended up renting a house down there and the whole family came.”
Parker won her first gold medal at that tournament and has been taking her family to the tournaments across the country ever since.
“It's a family thing,” she said.
At the last tournament in Birmingham, her four daughters all went with her to watch her play.
“The next two years it's in Albuquerque,” she said, “and I already told my family I'm not going to that one.”
Her family is planning the trip anyway, she said.Additionally, Parker is a big reason why Passavant has a shuffleboard in the first place. It was recently installed in the community's new park.“My children, unbeknownst to me, they donated the court,” Parker said.Before she had access, she had practiced shuffleboard in the halls of her apartment. Now, she helps the community arrange tournaments, drafting scoring sheets and lending her decades of knowledge.“This is a great place to live,” she said.Parker remembers discussing the court with Laura Roy, executive director of the Passavant Community.“She said 'You know Ruth, I never planned on having a shuffleboard court,' and I said 'I'll be darned.'”Jane Bittcher, president of the Lutheran Senior Life Foundation, said, “The North Garden contains a shuffleboard court, bocce ball and horseshoes. All were donated. The location is used by residents and employees to get out, have fun, exercise and socialize.”When Parker is not practicing or playing in tournaments, she spends time with Art and her children, many of whom still live in the Pittsburgh area. Art lives in the nursing home right across from her apartment. “He's a great guy and he's doing well,” she said. “We're as happy as can be.”
