Arkansas Senior Olympics staff and Board of Directors will host an open public press conference and "meet and greet" event on Friday, July 6, on Harmon Field at Fayetteville High School. Mayor Lioneld Jordan will welcome senior athletes to Fayetteville. The public is invited to this event that will begin at 10 a.m.

Arkansas Senior Olympics Executive Director Greg Eberdt will announce a statewide "Fire It Up!" Torch Tour series of media events to call attention to the 2018 Arkansas Senior Olympic Games. Significant changes have been made to upgrade and expand the Arkansas Senior Olympics to provide better opportunities for adults to get fit, stay active and healthy and to compete in a variety of sports events.

Eberdt will introduce several competitors who have won medals in the Arkansas Senior Olympics, and have gone on to represent Arkansas in the National Senior Games. The senior athletes will be available for interviews, photos, and video after the event. Come out and learn more about the Senior Olympics and enjoy some Kona Ice!

This will be the first of several "Fire It Up!" Torch Tour events for the Arkansas Senior Olympics around the state of Arkansas.

Also planned to be present will be representatives of the Fayetteville Visitors Bureau, the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, as well as a representative of the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Arkansas, the parent organization of the NWA Senior Games, which covers eight counties in Northwest Arkansas and hosts its own regional Northwest Games each May.

The mission of Arkansas Senior Olympics is "to promote fitness, good health and education through competitive athletics designed for adults 40 years of age and older." Last year three competitors in the Arkansas Games were more than 90 years of age. More information can be found online at ARSeniorOlympics.org, where adults 40 and up can register to compete in the 2018 Games. Contact Eberdt about volunteering, donating and/or becoming a Sponsor with the Arkansas Senior Olympics.

The public is also invited (any age) to join and ride along with the Torch on a "Torch Tour" slow roll bicycle group ride at 12-16 mph for an eight-to 12-mile bicycle trail tour around Fayetteville. The ride begins at 9 a.m. on July 6 at the Fayetteville High School parking lot.

For more information, contact Greg Eberdt at 501-321-1441 or email [email protected], or Wayne Mays, 479-524-6466, [email protected].