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The rookie center just celebrated her 84th birthday.

The veteran guard is two years older than Billy Graham.

And the coach switched to zone defense so her players don't have to run around as much.

 

JIM MAHONEY/DMN

Nita Henderson (left), 87, and Helen Yarber, 84, members of the Texas Challenge basketball squad, practice their shooting form.

These spry grannies are on their way to the Senior Olympics in June in Louisville, Ky., and some of the younger players will be warming up this weekend at a regional tourney in Arkansas.

Texas Challenge players are divided into two squads – age 65 and up, and age 80 and up. Organizers say the elder squad is one of only three 80-plus teams in the country.

The teams play half-court, three-on-three match-ups. To warm up, the women perform drills and shoot lay-ups to a song called "Basketball Boogie" recorded by player/coach Kay Seamayer. She calls it "granny Globetrotter music."

Ms. Seamayer, 67, said she rediscovered basketball last year as part of a renewed fitness regimen.

"About a year ago, I thought, 'I'd better get ready for the next 25 or 30 or 40 years,' " she said. "So I decided to start playing basketball again."

Newcomer Helen Yarber, who turned 84 this week, joined the team last year. Teammates say she's becoming a monster in the middle.

"They put me underneath the basket most of the time," Ms. Yarber said. "I'm 5-9. Used to be 5-10."

Ms. Yarber said her family gets a kick out of her newfound pursuit. Her grandson in Manhattan brags by showing friends pictures of his grandmother on the court.

"Everybody runs around and has the best time, and it's good for us," she said.

Finding enough hoop-savvy octogenarians to field a team can be, well, a challenge. In September, the 80-plus team won its age group's state title in Austin just by showing up.

"We had to split them up and play each other," said Shelly Whitlock, 67, a player/manager.

The team recruits from around the state, drawing in players from the San Antonio, Houston and Austin areas, as well as from Lubbock and Louisiana.

Ms. Rudd, the eldest player, said she does her best to reel in prospects for the 80-plus team.

"I've tried to enlist some more, but they're kind of hard to find," she said. "I see somebody that looks as if, 'Well, I bet they could play basketball.' When I ask them, it's kind of an insult, because they're only in their seventies."

Ms. Rudd was born in Great Bend, Kan., on Nov. 7, 1916 – exactly two years before Billy Graham, she notes. When she learned to play basketball in high school, it was a three-court game that put tight restrictions on when players could pass and dribble.

These days, Ms. Rudd is a huge Dallas Mavericks fan who kills time shooting gr

anny-style free throws in her Far East Dallas back yard, lofting shots toward the goal put up years ago by her husband. Sometimes she dribbles around with her great-grandchildren.

On the court with the Texas Challenge, she is mainly a passer, ball-handler and free-throw specialist. She also swims, and she placed second nationally in shuffleboard two years ago at the senior games in Pittsburgh.

"It's wonderful," she said. "I've been to four nationals now. If I have a heart attack or just pass out on the floor, that's OK – I'm ready to meet the Lord. That would be better than falling out of a wheelchair. I love it."

***For the latest updates on Basketball and Fitness news, go to: www.basketballandfitnessforseniorwomen.com

LIBERTY BELL’S TOLL TO BE HEARD ON JULY 4TH FOR “LET FREEDOM RING”
Governor Rendell Officiates As Descendants Of Signers Of The Declaration Of Independence Tap Liberty Bell

Philadelphia, May 17, 2005 — No living person has ever heard the Liberty Bell ring. But, this Fourth of July at the annual Let Freedom Ring ceremony in Philadelphia, America will hear the first ringing of the Normandy Bell, cast as an exact replica of the Liberty Bell. The Normandy Bell is a gift from the French to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of D-Day. The Normandy Bell’s peal will be in poignant contrast to the silent tapping of the Liberty Bell by four children descended from signers of the Declaration of Independence. The bell tapping at 2 p.m. sets off a patriotic chorus of bell ringing across the country. Let Freedom Ring is the only Congressionally mandated Independence Day commemoration. Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell is Let Freedom Ring’s national spokesman. The event is part of Philadelphia’s annual Independence Day celebration, Sunoco Welcome America. 

The Normandy Bell is the only bell in the world that sounds like the Liberty Bell, which last rang on February 23, 1846, for George Washington’s birthday. The Normandy Bell will arrive in Philadelphia with military honors and will ring outside the Liberty Bell Center during Let Freedom Ring. The bell then will be on exhibit at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia through September. 

Governor Rendell officially will greet the French contingent presenting the Normandy Bell on the Fourth of July. Harland Johnson, president of the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of The Revolution, will officiate as well. After the ceremony at the Liberty Bell Center, Let Freedom Ring’s bell ringing will spread to 10,000+ destinations world-wide, including the Crystal Cathedral in California, Old North Church in Boston, Pearl Harbor and the UAL Flight 93 Memorial Chapel in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

• Luther Shank, IV, age 17, of Odessa, Delaware, descendant of John Hart

• Jessica Scordino, age 13, of Endicott, New York, descendent of Philip Livingston

• Christy Scordino, age 13 (Jessica and Christy are twins.) 

• Douglas Scordino, age 14, of Endicott, New York, descendent of  Philip Livingston

Philadelphia’s Let Freedom Ring ceremony features music and entertainment by the Philadelphia Boys Choir, the Navy Ceremonial Band from Washington, DC, composer and singer Kay Seamayer, Second Pennsylvania Regiment and the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, among others. Both moving and patriotic, the event dates back to a 1963 Joint Resolution of Congress officially authorizing a national bell-ringing ceremony. The event has been sponsored by the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of The Revolution since 1969. For more information, visit www.let-freedom-ring.org.   www.letfreedomringpublishing.com

For more information on Fourth of July festivities in Philadelphia and to book a hotel package, visit www.gophila.com or call (800) 537-7676.

Sunoco Welcome America! is Philadelphia’s annual celebration of the Independence Day holiday. The nine-day, family-friendly festival, taking place from June 26 through July 4, 2005, is the largest of its kind in America. The celebration features music, entertainment, international cuisine and the best fireworks in the country. For more information, visit www.americasbirthday.com.

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) builds the region’s economy and image through destination marketing to increase the number of visitors, the number of nights they stay and the number of things they do in the five-county region. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit www.gophila.com or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at (800) 537-7676