Loma Linda University News
April 6, 2000
Senior Games at Drayson Center receive glowing revues
Four national records were broken during the Senior Games held at Drayson Center on Sunday, March 19.
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Members of Keach's Kagers, one of the senior basketball teams taking part in the tournament, listen carefully as their team captain works out some strategies for their opening game. |
The annual games drew nearly 200 participants who competed in four venues. Nearly 200 spectators watched the events.
The event was covered by the San Bernardino County Sun newspaper and a story appeared in the Monday, March 20, issue.
"A number of athletes approached me throughout the day," says Donald Sease, marketing and events director at Drayson Center.
"They used phrases like 'extremely well-run,' 'pleasurable,' and 'on-time' to describe the games."
"However," Mr. Sease continues, "the most encouraging words were 'I intend to return next year.'"
Of the four venues, which included tennis and racquetball for the first time, the aquatics and basketball tournaments drew the greatest participation.
Parry O'Brien, an Olympic gold medal shot-putter and record holder, took part in the aquatics competition. Mr. O'Brien took up swimming a decade ago because it was easier on his joints and back.
At 68, he is a U.S. Masters All-American swimmer, which means that he has the fastest time in his five-year age group during the current year.
Another senior, who took part in the aquatics portion and won four medals, commented, "This is a lot more fun than I thought it would be." Competitors are classified by both their age group (in five year increments) and their abilities (novice to expert), allowing for more participants to have a realistic chance of medaling.
Tennis and racquetball venues were added for the first time this year. Organized by Brooks Davis, USPTR, the new tennis coach at Drayson Center, the tennis event featured a round-robin format for a dozen players. Five players took part in the racquetball tournament.
"We expected more to take part in tennis and racquetball," explains Mr. Sease. "Next year we plan to focus more on tennis doubles--which seems to be more popular with seniors anyway."
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Swimmers, on their marks, get set to begin one of a number of aquatics events. Many of the competitors are U.S. Masters All-Americans and came from as far away as New Mexico and Colorado to take part. |
According to the tennis coach, Mr. Davis, the eight-game match format for tennis was physically exhausting for many of the participants, considering the fact that they had to play multiple matches.
While racquetball may have had the fewest participants, the venue had its own celebrity. Michael A. Petlansky, better known as Pepi, the Clown, is also an accomplished racquetball player.
More than 40 volunteers provided an integral role in the success of the Senior Games. Many of the volunteers were students from Loma Linda Academy.
In addition to helping with set-up and organization, their roles included time- and score-keeping, and cheering on the competitors.
One Loma Linda Academy student was impressed by the intensity shown by the competitors in the basketball tournament, commenting that "those guys are really serious."
A number of participants expressed appreciation for the food provided during the day. Sandwiches and drink were available for those competing. For volunteers, free lunches were supplied by Bill's Place. Mr. Sease even set aside some food for the last group of basketball teams who competed in the afternoon.
"Last year, most of the food was eaten by the time their competition came around," Mr. Sease recalls. "I didn't want that to happen again this year."
He continues, "After a day of competition, the athletes really appreciate some nourishment before they head home."
In addition to the local seniors who took part, a number came from the Los Angeles and Orange County areas.
Others came from as far away as San Diego. Several traveled all the way from Oregon, Colorado, and New Mexico.
"We hope to host the Senior Olympics at Drayson in the future," Mr. Sease reveals. "We will be adding more venues in order to qualify."
With the positive comments received for past efforts, Mr. Sease believes that becoming a Senior Olympic site is a distinct possibility for Drayson Center.
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A six-year analysis of student performance data from the Teaching Learning Center, Graduate School, shows that students learning to improve their study skills--particularly Black students who have participated in Center programs--have much untapped potential for improvement. Reading efficiency, as defined in this graph, is a measure of reading speed and comprehension.
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The Teaching Learning Center at Loma Linda University celebrated Black History Month this February with an inspirational message for all students: Your potential is enormous.
A six-year analysis of the Center's student performance data found that students who learned ways to improve their study skills, such as reading speed and reading comprehension, showed dramatic improvements when compared with peers who had not taken study skills classes. The analysis found that Black students, in particular, showed vast improvement.
Black students, on average, increased their reading efficiency by 427 percent, to 1,243 words p
r minute from 236 words per minute, as measured by pre- and post-tests assessing performance before and after taking Teaching Learning Center classes. Hispanic students experienced an average 286 percent increase to 818 words per minute from 212 words per minute. Caucasian students experienced an average 288 percent increase to 885 words per minute from 229 words per minute. The same trend held true with measures of reading speed and reading comprehension.
The sample of data included 295 students: 51 of the students were Black, 37 were Hispanic, and 207 were Caucasian. Other ethnic backgrounds were not included in this survey.
Each student had taken the Center's ABLE III class, an advanced dynamic reading/thinking course which centers on reading speed, comprehension, and brain-compatible information processing skills.
The differences between before and after results were statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference among any of the groups at baseline, meaning they all started out reading at essentially the same level.
It is important to note that students in each ethnic group dramatically improved their study skills by taking Teaching Learning Center classes. This underscores the crucial fact that everyone can learn to become a better student by systematically improving fundamental learning skills.
"We were very delighted to see this pattern emerge from our data," says Center director Shirani de Alwis-Chand, EdD. "What this suggests to us is that any student who applies himself or herself and is dedicated to improving his or her study skills can become a more proficient learner through classes such as our own."
In his address titled "The purpose of education," given at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., referred to the importance of developing study skills.
"Education must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life," Dr. King said. "Education must also train one for quick, resolute, and effective thinking. To think incisively and to think for one's self is very difficult....The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically."
The Teaching Learning Center is an on-campus educational center that offers classes emphasizing dynamic thinking and learning skills, public speaking, and writing. The curriculum is structured around "brain-compatible learning theory," meaning students are taught theory and skills congruent with the latest scientific knowledge on how the brain works best. The Teaching Learning Center espouses a philosophy of holistic learning, with emphases on stress reduction, exercise, proper nutrition, and time management. The Center was founded in 1993 by the Graduate School, under the leadership of Dr. de Alwis-Chand.
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