FIXING DATES 2022 Senior Derby will be Wednesday, Sept. 14. Come help!

 

A Loveland Fishing Club tradition since 2006, the club's Senior Fishing Derby will be held at Flatiron Reservoir on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Members of Loveland area assisted living centers are our special guests, and we expect to host around 50, along with support staff from the homes, according to Vickie Tesar, this year's derby chair.

If you've not signed up to volunteer, we're in good shape for the event but can always use more help, Vickie says. This is one of the club's greatest traditions, and fun for all. So come on out. You can reach Vicki at VT0608@out.look.com 

This year’s derby is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14th^th at Flatiron Reservoir, a Larimer County Open Space property where there is normally an $8 daily entrance fee. The club also works with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to purchase a sort of in bulk fishing license for participants, and the Division also stocks the lake in advance with trout.

The idea sprang to mind more than a decade ago, when then-President Ray Park pondered ways to leave his mark on the Loveland Fishing Club’s legacy. We settled on the idea of a day of fishing for folks even older than ourselves, and began to scour the country for ideas we could steal, mostly by Internet search. We found a ton of “senior derbies,” but all seemed to involve some sort of blanket invitation for old folks to come out and fish.

And so, over coffee, the idea evolved:  Why not a senior fishing derby for folks who find themselves physically unable to still get out and fish? We began talking with administrators of Loveland independent and assisted living centers, and on in fall 2006, held the first-ever Loveland Fishing Club Senior Fishing Derby, at Flatiron, southwest of Loveland. It may sound odd to have a bunch of mostly octogenarians hold an outdoor event for other octogenarians. But really, it’s simply a case of doing for others what we’d like someone to eventually do for us:  do whatever is needed to put a fishing pole back in their hands. 

The event cheerfully remains entirely free for participants, including loaner fishing equipment, a well-stocked lake, prizes, and a “gourmet” cookout of hot dogs, chips and soft drinks. 

The derby remains, we think, the nation’s only free fishing derby focused on residents of assisted living centers, run by and for senior volunteers. Other seniors are welcome, as we partner with Chilson Senior Center, but the primary invited guests are residents of Loveland assisted living centers.  To participate, pre-register by Monday, Sept. 9 at Chilson Senior Center, 700 E. Fourth St. Loveland.

The goal is highly personalized help with fishing, mixed with great conversation. And if wanted, Club President Tom Miller will again clean and bag fish to be cooked back at home.

 We count on a stream of younger retirees and senior living facility staff to help keep the event thriving, but truthfully, a number of club members may turn up this year as guests rather than volunteers.

Vickie says we're still waiting for definite commitments from some area facilities, but so far we're looking at guests from Courtyard of Loveland, Brookdale Mariana Butte, Seven Lakes Memory Care, Harvest Pointe, Lakeview Commons, The Wexford, North Shore Health & Rehab, Good Samaritan Society, Green Houses Homes at Mirasol,   Sugar Valley Estates and Sierra Vista/Riverbend.