GENEVA — A tale as old as time — age vs. youth — played itself out once again in Geneva last Saturday.
Although, it wasn’t on the typical playing surfaces of a basketball court, baseball or softball diamond or even a soccer pitch; it was in a gym at the top of Routes 5&20.
Live It Fitness and Training — better known to its members as LIFT — hosted its own version of a strongman competition last weekend. Spearheaded by retired law enforcement officer Mike Scala, the competition pitted middle-aged members of Scala’s church — The Penn Yan Assembly of God — against athletes and cross-fit enthusiasts from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Though the participants enjoyed getting the competitive juices flowing, they all found themselves at LIFT last Saturday morning because they enjoy this type of sport and exercise, and Scala noted before anything that the camaraderie stood above all.
“It was an insanely fun day,” Scala said. “I want to give a huge shoutout to all the Hobart and William Smith crowd, they were all very excellent sportsmen, all good-natured, friendly; they cheered for us, we cheered for them. It was a great display of sportsmanship. There was not one ounce of bad blood, it was friendly competition.”
Across multiple divisions and six events, it was the seasoned veterans of life that emerged victorious. The Assembly of God team defeated HWS by a 27-point margin. Scala’s son, Mike Scala IV, won the teen division and William Smith’s Jackie Sullivan won the women’s division. But overall, the open championship went to the eldest competitor in Mike Scala.
Scala, a recently retired New York state trooper as of six months ago, is an exercise physiologist and physical therapist out of Solomon Family Chiropractic. At age 50, Scala retains top physical condition and exercises multiple times a week, mixing in cross-fit, weightlifting and even the occasional squash match.
The competition started with two events beginning simultaneously: the deadlift and the drag pull. The day continued with the tire flip, rowing, grip test and concluded with box jump.
In the box jump, two athletes successfully completed a 50-inch box jump. In third place was Scala, who at 50 years of age, completed a 44-inch box jump. He went on to win the drag sled, the rowing event and the grip test.
“I think it would behoove enough people to hear that the whole thing about things getting worse as you age is a bunch of baloney,” Scala said. “If you practice it, the world is your oyster.”
In the tire flip, competitors were given 60 seconds to flip a tire as many times as possible. The tire for the male competitors weighed 250 pounds while the tire for the female competitors weigh 200 pounds. In the final results, the gap between second and 10th place was just three flips.
Perhaps the most grueling event was the sled pull. Competitors strapped themselves to a sled, grabbed a pull rope and were timed as they dragged 700 pounds across 50 feet to the finish line. The best time of the day was by Scala, who bested his team member and pastor Russ LaBarr by :0.9 seconds and completed the event in 22.1 seconds.
“(The HWS team) was stunned at the fact that the church team was, on average, close to 20 years their senior,” Scala said. “We didn’t just win, we won by a 27-point margin. (Our church team) had a first-place finisher, a buddy of mine finished third, our pastor — Russ — finished fifth overall and Ethan finished seventh.”
All in all, nothing but smiles broke through in between the pained expressions of exertion. Though the competitive juices were certainly flowing, the camaraderie from all who competed was most evident. HWS students cheered on their elder rivals and vice versa.
“It was overwhelmingly positive,” Scala said of the competition. “I told the kids right from the get-go, ‘We’re going to cheer for you guys, we want you to cheer for us and I want to blow the roof off this place.’”
Though there were judges keeping track of time and scores, the competition held a lighthearted aura. The gym stayed open to members wishing to exercise, there were laughs, strategy discussions and cheers between teams.
Scala doesn’t want it to be a one-off. He plans to continue building the event and attract more people to compete. In fact, he throws out a challenge to all other gyms in the area.
“LIFT is throwing down a challenge to any gym in this area,” Scala said. “Canandaigua Cross Fit to Geneva Fit Club to the YMCA; all these gyms, where are your competitors? Show yourselves. If you think you’re all that in the mirror, come show yourself.”
Whatever the event evolves into, Scala can hang his hat on winning the first competition while being its oldest competitor.
Perhaps one day, youth will triumph over age, but not last Saturday.
