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Keeping Active in Later Life Ian Wilson shows that keeping active can bring its own rewards in more ways than one.

Ian has just won his first Gold Medal at the age of 71. He was competing in the Super Senior class, of the World Pickleball Championships in Texas. In fact Ian won two medals; the Gold was for mixed doubles in the 70 to74 age group and the Bronze for men’s doubles in the 65 to 69 age group. He had to play down an age group because his partner was younger.

I an discovered this relatively new racket sport in 2009 during a visit to Florida. He and his wife Maureen, a retired Police Woman Sergeant, fell in love with the game. They found it easier than tennis as it is played on a badminton sized court with the net nearly at tennis height. Both Ian & Maureen set up the first Pickleball club in Kidlington in 2011. In 2014 Ian convinced Mike Bushell from the BBC Breakfast show to try the sport. The resulting segment on the show resulted in an explosion of people playing the sport nationally. Ian has been supported by Age UK Oxfordshire in setting up other groups around the county. Pickleball also helps them to meet people around the world. Ian always packs his Pickleball bat wherever he goes. He has recently played in Amsterdam, New Zealand and on a cruise ship. Ian plays several other sports too: table tennis, lawn bowling, cycling and walking. Importantly for Ian, keeping active helps improve your ability to recover from some serious medical issues. Last year he was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. Because of Ian’s fitness, the surgeon was happy for him to undergo a four and a half hour Radical Robotic Prostatectomy. Ian’s quick recovery within two months meant he was back participating in the activities he enjoys. The medals he won are the icing on the cake. If you wish to find out more about Pickleball look up Ian’s website at www. pickleballoxon.org.uk or Facebook, www.facebook.com/Pickleballuk or you can email Ian at info@pickleballoxon.org.uk.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 64 No. 1, 2019