What does it mean to be a master athlete in New Hampshire?

The staff at the New Hampshire Masters Games, formerly the Granite State Senior Games, is working to reimagine the answer to that question.

The Senior Games started in 1988 on a national scale to encourage Americans 50 or older to be more active. They have offices throughout the 50 states and a national competition every other year where thousands of athletes from all over the U.S. compete in events such as basketball, shuffleboard, pickleball and swimming.

Over the past few game cycles, the New Hampshire sector has been expanding its membership to younger athletes, Chairman Jim Eddinger said. In 2012, a 45 to 50 age group was created, and two years ago, the group decided to change the competiton’s name from the Senior Games to the Masters Games.

This year, the organization will open up competition up to athletes as young as 40 to 45 years old.

Eddinger, 76, said this is crucial in a state where the population is aging fast.

By 2030, one-third of New Hampshire’s population will be 65 or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“People in New Hampshire are getting older, and we really need to get younger people in here to see what the games are all about,” Eddinger said.

Eddinger said the organization has long struggled to find younger people within the 50 to 60 age group to participate.

“We run into that with individuals who are 50 or 55 – they don’t consider themselves a part of that senior group,” he said.

He said he hopes inviting younger groups to participate in the games will encourage younger seniors to join in as well.

As of now, there are two participants registered in the 40 to 45 age group, and 15 people registered in the 45 to 49 age group.

Melissa Deprince, 46, of Nashua is one athlete excited to participate in the racquetball tournament on Aug. 13.

Deprince said she finds that racquetball players are typically older, more fit people in their 50s and 60s rather than people in their 20s and 30s. She said the age difference between her and her competitors doesn’t bother her.

“I like to meet anyone who is enthusiastic about the game, and there doesn’t seem to be many young people who are,” she said.

“A lot of the people playing are older, and age and ability doesn’t seem to be too much related.”

Fred LaFontaine, who has participated in the New Hampshire Master Games for pickleball for four years, said a lot of younger people are showing interest in the sport.

LaFontaine, 88, started playing pickleball in 1987 in Florida, where he spent his winters until retiring to Havenwood Heritage Heights in Concord full time. LaFontaine founded Concord’s first pickleball club through the city’s recreation department three years ago, where the group plays five days a week with portable nets on converted tennis courts at Beaver Meadow School.

He said the league has close to 100 players signed up. The average age is around 50.

LaFontaine said he believes pickleball is “something for the future,” that both older people like him and younger athletes can take part in.

As for the games, Eddinger said the participation rate is rising every year. Each year, 50 percent of the people who participate in the events are new.

The organization is also aiming to work with groups who want to be active, but need physical accommodations, like those in wheelchairs.

Eddinger said he would like to see both horseshoeing and bowling come to the games for those groups in the next few years.

“Our mission is to make sure people are physically challenged, in whatever way that is for them,” he said.

(Leah Willingham can be reached at 369-3305 or lwillingham@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @LeahMWillingham.)