They say age is just a number, and the residents of St. John's Herr Estate proved that to be true during Sports Day held at the retirement community in September.

The event featured campus-wide games and activities, including ax throwing, a baseball derby, cornhole and Wii bowling.

"This is the first time we've planned anything like this," said Heather Dennis, executive director of St. John's Herr Estate, a Luthercare community located at 200 Luther Lane in Columbia. "It's a great way to celebrate active aging, try something new and enjoy some friendly competition."

Amy Kenn, director of communications for Luthercare, said the event was created to highlight the skill set of the residents.

"At St. John's Herr Estate, we have some really great - and competitive - Wii bowlers," she explained. "But we've learned there aren't a lot of opportunities for them to compete locally, so Matt Landis, our community enrichment manager, thought it would be fun to host a day of games and activities, where everyone could participate in a variety of events, have some fun and earn medals."

She noted that Sports Day had to be rescheduled twice due to weather conditions, but when the organization was finally able to hold it, the weather was beautiful, sunny and mild.

Residents could participate in as much or as little as they wanted to, Kenn said. "Outdoors, residents could compete in a timed mile walk around campus or see how many free-throw shots they could make within a minute, how far they could hit a ball in the baseball derby event or how far they could throw a foam long-distance football in a distance throw event," she stated. "Indoors, we, of course, had Wii bowling, along with darts, cornhole, tabletop shuffleboard, ax throwing with lightweight safety axes aimed at a target, a billiards challenge and a pitch and stick golf game."

St. John's staff members served as judges for the various events, keeping score and updating leaderboards throughout the day. The first-, second- and third-place winners in each event will be honored with awards at a ceremony this month.

Residents who chose not to compete cheered on their friends, and many who were initially hesitant to participate eventually did with encouragement from their peers.

"The residents who took part in Sports Day really seemed to enjoy themselves and spending time with their neighbors - with a lot of good-natured teasing and friendly competition," Kenn said.

Dennis agreed, adding, "I was so in awe of residents that came out and competed in something they had never done before. Not only did they perform well, but they were so proud. I loved watching all their smiles and laughs."

She said the community hopes to hold another Sports Day next year, especially considering how well the first one went.

"That very day and the next morning (the residents) were coming by our offices to thank us for such an amazing event," she remarked. "I have a feeling this will certainly not be the last time we do an event like this. The residents of this community are certainly known for their friendly competitive spirits."