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Retired organizer urges overhaul of Pensacola Senior Games, offers volunteer help
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Summary
Retired nonprofit executive Stanton Catto told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board the Pensacola Senior Games lack standard reporting and event execution; he offered volunteer support to improve results accuracy, timing procedures, facilities and sponsorship outreach.
Stanton Catto, a retired CFRE and former United Way campaign director, told the City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Jan. 20 that the Pensacola Senior Games “are being run below the standards” and urged the department to fix result reporting, timing procedures and facilities.
Catto said some published results lack basic details such as event date and location and that he witnessed timing mistakes at a recent meet. “Results accuracy matters. Transparency matters,” he said, adding that errors delayed his ability to qualify for state competition. He also criticized conditions at Osceola Golf Course and said medals provided were “the cheapest I have ever witnessed” compared with peer events.
Parks staff responded that the department posts results with event, gender, age, times and place and that some events are combined when participation is low. Staff acknowledged timers are volunteers and said the department provides training but encouraged competitors to flag obvious errors at the meet so corrections can be made.
Board members and staff suggested concrete next steps: add event date and location to published results, consider a post‑games evaluation committee that includes athletes and volunteers, and pursue modest staffing or training to improve timing accuracy. Catto offered to volunteer on sponsorship outreach, results formatting and benchmarking against other Florida senior games.
The board did not adopt a formal policy at the meeting but asked staff to coordinate follow‑up with Catto and senior‑games personnel.
The department said it will review current posting practices and explore a volunteer evaluation committee; no additional budget was approved at the meeting.
