Four decades ago, Julie Baldwin and Nancy Dobie were among the pioneers who pushed for girls to have the same athletic opportunities as boys in Rhode Island.

They also spent their professional lives instilling in youngsters the importance of staying active and pursuing a healthy lifestyle.

Now, the two retired physical-education teachers are working together to create athletic opportunities for their generation.

“We want to tell Rhode Island that we are up and running, literally and figuratively,” said Dobie, chairwoman of the newly established Rhode Island Ocean Tides Senior Games. “It personally gives me great pride to make these opportunities available for others.”

A three-sport athlete at the University of Connecticut who went on to teach physical education at Seekonk High School and Middle School for 34 years, Dobie, 65, says she never envisioned retiring to a rocking chair, and has indeed stayed quite active in recent years, primarily through swimming.

A three-sport athlete herself at what is now known as Arcadia College, Baldwin has also remained active since retiring after 42 years as a phys-ed teacher, 37 of them at Wheeler, where she also coached field hockey and lacrosse and continues to serve as a volunteer assistant to the Warriors’ field hockey team. Baldwin, now 70, was introduced to the National Senior Games by Dobie several years ago and has been competing in cycling ever since.

“I believe, and Julie honestly believes, in what we did in our profession — in it being good for children to be active and for them to be active their whole life,” said Dobie, who has competed in swimming and table tennis at the National Senior Games Championships a number of times and hopes to again next year in Palo Alto, Calif. “So we are living what we taught.”

And Dobie and Baldwin are continuing to encourage others to do the same through the formation of the Rhode Island Ocean Tides Senior Games.

“Once we get to be 50, we still want to play,” Dobie said. “We’re not as good as we were because our bodies change — I have two new hips and we all have different new parts — but that’s OK. It doesn’t matter. It’s not necessarily about winning. It’s a wonderful feeling to still be a part of a team. It’s the camaraderie and the spirit and the love of the sport. You feel as if you have some worth, and your body is happy and your mind is happy.”

Although still competitive, the older athletes’ focus is often very different than when they played as children and young adults, Dobie says.

“It’s not about the individual anymore,” she continued. “Because we’ve all made our mark in society. We’ve all had our education, whatever level it might be. We’ve done our professional work. Now it’s time for us to play again. And you don’t have to win to have fun. We do more cheering for everybody else than we do for ourselves because we want to see our friends and our teammates do well. We have so much fun. Oh Lord, we do more laughing. It’s just like we’re kids again — no, not again — still.”

Dobie is joined on the Ocean Tides’ board of directors by Baldwin (executive coordinator), Tom Roy (vice president), Sheila McKenna (recording secretary), Dianne DaPonte (corresponding secretary and membership) and Amy Sexsmith (fundraising), with Malcolm Starr and Kathy Kushnir serving as legal counsel. They have also sought out the assistance of about a dozen other individuals in the community with expertise in the various sports that the group is offering.

The nonprofit organization, which has gained the support of the Gray Panthers of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Senior Agenda Coalition and the Rhode Island Department of Health & Human Services, held its first competition in the spring. The inaugural event offered competition in men’s 3-on-3 basketball, bowling, track and field, tennis, table tennis, swimming, road racing (5K), cycling and golf using the facilities at Roger Williams University, Lang Bowling Lanes in Cranston, Mt. Hope High School and Colt State Park in Bristol and Swansea Country Club.

Close to 200 men and women took part with some competitors traveling from as far away as Kentucky and Virginia.

“As the products of Title IX keep getting older, they’re going to want to continue to play,” said Baldwin, who played competitive field hockey at the national level until she was 35. “And we feel that we have (created that opportunity) in this set of Games. We are offering a first-class event, and it really has been a great experience finding people and being able to cross the age barrier because of your interest in sports.”

The new organization, which plans to add women’s basketball next year and hopes to expand the State Games into other communities, plans to provide more than just that annual competition to older athletes, Baldwin says. It has linked with the Bayside Family YMCA, which will be hosting its annual triathlon Aug. 16 in Barrington, and will offer individuals 50 and older the chance to compete in the race as members of the Ocean Tides.

The group will also host clinics in various sports throughout the year, as well as workshops on other non-sports related issues pertinent to seniors.

For information about the Rhode Island Ocean Tides Senior Games, contact Dobie at (401) 253-1425 or via e-mail rhodytides@aol.com. Information about the Bayside Family YMCA Triathlon is available at http://www.firm-racing.com

cthorn@projo.com