The Charbonneau Villager Newspaper 2019 Oct issue Villager newspaper | Page 10

10 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER
October 2019
A LIFETIME
SPORT
By CLARA HOWELL
Four men over 80 play
tennis weekly
Y
ou’re never too old for ten-
nis — and the foursome
who plays every week at
the Charbonneau Tennis
Club proves just that.
Bob Rohe, 82, Bing Ottinger, 86, Bob
Cortright, 88, and Bud Taylor, 92, have
all been playing tennis together for the
last 10-15 years and they don’t plan on
stopping anytime soon.
“It really gets you out. It’s tough to
find exercises. My wife just made me
quit riding the bicycle because I have
vertigo problems so now the only
thing I got left to do is tennis,” Taylor
said. “I can’t backpack anymore and
scuba diving is out of the question. All
of those things I did but I can’t do.
Tennis we can play.”
And none of the four men are
strangers to the sport either.
They’ve all been playing for at least
48 years, though as Taylor puts it: “The
singles days are done.”
“We’ve slowed down,” Rohe added.
The group of four tries to play dou-
bles every Tuesday and Thursday from
10:30 a.m. to noon and Cortright also
plays on Saturdays in an open tennis
group for men.
“We don’t want to get up too early,”
Ottinger said. “We might collapse on
the court.”
PMG PHOTOS: CLARA HOWELL
From left to right: Bud Taylor, Bing Ottinger, Bob Rohe and Bob Cortright have played tennis together
for more than a decade. Bob Rohe has been playing tennis since 1956.
Bud Taylor plays tennis despite challenges with
vertigo. Bob Cortright plays tennis three times a week. Bud Taylor, left, and Bob Rohe play tennis at the
Charbonneau Tennis Club.
Taylor lives in Stafford and Cortright,
Ottinger and Rohe have lived in Char-
bonneau for more than a decade — and
for Ottinger more than two decades.
“We play as tough a game as we can,
which is not very tough,” Ottinger said.
The four tennis players also enjoy
the club for its price. They also say
it’s cheaper than hobbies like golf
and skiing. And even though they aren’t young-
sters sprinting the court anymore, they
still enjoy playing, despite the effects
of aging.
“They’re very kind to me; they don’t
hit the ball too hard,” Taylor said.
Now some of the players are trying
to get their grandchildren interested in
the sport. Cortright occasionally plays
with his grandchildren, while Ottinger is still trying to sell his grandchildren
on the idea of tennis.
“I think it’s the one sport you can
keep on playing until you die,” Cor-
tright said. “You slow down but you
don’t ever quit.”
The four say they feel invigorated
and look forward to their weekly dou-
bles as a physical outlet.
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