For the third time, Mrs. Hardy of Belton secured a spot in the National Senior Games following her victory over Linda Cobbs of El Paso in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 on Monday. She will play for top honors in the 70-74 age women’s division singles match at 10:30 a.m. today at Summit Fitness and Recreation Center in Temple.

She said she’s just grateful for an opportunity to play.

“People tend to drop out of singles as they get older,” said Mrs. Hardy, 70. “I’ve had trouble finding people to play with. I was worried about my singles game, but it came through.”

Not that she minds playing doubles, which easily satisfies a main reason she hits the courts two or three times a week.

“I like the social aspect,” Mrs. Hardy said. “Winning is not as important. I like getting together with my friends and playing a fun social match. I feel like I’ve done all that competitive stuff.”

Tell that to the women she quashed in the 1997 and 1999 games, when she was consolation champ in Tucson and placed second among 64 in Orlando. This year’s events in Temple are the state qualifiers leading to San Francisco’s 2009 games.

“It’s a good reason to go to San Francisco,” said Mrs. Hardy, who’s played tennis off and on since she was 18 and played tournament softball for 27 years. “Exercise keeps me in good physical condition.”

Ed Roberts, president of Texas Senior Games Association, said the events encourage those over 50 to enjoy physical - as well as social - activities. All regions with local games are required to have at least one get-together during the year.

“It’s fun to see people and it keeps you from becoming a hermit, which can happen,” Roberts said. One of several social events during the week was Monday’s Welcome Dinner and Dance at Sammons Community Center for the 1,300 competitors.

Chuck Ramm, parks’ recreation superintendent for the city of Temple, said it was no small feat to prepare city buildings for the games on the heels of hosting Hurricane Ike evacuees.

“It took people already working eight straight days to continue working to get buildings set up,” Ramm said. “It’s important because athletes from all over the state and country were coming. That’s what they train for all year long. This is not just a hobby; for some, it’s their life. It’s their social network. It’s very important for us to pull this off in an efficient manner.”

In fact, rows of empty cots remained in a partitioned area of the Frank W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center. Unseen to athletes playing table tennis, city employees simply haven’t had the manpower to remove them in the frenzy of transitioning from disaster shelter to athletic venue.

“The work ethic of employees has been indescribable,” Ramm said. “The commitment of city staff and volunteers, not only to the evacuees, but to the Senior Games, as well, has been unbelievable.

“We’ve been working since last October to make sure these games take place. I met with staff before it started and told them they’ve worked too hard for too long not to make the games all that they should be.”