Bud Smith traveled all the way to Palo Alto, Calif. to play 3-on-3 basketball.

And he returned with a gold medal.

The 84-year old Auburn native competed on the Magic Seniors, a men's basketball team from Florida, winning the 80-and-over 3-on-3 basketball division at the National Senior Games last month. It was Smith's 10th time playing in the games, and his first golf medal.

Smith played as a member of the champion Magic Seniors 3-on-3 men's basketball team from Florida in the 80-and-over age division. With seven teams competing in the division, the Magic Seniors defeated Louisiana in the championship game 28-21.

Smith has played for the Old Geezers, a New York team, for the past 20 years after the original Florida team disbanded. But the Old Geezers didn't have enough players to compete and make the trek to California this year, despite qualifying.

Thinking he lost his chance to play in the 2009 games, Smith got an unexpected call from some old friends.

“The Florida team called me about a week before the games,” Smith said. “I live down there in the winter so I know the players there and they needed someone on their team to compete at the senior games, so I went. It really worked out for us because I finally got a gold medal.”

Gold medals are something Smith is accustomed to receiving at the Empire State Games, where teams are able to qualify for the National Senior Games. But a win at the national level has been eluding Smith for two decades.

“It was nice to finally get the gold,” Smith said. “I've gotten bronze before with my team but never a gold so it was a big accomplishment.”

A lifetime basketball player, Smith finds it natural that he has kept playing through the years.

“I used to play at the YMCA every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday,”

Smith said. “I've been playing basketball all of my life. When they stopped playing at the YMCA I started playing twice a week in Syracuse, where I play now.”

Reading the newspaper while residing in Florida, Smith found information about the National Senior Games and decided that he might as well take his love for the game to a more competitive level.

The games are for men and women, ages 50 and up, and include other sports such as softball, volleyball, archery, bowling, cycling, racquetball and swimming. Smith also made an attempt to play volleyball but has yet to find a fit as comfortable as basketball.

“I thought about trying softball,” Smith said. “It depends on my knees but I will keep competing in the games for as long as I can.”

The last senior games had about 12,000 participants, a number that Smith said he finds increasing over the years as an interest in sports seems to be growing in popularity amongst older athletes.

“I notice that more and more seniors are finding sports to get active in and are competing in the games, which is good,” Smith said. “It is good to keep your legs moving and stay active and I think that more people are realizing that.”

Other than his love for basketball, Smith finds that traveling for the games is also a feature he enjoys.

“It's always a different venue and I travel for them every time,” Smith said. “The expenses of the travel does make it difficult for some to participate though, but you get to meet a lot of great people and experience quite a bit. I am always looking to get more people to participate. Sometimes it is difficult to get a team together and find people that are willing to make the trip to the games.”

Traveling to Florida, where he resides for part of the year, Smith may have something more than sunshine to look forward to this basketball season. Talks are in the works to have the Magic Seniors honored on the court during an Orlando Magic game.

“I just love to play and will keep playing,” Smith said. “After you retire you have to do something to stay active. I guess this is my hobby.”

The other members of the champion Magic Seniors 80-plus team are J.R. Read, of Bellview, Fla., and Ron Harp and Hugh Ressler, both of Clermont, Fla.