Athletes Limber Up for October Games : The registration deadline for the Gold Coast Olympics is tomorrow. About 550 participants are expected from three counties.

Senior athletes, it’s time to zip up those track suits and grease your gears. The deadline to register for the ninth annual Gold Coast Regional Senior Olympics is tomorrow.

You can bet that 57-year-old Ben Osuna of Santa Paula is ready to go. This will be Osuna’s fourth year as a competitor in the basketball free-throw event. And the grandfather of three is eyeing the gold for his medals collection.

More than 550 adults, age 55 and older from Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, are expected to compete in 14 events to be held between Oct. 2 and 16 at Ventura County sites.

Sheila Cluff, fitness expert, author, and owner of The Oaks at Ojai and The Palms at Palm Springs resort spas, is the honorary spokeswoman for this year’s event. She will participate in the opening ceremony, scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 2 at Camino Real Park in Ventura. The softball competition will follow immediately.

Competitive events include slow-pitch softball, women’s and men’s golf, bridge, eight-ball pool, tennis, shuffleboard, bicycling, basketball free throw, bowling, horseshoes and lawn bowling, table tennis, dancing, swimming and a 5K walk/run.

Gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to the winners upon the conclusion of each event. A $12 registration fee includes a Senior Olympics T-shirt. An additional fee will be charged for each event that a contestant enters.

A special Summer Dance will be held Oct. 8 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Goebel Senior Adult Center, 1385 E. Janss Road, in Thousand Oaks (admission $5). During the intermissions at this social event, dance competitions will be held in, among other categories, advanced ballroom, country-Western, Jack and Jill waltz and swing. Jerry Dokken will provide music for the social dancing and competitions.

To register for dance competition, pick up and submit a form at the Goebel center no later than tomorrow. For dance details, call (805) 497-1639. Participants may register for all other Senior Olympic events by tomorrow at most senior centers throughout the tri-county region, Goebel included. For information about any event, call (805) 643-9153 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Senior Olympics’ closing ceremony will be combined with the third annual Big Band Sunday at the Harbortown Marina Resort Ballroom from 6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 17. Seniors can dance to the popular 17-piece Melodymakers Orchestra and enjoy light refreshments and door prizes.

The 1993 Senior Olympics is hosted by Ventura’s Community Services Department and sponsored by Secure Horizons, KEYT-TV, the Ventura County Star-Free Press and KVEN Radio.

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The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program needs volunteers to represent residents of Ventura County’s skilled nursing facilities and board-and-care homes. Volunteers visit these facilities to resolve problems and to ensure that quality care is maintained and improved when necessary. A required 36-hour training program is scheduled for the end of September at the ombudsman office, 1841 Knoll Drive, Ventura. For details, call Doris Ferber at (805) 656-1986.

FYI: This year Grandparents Day will be observed Sept. 12.

SENIOR OLYMPICS EVENTS / WHERE AND WHEN

* Oct. 2: Opening Ceremony, 9 a.m., Camino Real Park, Dean Drive & Varsity Street, Ventura. Slow-pitch softball, 9:30 a.m.

* Oct. 3: Slow-pitch softball continued, 9:30 a.m., Camino Real Park, Ventura.

* Oct. 4: Women’s and men’s golf, check-in 6:15 a.m.; shotgun start, 7 a.m., River Ridge Golf Course, 2401 Vineyard Ave., Oxnard.

* Oct. 5: Bridge, 9 a.m., Port Hueneme Community Center, 550 Park Ave., Port Hueneme.

* Oct. 6: 5K Walk/Run, 8 a.m., Ventura Promenade, Surfer’s Point at the end of Figueroa Street at the Ventura Pier.

* Oct. 8: Bowling, 1 p.m., Wagon Wheel Bowl, 2801 Wagon Wheel Road, Oxnard. Dance competition, 7-10 p.m., Goebel Senior Adult Center, 1385 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks.

* Oct. 9: Horseshoes and lawn bowling, 9 a.m., Wilson Center, 350 North C St., Oxnard; basketball free throw, 9:30 a.m., Santa Paula High School boy’s gym, 404 N. 6th St., Santa Paula.

* Oct. 9-10: Slow-pitch softball continued, 9:30 a.m. Oxnard Community Center. Field, 800 Hobson Way.

* Oct. 12-13: Tennis, 8 a.m., Pleasant Valley Park, 1605 E. Burnley St., next to Camarillo Senior Center.

* Oct. 13: 8-ball pool, noon, Jack Boyd Community Center, 510 Park Road, Ojai.

* Oct. 14-15: Shuffleboard, 9 a.m., Senior Recreation Center, 420 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura.

* Oct. 15: Table tennis, 9 a.m., Jack Boyd Center (cited above).

* Oct. 16: Swimming, 10 a.m., Ojai Valley Racquet Club, 409 Fox St., Ojai.

* Oct. 17: Big band Sunday dance and closing ceremonies, 6 to 10 p.m., Harbortown Marina Resort Ballroom, 1050 Schooner Drive, Ventura.