As she reached her mid-50s, San Marcos resident Robyn Orban was feeling her years, and then some. She had developed fibromyalgia, a painful condition that includes muscle and joint aches.

Although chronic pain has sent many to the comfort of a heating pad or a sedentary life, Orban devised an unusual self-treatment plan. She joined a basketball league.

“When you have fibromyalgia, exercise is painful,” she said. “But the more exercise you get, the better off you become. Basketball was a perfect way to exercise because you don’t even think about it when you’re in the thick of it. You’re just playing a game.”

Orban found her kindred spirits at the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA in Encinitas. There, former Navy nurse Marilyn Day had started a league for women at least 50 years old. Weary of batting traffic to play against peers in San Diego, Day, along with Connie McAtee, helped found a league at the Y three years ago.

Things started small, and the Ladies of the Court, as they named the league, are still a tight-knit group. About 18 women have formed four teams that play 3-on-3 halfcourt games. But they are preaching the benefits of team sports beyond age 50, and others are listening.

Tonight, the Encinitas gym will host a tournament for senior players from around San Diego County. Orban had so much fun in Encinitas that she has started a league at the Palomar Family YMCA in Escondido. Those players will be in Encinitas tonight, along with many from the more established leagues in San Diego.

“It’s a fun tournament,” Day said.

The twist to this tournament is that teams don’t stay together from their league rosters. Instead, they will be mixed, with each team having players from the 60-plus and 70-plus age brackets.

“There’s a good chance you’ll be playing with somebody you’ve never played with before,” Orban said. “You just get out there and go.”

That’s a good format because these women have a lot of get-up-and-go. You might not see a lot of elbows flying, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t competition.

“They’re competitive, and they want to learn and get better at the game,” said Dara Meinerth, sports director at the Ecke YMCA. “You can see the camaraderie. They have a great deal of support for each other.”

Day loves the competition —- she will be with a group participating at the 2007 National Senior Olympics in Louisville, Ky. But it’s the camaraderie and support that’s more the point.

A health professional both in her 29 years in the Navy and now as an instructor at MiraCosta College, she preaches the value of exercise. At 66, she is her own best example.

“I want to get the word out for the women in North County that there are lots of sports out there that they can have fun with,” Day said. “You can enjoy the sport while improving cardiovascular function, physical fitness and overall health.”

The team environment keeps the women on a regular workout schedule. In Encinitas, for instance, it’s practice on Monday nights and games on Thursday. The new league in Escondido will play early Friday afternoons.

Day said the players have formed bonds beyond the basketball courts. They have developed friendships and some plan day trips and outings together.

As for Orban, at 58 she no longer uses a cane to help her walk. Basketball has improved her condition.

“I knew it would be competitive,” she said. “I didn’t know how inspired I would get and the lengths it would make me go. I would encourage any senior women out there who played a long time ago or have never played to go ahead and go out there and give it a try.

“It’s an incredible form of exercise.”