BY KIM LANGEN

Local competitors have achieved medals of all colours during this week’s Manitoba 55 Plus Games in Killarney.

Gold medals went to duo David Jones and Bob Chapman, who cleaned up in the highly competitive Men’s Doubles in Pickleball, held on Tuesday at the Shamrock Centre.

And co-chair of the Games, Bob Moore, captured a gold in Thursday’s 16 km Predicted Cycle competition.

Silver medals went to both Bob Chapman and Wendy Evans on Wednesday, when they teamed up to compete in the Pickleball Mixed Doubles.

Bronze medals went to local bowlers, the Cornish team, in the 5-Pin Bowling competition on Wednesday.

Members of that team include Judy Cornish, Grace Jones, Jane Ireland, Maureen Nicholls, and Tina Welsh.

And a bronze medal went to Angela Desmarais, for her win in the 3 km Predicted Walk/Run on Wednesday.

Capping off the local pickleball medal count was Susan Nay who picked up silver in the Pickleball Women’s Doubles on Thursday.

Bob Moore said that over 900 participants had registered in the Shamrock Centre foyer by Tuesday morning, surpassing all expectations.

The three days were a time of friendship, fun and fellowship, along with a bit of competition, he said.

“It’s a chance to have fun, keep fit, and make new friends this week,” said Moore, an avid cycling enthusiast who snapped up the gold medal in his event. “I keep seeing old friends everywhere, and it’s just a wonderful event.”

The Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries 55 Plus Games takes place each year in the province, and is open to those aged 55 and older.

“Thank you to the host committee and the many dedicated volunteers who have made this event a success,” said Mayor Rick Pauls. “Your work is greatly appreciated.”

See the story below for more on the Games, including local golf medal winners.

 

Senior Games a success for all

BY KIM LANGEN

After months of strategic planning and attention to details, last week’s Manitoba 55 Plus Games was declared a success.

Rob MacTavish, co-chair of the Games, said that close to 1,500 participants and visitors came to town to take part in the physical, mental, and cultural events that were on offer.

“We had 920 registered participants, and I would bet there were over 500 people who came as family and friends,” he said. “The banquet was a sell-out, with 280 seats taken, and the dance that followed went well, with over another 100 people, making nearly 400 people at the dance.”

Over at the Rolling Pin Bakery, owner and baker Derek Opperman had to knead up extra dough to rise, to comply with the needs of a burgeoning population.

“Derek had to bake extra bread and rolls to supply local restaurants,” said MacTavish.

He added that one of the three-day games’ highlights was the Variety Concert, held on Tuesday evening, June 13.

“It was one of the hits of the event,” said MacTavish. “It was jam-packed. People said we had amazing talent in the town. Our Filipino Dancers told a wonderful story of how their dance group was formed to create joy out of some tragic events.”

Despite the variable weather, golfing determinedly went ahead during the 55 Plus Games.

“The Lakeside Golf Club had three full days of golf,” said MacTavish. “The weather was coolish and overcast, but we were never rained out, so we were thankful for that. We had 43 mixed players for the 18 Hole Gross, 32 mixed players for the 18 Hole Net, and 27 mixed players for the 9 Hole. Our two coordinators were Bob Pineo and Brian Wong, and they did a great job.” (See photos with local medal winners below).

Over at the Slo-Pitch, sport chairs for baseball Ted Knight and Craig McKinstry had to get creative in order to deal with the challenging weather conditions.

“There were 260 registered ball players for Slo-Pitch,” said MacTavish. “Things were delayed on the second day, due to poor, cold weather, so they shortened the games to five innings, and that allowed us to maintain our schedule.”

This week the large group of Games volunteers, organizers, and helpers was still packing up the pieces, and meeting to discuss how things went.

Overall, the 55 Plus was undoubtedly a success, he said, and a number of local competitors came home with shining medals.

“We had so many comments about Killarney being a welcoming community,” said MacTavish. “And we had super comments about our Shamrock Centre. We decided to make it our hub, and it paid off.”

65+ Ladies’ 18 Hole Gross Event – (From left): Pat LePoudre of Manitoba Credit Unions and sponsor of the golf, Bronze – Roberta Chartrand (Interlake), Silver – Lana Martin (Westman and Killarney), Gold – Judy Vanrobaeys (Westman and Killarney).

 

65+ Men’s 18 Hole Gross Event – (From left): Pat LePoudre of Manitoba Credit Unions and sponsor of the golf, Gold – Mike Zebinski (Westman and Killarney), Silver – Ole Larsen (entered as Interlake before moving to Killarney), Bronze – Grant Buchanan (Norman West).

 

80+ Ladies’ 9 Hole Event – (From left): Pat LePoudre of Manitoba Credit Unions and sponsor of the golf, Gold – Gladys Rea (Parkland), Silver – Gwen Archibald (Westman and Killarney). Gwen Archibald also won the gold medal in the 80+ Ladies 18 Hole Gross Event.

 

65+ Ladies’ 18 Hole Net Event – (From left): Rebecca Morden of Manitoba Credit Unions – sponsor of the golf, Silver – Judy Vanrobaeys (Westman and Killarney), Gold – Lana Martin (Westman and Killarney).

 

55+ Men’s 18 Hole Net Event – (From left): Silver – Doug Graham (Eastman), Gold – Dan Robertson (Westman and Killarney). Dan Robertson also won the gold medal in the 55+ Mens 18 Hole Gross Event.

 

Local pickleball enthusiast Wendy Evans turned in a silver medal performance in Pickleball Mixed Doubles with her partner Bob Chapman.

 

Bob Chapman (left) and David Jones took home the gold in the Pickleball Men’s Doubles.

 

Bob Chapman also teamed up with Wendy Evans (right) to win the silver in the Pickleball Mixed Doubles.

 

Susan Nay (left) won silver with her her partner Marlene Jeffrey in the Pickleball Women’s Doubles.

 

The Games’ co-chair Bob Moore predicted his time to the exact second, as he took gold in the 16 km Predicted Cycle event.

 

Local runner Sandy Bellew (left) crossed the finish line first, along with Gimli’s Betty Ann Jolicoeur (right), in the 3 km Predicted Walk/Run. Bellew failed to medal however, as she did not accurately predict her speedy time. Jolicoeur came in second with her prediction, while Killarney’s Angela Desmarais placed third with her predicted time.

 

Back catcher Brenda Stagg of Killarney makes a dash to home plate for the out, as her Swan Valley Silver Foxes pick up a win in their first game of the Slo-Pitch tourney on Tuesday. Swan Valley lost in the bronze medal final of the tournament 9-5 to the Southwest Maulers.

 

Killarney’s Irvin Buhler of the Manitoba Coyotes fields a ball in a tough 12-7 loss against the Swan Valley Silver Foxes. The Coyotes ended up in the consolation final of the tournament, losing to Morden 13-11.

 

Killarney’s Manitoba 55 Plus Games Variety Concert

FILIPINO FIESTA – The Killarney Filipino Dancers put on a dazzling show in front of close to 350 people at the Variety Concert at the Shamrock Centre on Tuesday night, which was held in conjunction with the Manitoba 55 Plus Games. The well-received concert also featured Bill Gray and his Fiddlers, and the Take 4 vocal quartet.

 

Bill Gray and his Trileaf Hutterite Colony Fiddlers get jiggy with it at Tuesday evening’s Variety Concert.

 

Take 4 also took the stage at Tuesday night’s concert and wowed the crowd with their vocal harmonies.

 

The J T & T Trio jazzed things up at the show as well, keeping the feet tapping and the fingers snapping.

Check out more photos below, from the Games in Killarney, held June 13 to 15.