The B.C. 55 Plus Games descended upon Kimberley and Cranbrook Sept. 11-15, bringing out some truly young-at-heart athletes for competition in many winter and summer sports.
The national 55 Plus Games were also held in 2018 in Saint John, N.B. and saw a pair of Shuswap curling teams bring home gold and silver medals.
Related: Salmon Arm curlers win gold, silver medals in national competition
Many athletes from Salmon Arm and surrounding areas in the Shuswap travelled to compete in the B.C. 55 Plus Games, with several making medal-worthy finishes.
In the women’s 25-metre relay swim, Muriel Hurlbert from Salmon Arm and Terry Van Meer of Enderby joined a Kamloops team to take the gold medal.
Hurlbert also won a bronze in the 50m and 75m backstroke and 800m freestyle, a silver in the 100m backstroke and gold in the 100m breaststroke competition.
In tennis, four teams from the Shuswap hit the court at the 55 Plus Games. Mick Ford and Nicolas Young won bronze in men’s doubles; Alan and Debbie Harrison won gold in 55-59 mixed doubles; Sue Ford and Mike Oosterhoff won gold in 65-69 mixed doubles; and Indira Greenhough and Peter Neufeld won bronze in 65-69 mixed doubles.
Alan Harrison also won gold in the men’s 65-plus division B tennis competition. Mick Ford took a bronze medal in men’s 75-plus singles tennis and Sue Ford won gold in women’s 65-plus singles tennis.
In the curling competitions, Salmon Arm once again brought back a gold and a silver from the 55 Plus Games, replicating their performance at the national competitions earlier in the summer.
The team of Patricia Probyn, Eleanor Payment, Lisa Schwartzenhauer and Dorothy Bradford won gold in the women’s 65-plus division. The mixed team of Jan and Wayne Merwin and Larry and Jane Stephenson earned silver for their performance in the mixed 65-plus division.
Doug Buchanan of Chase and Len Lega of Salmon Arm joined the zone eight Thunder Chiefs hockey team to take bronze in the men’s 60-plus division.
John Wilson of Salmon Arm and Curtis McLeish of Blind Bay joined the Okanagan Oldtimers soccer team to win bronze in the men’s 65-plus division.
In the cycling events, Mary-Ellen Pakka of Sorrento took the gold medal in the time trial, road race and hill climb events for women’s 85-89 cyclists.
In mixed doubles pickleball, Leanna and Darcy Kerr won a silver medal in flight A competition while Keith and Linda Brown won a silver in flight B competition.
In golf, Linda Shilling took a bronze in the women’s 60-64 division A competition while Don Tonks won a bronze medal in the men’s 65-69 division B competition.
The Shuswap Coots Dragon Boat team had several members from the Shuswap, and they rowed to a bronze medal.
Team members from Salmon Arm included Barb Cruickshank, Sandra Dionne, Anne Dixon, Kirsten Earl, Jean Frolek, Carol Green, Susan Hind, Sandy Konicek, Sandi Leeder, Gloria Makey, Tom Makey, Joan Mitchell, Elvi Pukas, Karen Waldie, Lois Ware and Kathleen Yanke. They were also joined by Brenda Banham of Sicamous.
The GT Racers Dragon Boat team also featured several Shuswap members who raced to a bronze in their division. From Blind Bay: Harry Eisenberger, Maureen Croft-Steen, Susan Eisenberger, Shirley Longman, Randy Marshall, Agnes Nykiforuk and Bill Nykiforuk. From Sorrento: Peter Allchin, Rita Cakov, Nick Cakov, Kathleen Irvine, George Landry, Garry Loeppky, Jean Loeppky, Linda Steele and Dean Wallace.
From Scotch Creek: Gord Henderson, Eileen Foster, Wendy Henderson. From Eagle Bay: Diane Robinson. And from Tappen: Janet Graham.
If you have any photos to share from this event, email them to Sports@saobserver.net with a bit of information and we can add them to a gallery.
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