Games Fever: it isn’t all about the Olympics

If you’ve been watching the Paris Olympics and thinking how exciting it must be to participate in a big multi-sport event, you may want to know the opportunity hasn’t passed you by.

Alberta 55 Plus is sending 375 participants to the 55 Plus Canada Games in Quebec City later this month—all of whom participate in local activities and qualified for the national event through the organization’s Alberta Games.

Sports include athletic endeavours like track and field, tennis, golf, swimming and more; but they also include less-physical competitions like card games or Scrabble.

Each sport is offered for different age levels, allowing people to participate and compete for many years.

Jane Stroud is president of Alberta 55 Plus’s northeast zone (Zone 7), which stretches from Wainwright to Fort McMurray and includes Cold Lake, Bonnyville, and St. Paul. She said 19 people from the zone are making the trip to Quebec, including five from Cold Lake.

Phyllis and Wilfred Collins will compete in 8-Ball pool; Manon Rheaume and Michelle Robitaille will compete in golf; and Paul Odell is entered in swimming events.

Stroud says participating brings the obvious benefits of fitness and physical health, but the social inclusion aspect is even more important.

“It’s important for  that age group to stay active and continue on,” she said. “It’s just so important to a healthy lifestyle.

“It’s not only the competitiveness, but the socialization of it too.”

The Zone 7 board coordinates activities at the local level and encourages members to compete for spots at Alberta Games. Two provincial meets—summer games and winter games— are held in odd-numbered years, and Canada Games in even-numbered years.

The 55-Plus Alberta Summer Games will be in Camrose in 2025, and the next Canada Games will be in 2026.

Zone 7 board members are Marie Routhier, Janet Elliott, Kay Hauer, MaryAnn Latty and Phyllis Collins. In addition to organizing the competitive events for the zone, they take  memberships and run a fundraising casino, which helps to subsidize participation at Alberta and Canada Games.

Stroud, who is from Anzac, says the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is planning to put in a bid for the 2027 summer games.

Ongoing grassroots participation is the key to the 55 Plus movement’s success, she said. Even people who haven’t played a sport in years can pick it up again and start on their path to playing at the local, provincial, and national level—it’s all about participation.

“We’re always working towards getting more members involved,” Stroud said.