Thousands gear up for record-breaking BC Senior Games

By Irene Butler

Published in Impowerage e-zine

The city of Richmond will pulsate with grey power from September 16-19th. Thirty-eight hundred 55+ aged participants have registered, making it the largest sports event the city of Richmond has hosted and the largest BC Seniors Games since they began in 1988. The Games will be supported by thousands of event volunteers and community groups working together.

There is no entry fee for spectators coming out to see the games, which will include 29 sports, such as: soccer, track & field, ice-skating, horseshoes, cribbage, golf, pickleball….pickleball? Never having heard of this sport, I had Nettie & Ralph Jonker, Co-Chairs for this event, bring me up to speed. The odd name was coined from a natural ball chaser Pickles, the dog of one of three Seattle area men who created the game. “It is a cross between ping pong, tennis, and badminton, and is played on a badminton court,” said Nettie, “using hard paddles and a perforated plastic ball”.

Read on…. Impowerage