The Sunshine Coast Seniors Swim Team won 40 medals at the recent 55 Plus BC Games, formerly known as the BC Senior Games. The local team won 22 gold medals, nine silver and 12 bronze medals.
Local swimmers competed against more than 100 swimmers from across the province, competing in various individual races including: backstroke, front crawl, butterfly, and relay events.
Bill Watts coached the swim team and said the local team members are a dedicated group of athletic seniors. The youngest team member is 69 and the oldest member is 82.
“It’s very inspiring to me to see swimmers in their 90s doing really well at the games. It’s nice to see people that active and mobile and able to complete. They take it very seriously,” Watts said.
Competition is stiff but there is also a great deal of camaraderie at the 55 Plus Games, according to Watts.
“They compete seriously but they always congratulate one another too. People recognize each other, and they compete against one another year after year and develop relationships,” he said.
Watts said the Sunshine Coast Regional District is supportive of the team, providing pool-training time throughout the year to the seniors, at the Sechelt Aquatic Centre. He said there is a large group of seniors that train twice a week throughout the year but not all go to the 55 Plus Games. Watts said the team members who attended the 55 Plus Games “made a concerted effort to practise this summer. Some people were training five days a week.”
Team members include: Bruce McDonald, Bob Sangster, Joan Humphrey, Els Mol, Christine Chandler, Manfred Baur and coach Bill Watts.
More than 3,500 athletes and officials participated in the games, held in Vernon from Sept. 13-16. The 55 Plus Games annually showcase the athletic abilities of seniors in a variety of events including: golfing, ice hockey, tennis, horseshoes, five-pin bowling and downhill mountain biking.
Watts said Vernon did a great job as host and he was enthusiastic about the Sunshine Coast representation at the games.
“We have really good representation from the Sunshine Coast at the games each year. The Coast is a pretty special place and it’s nice to see the athletes coming together, supporting each other and doing well.”
