Manitoba 55-plus games set to take place in Neepawa

Details

Published on Monday, June 9, 2014

By: Lanny Stewart

myWestman.ca

The 32nd annual Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries 55-plus games will soon be making its presence felt in Neepawa and local organizing chairperson Allan Drysdale says the community is ready for the event.

“There’s a few things yet that we have to try and sort out, but otherwise, everything is pulling together,” Drysdale told myWestman.ca.

The event, which takes place June 17-19 at various venues around Neepawa, will see 988 participants take part in a variety of sports and competitions. Close to 200 volunteers have registered to help with the three-day affair, which will include sporting events such as nine and 18-hole golf, floor curling, horseshoes and slo-pitch. Drysdale says there are 16 teams taking part this year in slo-pitch, which is a slight increase in recent years at the games.

Another noteworthy sport that will be offered at the games is pickleball, which is considered a cross between badminton and volleyball and has been growing in popularity in recent years.

The games will also feature a couple of demonstration events – disc golf and soccer – which could lead to the two sports becoming competitive events in future games, says Drysdale.

Competitions meanwhile, will include events such as scrabble, floor shuffleboard, bridge and even arts and crafts.

Drysdale says initially, the host comittee was looking for approximatly $15,000 in local sponsorship to cover event costs. However, he explains, “Instead of cash, we have the Drop-In Centre, the VCT [Viscount Cultural Centre] and the [Royal Canadian] Legion that have donated the use of their facilities for free; that changes the overall look of the budget.”

Drysdale says a big seller for the games was the addition of well-known former national radio and television broadcaster Lloyd Robertson, who will be a guest speaker at the event.

“That’s been a fantastic draw. We’ve been sold out since almost the middle of May,” Drysdale added.

The opening ceremonies take place at the Yellowhead Centre at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 17, followed by the beginning of the games, which begin at 10 a.m.

This year’s games were originally scheduled to take place in Brandon, however the city asked to postpone the games until 2015. Neepawa was approached soon afterwards and a group of volunteers, led by Drysdale, opted to take the project on.

Drysdale noted the host committee remains open to adding volunteers who have a first-aid certificate. Anyone who does have a certificiate and is interested in helping out, can contact Drysdale at 204-476-2723 or Linda Hart at 204-476-2767.

In photo: the Neepawa host committee for the 55-plus games pose for a photo.

Photo courtesy of 55-plus games website