by KELLY FRIESEN
Journal editor
The City of Humboldt hit the 55Plus Games out of the park this past week. The provincial event not only saw 55-plus athletes and games enthusiasts thoroughly enjoy themselves, but it also was smoothly executed by the local committee that hosted it.
"It went over really well," said Mike Ulriksen, the event coordinator. "We were a little anxious for it to start going, but once the weeks started rolling around it started on Tuesday and went over really well, especially considering our committee and volunteer numbers were a little smaller than we would have liked."
The event offered a wide range of various sports and games. It included five-pin bowling, pickle ball, bridge, golf, cribbage, Kaiser, scrabble, whist, bank shuffleboard, eight ball, snooker, slo-pitch and track and field.
The City's local committee spent over a year putting the event together. They went into it with a good idea of what to expect because Humboldt hosted the 55Plus Games in 2004.
"The process began back in June of last year," said Ulriksen. "It was a good year of planning, but the majority of the planning happened after Christmas. The last couple of months were definitely the busiest because registration forms didn't get in until a month before the event."
In total, roughly 650 people took in at least one day of the event. The hosts expected around that mark of people and were "happy with the attendance in general."
"We figured from both participants and guests, we were pushing around the 650 mark," said Ulriksen. "The 650 mark was definitely the tip of the iceberg for our banquet. The opening and closing ceremonies were hit and miss depending on whether participants were competing in the first or last competitions. All in all, we were happy with the attendance in general."
The participants and spectators of the event came from all over Saskatchewan, but mostly from the southern areas of the province.
"Mostly we had a lot of people from southern Saskatchewan come, not too many from up north," said Ulriksen. "We did have some participants from North Battleford and farther north as well, but mostly from Regina and Saskatoon and then people scattered across the province."
Humboldt's local businesses undoubtedly benefited from the 55Plus Games. Hotels were booked solid and various other businesses noticed a spike in customers.
"The hotels were packed and actually there was no hotel room available in Humboldt (during the three-day event) as of around March," said the event coordinator. "And the campgrounds were all booked, too. It also helped our bowling alley, golf course, gas stations and some shopping. So I definitely think it was good for our local economy, especially for the hotels."
The City enjoys hosting all sorts of events for the community's pleasure, but it was especially happy to put on the 55Plus Games because of how it targets a demographic that is sometimes left out.
"To have something that is specifically aimed for people 55 and older is something that we were really happy to bring to Humboldt," said Ulriksen, "A lot of events are aimed at younger people or people with families, so it's nice to offer something specifically targeted at people 55 and over."
