The Saskatchewan Senior Fitness Association (SSFA) will bring its southeast athletes together next month for various competitive challenges at the 2016 District Games.
All interested members of the SSFA who are at least 55 years old as of Dec. 31, 2016, are eligible to sign up for the Games, which will include contests in cribbage, five-pin bowling, whist, kaiser, contract bridge, shuffleboard, golf, pickleball, swimming, tennis, bocce, and track and field. A poetry and short story competition involving the theme of ‘live long and live strong’ is also involved with the district championships.
Margaret Gailing, president of the SSFA, said the Games are played each year to give older adults an opportunity to stay physically, mentally and socially active while also engaging in a competitive competition. She said excelling at the Games can also qualify the athlete for a spot at the SSFA Provincial 55-plus Games that will take place in the Battlefords from July 5 to 7. The top finishers from those Games can then earn a berth at the 2016 Canada 55-plus Games, which will be held in Brampton, Ontario, from Aug. 16 to 19.
Gailing said the card game competitions are open to anyone over the age of 55 regardless of skill, but other challenges such as golf will be divided into different age levels to even up the playing field. She said this is done because each of the athletes who enter the Games has winning as a top priority, but engaging with competitors at a similar skill level also provides greater satisfaction.
“We say we’re not competitive, but there are so many people who are competitive regardless of what age they are,” said Gailing. “They want to win, but other than that it brings people from the various parts of the district together.”
While the different competitions will be held at senior centres and sporting facilities in Weyburn, Carnduff, Radville, Stoughton and Estevan, Gailing said participating athletes do not have to be a member of any senior centre. She said the contests are played at these facilities due to the equipment they can provide, but the SSFA District Games are open to anyone as long as they are 55 years old and members of the association.
Further information on the Games including pre-registration dates and individual competition contacts can be found at www.ssfa.ca.
