Submitted by Resby Coutts/thecurler.com for Active Aging in Manitoba
Manitoba’s 55+ Games got an early start in Morden and Winkler last week when the Game’s curling events took place at the two curling clubs, welcoming curlers from across the province.
Among the local teams clinching gold at the Manitoba 55+ Games curling events last week were Manitou’s Team Sanders, Carman’s Team McCullough, Morden/Crystal City Team Reimer, and Morden’s Team Hildebrand
“The Manitoba 55+ Games are a mainly summer sports and activities event, but when the host communities are able to provide curling, we like to get the early start,” explains Linda Brown, executive director of Active Aging in Manitoba, the organization which stages the Games.
“The curling was exactly what we expect from the whole Games experience in June,” Brown said. “We had good-friendly competitions in excellent facilities in two very welcoming communities. It is exactly what the Games are about.”
The curling events featured traditional four-person curling in men’s, women’s (55+ and 65+ age groups) and mixed divisions as well as two-person stick competition in mixed and men’s (U70 and 70+ age groups) divisions.
While it was mostly for fun and recreation, there was some competition-preparation motivation for some of the curlers. Judy Colwell’s East St. Paul team, recent winner of CurlManitoba provincial masters women championship, were in the event to prepare for their Canadian championship. Their 65+ women’s division was one of the smaller ones but still good games as Team Colwell won the gold medal in the best-of-three playoff against the Gardiner team from Winnipeg.
In the other foursome divisions, the women’s 55+ category gold medalists were Kathleen Messner and her Lorette team with a win over Morden’s Candace Fraser team. Clare Reimer’s Morden/Crystal City team were the gold medallists in the mixed four-person group with a win over Jim Falk’s Altona foursome.
In men’s competition, Andrews Swan and his Winnipeg-based Doctors Manitoba team were awarded the gold medal in the 55+ age category and Ken Hildebrand’s Morden team won the gold in the 65+ age category.
On the stick curling side, Darlene Maywood, recent winner of the Manitoba Stick Curling Women’s Championship, was playing in the mixed two-person division in preparation for her national championship in April. In the five-team group, Maywood and her partner for this event, Arlene Deprez, had to settle for the silver medal after a final game loss to Evelyn and Andre Sanders from Manitou.
In the other two-person stick divisions, the men’s 70+ group was won by Blair Coggans and Lino Santos (from Warren and Winnipeg) with an extra end win over the Fort Rouge Magnusson/Coutts duo and the men’s U70 was won by the Steinbach team of Al Meyers and Curt Brandt with a win over Jim Partaker and Denis Leduc (St. Claude), also in an extra end. Carman’s Charlie McCullough and Wayne Johnston took home gold as the top team in the over-85 age category.
The Manitoba 55+ Games presented by PLAYNOW are the largest 55+ annual multi-sport event in Manitoba. Their stated aim is to combine active games with a social and entertaining experience.
Entries are already being received for the over 20 competitive events taking place in Morden-Winkler June 9-11. Head to activeagingmb.ca for the complete list and to register.
