With more than 450 competitors as part of 33 teams from around the province, it should come as no surprise that hockey is the top sport by participation at this year's 55-Plus B.C. Games.
Held in Nanaimo this year, the games run from Wednesday to Saturday, Sept. 10-13.
"All of the province is broken up into zones, so we try to let one team per zone come," said Norm Smith, 55-Plus hockey chairperson. "We don't want to get too many teams from one zone, because then they end up playing against each other."
While there are seven different divisions going for men and two in the women's side, due to some divisions having uneven numbers, organizers needed to combine some divisions.
"I think everyone is having a good time. There has been some lopsided scores but this is a tournament and tournament hockey happens that way. Everybody seems to be having a good time and no major issues. A couple minor injuries, but again, at our age we do get those injuries."
One of the five teams representing Nanaimo this year is the Nanaimo Old Buoys, a 75-plus team created from drop-in hockey players.
"We've been playing together probably for the last two or three years…" said Al Seriani, team manager. "We've actually had three exhibition games before we came to play here and won all them."
Due to the division changes, the team was placed up against players from the 70-75-year-old division, which Seriani said was leading to some stiff competition and a bit of a struggle for the home players.
"That makes a huge difference," he said. "A lot of these guys are 10 years younger than some of our players."
The challenge, Seriani said, comes from speed, with the younger players able to get a step up. Still, the manager said strategies remain mostly the same and it isn't going to stop them from trying.
"I've been playing hockey for 40 years and I really enjoy the camaraderie with the guys. We've had a lot of fun over the years."
The full schedule of the 55-Plus Games hockey games can be found online at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-aPSjFsGTwuqgds66EUyb3G8lppGiyPtLsCCKCdCgxQ/edit?tab=t.0.
