By Darcy Macrae
Local seniors represented themselves very well at the recent Ontario Senior Games. Five members of the District 3 (Sudbury) team came home with medals, as 32 competitors in total took part in the provincial championships in Kingston from Aug. 13-15.
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Leading the charge were cribbage players Tony Spurvey and Jack MacDonald, who won gold medals at the event. Overcoming a slow start to win a silver medal was golfer Shirley Scott, while contract bridge players Maureen Randall and Lorette Ackerman came away with bronze medals.
All five medal-winners qualified for the Ontario Games by winning gold medals at the District 3 championships last May 1 to June 5. Participants in this and other senior games events take part in activities such as bowling, darts, euchre, floor shuffle board, golf, cribbage, horse shoes, 9-ball, snooker, swimming, walking, and bid euchre.
Four members of the District 3 team are now getting set to strut their stuff at the national level at the Canadian Senior Games. Spurvey and MacDonald will look to repeat their gold-medal performance from Kingston at the event, while Shirley Scott will be joined by husband Ken as the duo try to win a pair of gold medals in golf. The Canada Senior Games will run from Sept. 17-20, in Summerside, P.E.I.
Golfer Shirley Scott may represent the teamÂ?s best chance at taking home gold, as the 20-year veteran of the sport has a history of coming up big at major events. She won a provincial championship in the past, but did not get to compete at the national level because it was a year in which there were no Canada Senior Games.
Scott feels excited and fortunate to be able to compete in P.E.I. She didnÂ?t think she would be able to do so after the first day of the Ontario Senior Games when she wasnÂ?t at the top of her game, but says that is something every golfer goes through at time or another.
Â?The first day I didnÂ?t shoot very well. I shot a 102, and figured I wasnÂ?t going to win a medal this year. The next day, after the first round, I thought maybe I could finish third if I really put my mind to it. Then I just played and didnÂ?t worry if I was making par or not, I just played every shot. And by the end of it I had finished in second,Â? said Scott. Â?That can happen to anybody. You can have a good day or a bad day at any time. You can be going along for weeks playing well, and the time you have a bad day will be the day you needed to play good.Â?
District 3 Senior Games co-ordinator Iris Oke is very confident that at least one local senior will bring home a medal from P.E.I. She feels the combination of talent and experience the District 3 competitors possess will pay off in the end.
Â?I think theyÂ?ll do very well,Â? said Oke. Â?We have some very experienced people going there, so they should do fine.Â?
