South Cariboo athletes managed to earn a few medals at the Burnaby 2012 BC Seniors Games on Aug. 21-25, with 4,000 seniors, aged 55 years and older, competing in 26 sports.
Events included a wide range of sports and interests from dragon boat racing and whist to pickleball and one-act plays.
Zone 9 North Central Region representative and athlete Beverley Iverson, 75, of 108 Mile Ranch represented the zone well, reeling in three silver medals in track-and-field competition.
Her medals came in the age class 75-79, 5,000-metre power walk, and 100-m and 200-m sprints. She also placed fifth in both shot put and javelin.
Iverson says she is her own coach and trainer.
“I walk around the lake every day for an hour and train in the yard, jogging around the driveway. I have a simple bike, too, and I ride that around.”
She also swims daily and takes aquacize classes.
New this year to the sports of javelin and shot put, Iverson borrowed equipment from a local school after its track-and-field season was over and a friend showed her how to use them.
“You live and learn, even at 75.”
Iverson says she would like to get a javelin, shot put and discus of her own, so she can start training earlier next year.
This was Iverson’s fifth trip to the Games and the three latest medals bring her overall total to eight. The haul includes a bronze in cards, two gold in swimming, and in 2010, two bronze in track-and-field.
With no previous background in track-and-field, swimming would have been her field of choice, but being the only swim competitor from the North Central Region back in 2010, she says it was too lonely.
“There are lots of people in track from our zone. It’s nice being able to root for other people and it makes it more fun.”
Iverson says she wasn’t sports-minded or athletic before entering her first Seniors Games, but she’s hooked now and wishes more people would give it a try.
“It’s lots of fun and the people you meet are so nice. Everyone was very helpful in telling me what to do for next year. They’re there for participation and not for the straight winning.”
In carpet bowling, Rob and Rose Magnusson teamed up with Ed and Maureen Van Gool to place fifth in the men and women 55+ team of four event.
Also in carpet bowling, Roy Winton, Sandy Hurly and Kitty Carroll placed eighth in the men and women 55+ team of three division.
Cyclist Neil Endacott, 63, competed in a hill climb, time trial and the 60-kilometre distance event but did not place. He’d put on 900 km training for the Games and was surprised to see that it wasn’t enough to keep him ahead of some of the competition.
“I had guys 70-plus passing me.”
David Funk, who competed in snooker, didn’t place and neither did Dan Carson, Ralph MacEachern, or Rene and Ruth LeBlanc who competed in darts.
Rene says there was a lot of competition this year.
“We still had a lot of fun and met a lot of new people. I’ll be back next year, but have to qualify first.”
Among the 13 participating zones, North Central placed sixth in the medal count, with 34 gold, 36 silvers, and 26 bronzes for a total of 96. The winner was Zone 4 Lower Mainland with 433 medals.
