Fellow members,

Another year has come and gone (almost) and there were several events scheduled around the province. Additionally, there are more planned and some happening right now this winter and in the spring of 2024. Of course, all these events will be qualifiers for the Canada 55+ Games in Quebec City. Please continue to visit the provincial website to read about all the upcoming events in your area.

 

There was great enjoyment at the Alpine Skiing event back in February and our Ice Hockey Qualifying Tournament in April held at Cardel Rec Center South was a huge success. The planning that it takes to organize 500+ hockey players, and too many games to count, is no small undertaking. Kudos to Laura Lee Goetjen and Harvey Poon for a job well done.

 

We held our AGM in Red Deer in May and sadly, we said goodbye to two long standing Board members: Pat Covington and Caroline Anker. They are sorely missed, and their combined 50 years of experience is impossible to replace. That being said, the need to continue with a full Board is imperative. We held elections at our AGM and two new members were elected to fill the vacancies. Richard Walliser was named as the new Technical Director North to replace Caroline and John Usher was named as the new VP North to replace Pat.

 

There was another Board member who stepped down from his duties as Past President. Wayne Davies, another member with a ton of experience who certainly was one of my mentors when I took over, retired from the Board. It becomes increasingly difficult to replace these members who have served as representatives of both their respective Zones as well as the Provincial Board. We continue to beat the drum…

 

The Provincial Summer Games that were held in Brooks this past August proved a big hit with those that attended. All results from those games can be found on the provincial website. There were close to 1000 members (and family) in attendance at the games and although there were some hiccups (isn’t there always) Brooks managed to stage a great event. Without a doubt, the smash hit of the Games was the entertainment, a cover band called The Beatles. I’ve never seen anything quite like it and a truer testimony was the number of people who not only dressed up in retro clothing, but stayed and danced until close to midnight. An absolute first for me to witness. Congratulations to Brooks for a great Games experience.

 

By now, all of the qualifying medalists from the Brooks Games have received an invitation to participate in the Canada55+ Games being held next August in Quebec City. Currently, we are sitting at approximately 400 potential members who have been invited and there will be another 200-300 from the various Winter Games qualifiers. There is a very good chance that Alberta will be sending over 500 participants to Quebec. The CSGA Games are slated to run from Monday, August 26^th thru Friday, August 30^th. As you can imagine, there has been a whirlwind of activity surrounding the games and everything that goes with that.

 

I would be remiss if I didn’t share that not everything is rosy with the CSGA Games. There have been some changes (good and bad) that me and Alberta as a province, have very little control over (or none at all) I will however continue to advocate for Alberta55 plus and ensure that our collective voices are heard at the next CSGA AGM. It’s a small consolation for some of you and I appreciate that, but please know that I will push for changes. Changes that encourage participation at all age and skill levels.

 

In closing, several thank-yous are in order:

Thank you for supporting Alberta55 plus…

Thank you for supporting your respective zones…

Thank you for being involved at so many levels…

Thank you for staying active and engaged…

 

And thank you for continuing to beat the drum…

 

Till next time,

Dave