The  55+ Alberta Summer Games continues to draw many participants from Zone 2, including the Cochrane area, and many returned with medals.

Calgary hosted all but the slo-pitch events from Aug. 10-11 and there were many medalists among the 200 participants from Zone 2. Cochrane area residents, in particular, came home with medals in swimming, golfing, cycling and horseshoes events.

Roswitha Schmitt-Blouin, of Cochrane, won two golds and one silver in the 65+ swimming, adding to her tally from past games.

On the fairways, Alicia Brooks won gold in the 65+ women's Callaway, Bonnie Barnett won bronze in the 65+ women's gross and Bob Barnett won bronze in the men's 65+ Callaway. Ernie Domshy, of Bearspaw won bronze in the 85+ men's Callaway.

Better known for his prowess around the pool table, Bill Gibbons won gold in 65+ horseshoes event. 

Bragg Creek's Clint Docken won gold in both the 10k and 20k men's 65+ cycling events.

Zone 2 president Linda Traquair said the games remain true to their goal of encouraging those 55 and over to stay mentally and physically active through friendly competition.

"It was great fun," says Traquair. "It's great seeing people you've met through the games. Some people have participated in 15-16 of the games over the years and they've established many lasting friendships. Of course, there is always the spirit of competition and it's always fun to win."

Results continue to pour in from the games and further updates will be provided as they become available.

In just a month, the 55+ fall provincial games are being held in High Level, Sept. 14-16, and feature 12 different events. They include bocce, carpet bowling, contract bridge, crafts, double and singles cribbage, darts, duplicate bridge, euchre, floor curling, floor shuffleboard and military whist.

Zone 2 runs from the Banff-Canmore area in the west, the Saskatchewan border in the east and to Three Hills in the north and the High River area in the south. Calgary is a separate zone. 

8-Ball Provincials

In other 55+ news, the 8-Ball Provincials are being held in Red Deer, Sept. 29-30.There are singles categories for  55+ men and women and 70+ men and women. The format is a best-of-five round robin and 55+ rules apply.

This is the qualifer for the Canada 55+ Summer Games being hosted by Saint John, New Brunswick, Aug. 21 to 24, 2018. Cochrane's Bill Gibbons has medalled all three times he has participated in the 55 Plus national games 8-ball event and has his sights set on travelling to New Brunswick for the 2018 games. He won bronze in the under 70 category at the 2012 Nova Scotia games, gold in 70+ in Edmonton in 2014 and most recently won bronze in 70+ in Brampton, ON. in 2016. 

You can get full details are this and other activities in Zone 2 of Alberta 55 Plus here.