Athletes in the St. Paul area once again put on a solid athletic display representing Zone 7 at the Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games, which were hosted in Strathmore from July 16-19.
One gold medal was earned. The local pickleball team of Monica Oosthuizen and Bill Hall secured the top-of-the-podium result in the 65+ mixed doubles category.
Pickleball Gold
Hall and Oosthuizen made history with their gold medal victory.
Pickleball made its debut as a full-competition sport at these games; as a result the local team was the first ever winners in the 65+ mixed doubles event.
Hall and Oosthuizen carved out a perfect 5-0 record at the tournament, earning big wins in most of their games.
“In a lot of our matches we were able to keep our opponent off the board or only allow one point,” says Oosthuizen.
Their performance at the games is particularly impressive considering they only teamed up with each other in the last several months. Part of the reason they’ve gelled as a duo is because they both approach matchups with an aggressive mentality.
“Both of us bring a really intense mindset to each of our games,” says Hall.
“I kept saying to Bill that ‘We have to focus,’” says Oosthuizen. “Every point we have to focus.”
Their skillset in certain facets of the game also proved to be superior.
“We never met any other team whose serves we couldn’t handle,” says Hall. “Even with Edmonton, their serves were very easy to return. That wasn’t the case with our serves. We scored points on our serves, especially [Monica’s]. She fired them low and hard and our opponents would either return them wide or fire them into the net.”
Hall and Oosthuizen also scouted their opponents prior to matchups in order to try and get a leg up on answering serves and backhands.
Both stressed the importance of having two strong players. Teams in the tournament that had one member carrying the other were picked apart.
“You could tell immediately which player was the weaker one,” says Oosthuizen. “As soon as you figured that out you would pick on that player.”
Both of them said they greatly enjoyed participating in the games for the first time and both value the existence of the 55 Plus Games program.
“It gets you off your coach and away from your TV,” says Oosthuizen. “It is good for your health. It keeps your mind going and it helps you meet people.
“I was humbled to see these people in their 80s coming out to participate.”
“Whether they could barely walk or whether they were fit, everybody was able to find a sport to participate in,” adds Hall.
Hall and Oosthuizen’s win qualifies them for the Canada 55 Plus Games in Brampton, Ont. They won’t commit to either attending or skipping the competition until closer to the competition, which are scheduled to take place from Aug. 16-19, 2016.
Swimming achievements
Daisy Fraser, an eight-time competitor at the 55 Plus Games, earned three medals as a swimmer in the 65+ age category. She won silver for her individual medley, and bronze for her 50m breaststroke and 100m freestyle.
Fraser, 69, says the experience of participating in the biannual Alberta 55 Plus Games has not gotten stale for her.
“I always make a couple of new friends at each of the games. I also got a chance at these games to meet up with people I met six years ago.”
In addition to forming new friendships at these games, Fraser has a knack for earning medals. She earned three medals as well in her last tournament in 2013.
In order to prepare herself for success, Fraser trains in the St. Paul pool three times a week starting in April. While she has scaled down her hours of training over the years, her rigorous preparation has earned her an invitation to the Canada 55+ Games at the conclusion of each Alberta competition she attends, which she has attended seven times.
Her performance in Strathmore has qualified her for the tournament in Brampton.
Fraser notes she also really enjoys watching the other athletes perform.
“It really is amazing what some of the athletes that compete at these games can do,” she says. “ I saw a guy that was 72 complete the 100m run in 14 seconds. I can think of a lot of young people in their 20s and their 30s that would struggle to finish the race in that time.”
Three other locals contributed to the zone’s medal haul, participating in a few different events each: Ross Betton earned a bronze medal in 80+ men’s discus; Dave Garth of Ashmont earned a 75+ men’s bronze medal by virtue of his shot put throw; and Alice Tymofichuk-Betton earned a bronze medal in the 200m dash for the 70+ women’s 200m dash.
In total, local athletes earned one of Zone 7’s 15 gold medals, one of its 16 bronze medals and five of its 10 bronze medals. Zone 7’s 41 medals ranked last out of the eight competing zones, with athletes suggesting this was because of a lack of participation in certain events.