BC Seniors Games 2008 - Saturday, Final Day

Saturday, 13 Sept.: Last day.

Up bright and early and while Kapur had a light breakfast at the motel, I went over to Denny's for a power breakfast of bacon & eggs. In front of the restaurant I saw two big tour buses; not a good sign. The restaurant was packed with a line up already waiting. Eventually I did get served and and enjoyed my somewhat rushed meal in time to join Kapur and the triples team for the trip to the bowling venue.

When we arrived we found all the bowlers milling about outside a locked building. Apparently, somebody had forgotten to open the building for us. After about a half hour delay, someone arrived with the key and we all filed in. Then the intrusion alarm sounded until they figured out how to disarm that.

Finally, we got down to the serious business of bowling. Our competition for this final game was North West zone, a team with a one point lead on us by virtue of 3 wins for them as opposed to 2 wins and a tie for us. Fortunately, both Kapur and I were on our game and we won by an 11 to 3 score, resulting in a points total of 7 for us, a 3 way tie for 4th place as two other teams also finished with 7 points. By virtue of game points scored, Fraser Valley wound up in 5th place overall, not a bad position for us.

After the medals ceremony where Mani, Tony and Dorothy were presented with their silver medals, we bid our final farewells to everyone and were on our way. After a few rest stops, we were back in Surrey before 11 PM with many wonderful memories and hopes for next year in Richmond.

2008 BC Seniors' Games - 12 September

Sept. 12, Friday:

Had a good breakfast and then we were off to the site of our competition, The Columbus Community Centre. Getting there was very easy because of the great job the organizers had done for transportation. I have no idea how many cars there were, donated by local dealerships and driven by several volunteer drivers with a central radio dispatch. All we had to do was call and in no time there was a driver with a comfortable new car to deliver us to our venue or to our hotel at the end of the day.

We had three games today. The first draw at 10 AM was against Buckley Valley who beat us 6 – 3. We also lost 11 – 5 to Okanagan at 11 AM. Both teams played very well and while I didn't feel that I was bowling as well as yesterday, Kapur and I were in both games and we could have won them both with a break here or there.

We had a bye for the third game, a chance to rest and check out the competition for the next game, South Vancouver Island. South Island had an identical record to ours, 2 wins and 4 losses, so a win here was very important to both of us. As the game progressed, neither team could establish a clear lead. Finally, with North Island 1 point ahead of us, it came down to the last ball for us. North Island was counting until our ball replaced the Island counter at the far end of the carpet for a tie score, 9 – 9; one point each and still tied at 2 wins and a tie.

With play finished for the day, it was time to go to the Village for the banquet. When we arrived at the Games Village, We had to queue up to get in for the meal. Wine and beer were also available at a very reasonable price. The meal was a beef and roast chicken buffet served by chefs from the Ramada Inn. It was excellent and was followed by entertainment. We stayed for some entertainment by the local seniors' community which was very good. A professional show by Tracy Bell, an impersonator, followed. We did not stay as our seats were not too good with a very poor view of the stage. Even as we were leaving, others were still lined up to get into the dining area for their meal

BC SENIORS’ GAMES 2008
The BC Seniors Games is a major annual event for active seniors, 55+ to compete at a high level with their peers. It is being held this year in Prince George.

I am proud to be representing my community of Guildford and all of Zone 3, Frasor Valley in pairs carpet bowling along with my team mate Kapur .

We left Surrey just after 6 AM this morning. Kapur has use of a Toyota van and a triples team of Manny, Tony and Dorothy from Century Club in Coquitlam are with us. After an uneventful trip, we arrived in Prince George shortly after 4 PM. We checked into our hotels and then off to the Seniors Games Village to get registered, oriented and then attended the Opening Ceremonies. Not quite as elaborate as Beijing, but excellent all the same. There are 2400 participants here and raring to go. Our Carpet Bowling begins at 10 AM tomorrow, Wed, Sep 11.
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Sept. 11, Thursday

Today was the first day of competition and an exciting day it was. I think the thing I notice is the quality of the competition here and at the same time, the high degree of friendship and fun, and a lot of fun we did have. We finished the day tied for third place with 2 wins for 4 points.

Our first game was with Vancouver Island North who beat us 12 to 6. While the score sounds a little lopsided, we were actually in it all the way and it could have gone either way. Doug had a shot and had to move the jack which he did, but it balanced momentarily on the edge then teetered off. Had it held the edge we would have gained 3 points instead of losing 4 and that made the difference.

We won our next two games 11 – 4 and 9 – 6 against South Central and East Kootenay. Again, the were close and exciting.

Our last game of the day was with Peace River – Liard. We lost 8 – 4 after a hard battle.

Our threes team from Wilson did a little better, winning 3 out of 4 for 6 points..

We have 3 games tomorrow and one on Saturday, so stay tuned for further updates.