麻豆社区

Local senior athletes gathered at Yukon College last night for their official send-off to the 2012 Canada 55+ Games.

The national games will take place in Sydney, Nova Scotia, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.

Tom Parlee is one of the 86 athletes who will be representing the Yukon and he said the team is excited and ready to go.

"We're training every week and the indoor sports have been training all winter,鈥� he said.

Parlee, who will be competing in the track and field events, is a decorated athlete, having won 13 medals over the course of four Games in shot put, discus, javelin and long-jump.

The Games will boast 26 events and feature over 2,000 athletes from across the country.

The Yukon, while usually competing with one of the smaller contingents, are always a force to be reckoned with at the Games and make their presence known through their support of each other.

"We're not a large group but we're a very noisy group,鈥� said Parlee, who was also the flag bearer at last night's ceremony.

In previous Games, the Yukon contingent has captured three Spirit of the Games awards in recognition of their friendly competition and fair play.

This year's Games will mark the first time the event has been hosted in Nova Scotia and the Yukon team is looking forward to getting in some exploring alongside their athletic endeavors, including a team bus trip to the Fortress of Lousiberg.

Parlee said the Games are as much about the camaraderie as they are about the competition.

"We get to visit with other athletes that we know from years past,鈥� he said.

"That's always a lot of fun to see old friends and it's always a friendly competition.鈥�

Parlee's wife, Spence Hill, will also be competing in the Games in swimming.

"We're really looking forward to it,鈥� he said.

The pep rally included speeches from Community Services Minister Elaine Taylor and Mayor Bev Buckway and a performance from the Yukon Golden Girls.

The thriving Yukon senior athletics community started gaining momentum in 2000, when the Elder Active Recreation Association (ERA) was formed to promote active living for those 55 plus.

Former Yukon Council on Aging President (YCOA), Joyce Young, left her position with the YCOA and began developing the framework for what would the become the ERA, a registered NGO.

With funding support from the Millennium Funds, the Health Investment Fund and the Community Development Fund, the ERA held their first 55+ Territorial Games in October.

The success of that event carried over into the next year with another strong showing in the Territorial Games in October 2001.

Fuelled by that success, a contingent of 35 Yukoners traveled to Summerside, P.E.I. to compete in the Canada Senior Games in Sept. 2004.

They returned with 24 medals and the news that the 2004 Games would be hosted in Whitehorse.

The community has been moving forward with the program ever since.

Many of the athletes that will travel to Sydney for this years' Games have competed alongside and against each other for many years, which is all part of the fun, said Parlee.

"Many of us know each other but there's always new people and that's great,鈥� he said.

"We're always welcoming new people and we're looking forward to competing together.鈥�