The Big Country Senior Sports Society (BCSSS) is sending a huge delegation to the Alberta 55 Plus Summer Games being hosted by Brooks and Newell from Aug. 17 to 20.

Doug Campbell, Area 7 director for Big Country 55-Plus Sports, says 135 people have qualified to compete in 17 different events. Forty of them are from Cochrane, Bearspaws, Springbank, Bragg Creek, and West Rocky View County.

“Our Zone 2, one of eight zones within Alberta 55-Plus, is sending a team as large as – if not larger than - teams from Edmonton and Calgary," says BCSSS President Norma Dawson of High River. "We’re proud of that."

Campbell says they worked hard to promote the games.

"We're really proud of the recruiting we've done, says Campbell, "and with a little luck, we'll bring back a few medals as a bonus."

Medals are sweet, of course, but the games are largely about encouraging people to remain active in sporting and social activities at an older age.

Campbell says they have people ages 55 right through to 92 years old participating this weekend.

"We do have a lot of people in their 70s and in their 80s. Our oldest competitor this time is 92. It's great to have them, but we also need the younger ones to take over and to get higher participation rates wherever we can."

Big Country runs from the B.C. border to Saskatchewan through this part of the province, excluding Calgary.

Those qualifying from around here include:

Bocce: Myrna Fink, Tracy Hindle, Sharon Barnden, Marcia Wilson, Vel Edwards, Monique MacKenzie, Bonnie Freisen, Jennifer MacKenzie, Jim Paramchuk.

Contract Bridge: Ken Munro and Lucia Ciupa

Cornhole: Karl Gibbie

Cycling: Brent Gross, Clint Docken, Robert Martens

Floor Shuffleboard: Nancy Gibbie, Doug Campbell

Golf: Joan and Chris Logan, Barb Gibson

Horseshoes: Gerry Burkholder

Pickleball: Lina Danis, Julie Clark, Lorraine Makowecki, Catherine Burdett, Barb Imeson, Gary Hawkes, Steve Katulka, Bill Cooper, Jim Bend, Zahir Lakha, Mark Lenson, Colin Gilbert

Slo-Pitch: Reg Macdonald, Andrew Fett, Tracy Roberts, Dan Muhlbach, Pat Drinnan

Swimming: Joan Gunn-Allard

Track & Field: Lynda Gross, Lyndon Emro, Brian Hill

Photography: Tracy Hindle, Myrna Fink.

In response to Canada's Online News Act and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) removing access to local news from their platforms, CochraneNow encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading CochraneNow.