Ontario 55+ Summer Games underway!

The games have begun!

More than 1,100 athletes, coaches and support staff have from across Ontario have gathered in Brantford/Brant County for the Ontario 55+ Summer Games. The athletes will be competing in 18 different sports and activities including five-pin bowling, cribbage, golf and pickle ball at venues throughout the two communities over the next two days.

The event began Wednesday evening with an official opening ceremony that included Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell, local, federal and provincial dignitaries.

The games are all about people reaching their potential regardless of age, Dowdeswell said.

“The 55+ Summer Games showcase the best athletes in their categories throughout Ontario,” Dowdeswell said. “It brings them together for friendly competition and we recognize from experience that we must compete and recognize that we have so much in common.”

Neil Lumsden, Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport said he was thrilled to see so many athletes from across the province participating in the competition.

Accompanied on the stage by Brantford-Brant MPP Will Bouma, Lumsden thanked the event’s volunteers for all they have done to organize the games.

Brant County Mayor David Bailey and Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis also welcomed the athletes to the community.

Davis confessed to being jealous.

Instead of being on stage and part of the welcoming committee, Davis said he’d rather be with the athletes and getting ready to compete and have a great time in the city.

The list of local dignitaries also included Brantford Brant MP Larry Brock and Nathan Wright, of the Six Nations Elected Band Council.

Held at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, the opening ceremony attracted more than 900 people and included entertainment by comedian Graham Chittenden, Mike “Piano Man” Stoneman and internationally-renowned hoop dancer Ascension Harjo of Six Nations.

Chittenden generates a lot of laughs, Piano Man got some people up dancing while Harjo received a standing ovation for his performance.

“That’s a hard act to follow,” Brock, who followed Harjo to the stage, said. “I can’t dance and I don’t do hula hoop.”

The event also featured Brantford Town Crier David McKee and Brant County Town Crier Larry Davis. Jennifer Page, of Brantford, led the crowd in the singing of O’ Canada.

The opening ceremony ended with the lighting of the games cauldron by Doris Henhawk, of Six Nations.

A member of District 25 (Brant/Haldimand/Norfolk) of the Ontario Senior Games Association, Henhawk, 84, won gold and silver in the Canadian Senior Summer Games. She also competed and won medals in the Ontario 55+ Games.

She has been skating for 81 years, cross-country skiing for 40 and golfing for 61 years. Henhawk also made a hole-in-one at the Greens of Renton in 2014.

A fastball coach for 30 years, Henhawk led teams for four rural championships in the 1970s.

The Ontario 55+ Summer Games is supported by the provincial government through a program that also supports the Ontario Winter and Summer Games for youth, the Ontario 55+ Winter Games and the Ontario Parasport Games.

The first Ontario 55+ Summer Game were held in Kitchener in 1986 under the name “Activefest.” This year marks the 19th edition of the 55+ summer games which are delivered in partnership with the Ontario Senior Games Association.

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