Athletes gather for Ontario 55+ Summer Games

Have paddles will travel could well be the mantra for Wayne and Sue Sawdon.

They’re a pickleball playing power couple from Brampton who have spent a lot of weekends this year traveling to tournaments across the province.

“We’ve been to Stratford, Barrie, Niagara-On-The-Lake, St. Thomas and there’s a really big tournament in Collingwood in September and we’re really hoping to get into that one, too,” said Sue. “We have a lot of fun, the people are really friendly and we get a chance to visit places we’ve never been before.”

The couple were in Brantford this week for the Ontario 55+ Summer Games and on Friday they were competing at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. The games, which included various sports, attracted more than 1,100 athletes and participants from across the province and were supported by 200 volunteers.

“It’s a great sport and anyone can play it,” Wayne said after winning a round-robin doubles match Friday morning. “There’s a lot of strategy, skill and the pace of the game can change.

“It can go from low and slow to fast and furious in an instant.”

Prior to hip replacement surgery on both hips, Wayne played squash and hockey. Pickleball is now his sport.

The game is a combination of tennis played on a smaller court and table tennis played on a larger court. There are lob and drop shots as well as overhead smashes which, when well executed, resemble a spike in volleyball.

During Friday’s doubles match, there were four players at the net gently exchanging volleys which didn’t require them to move their feet.

Then one shot went a little high and the return was a hard hit ball that forced the other team back on their heels.

The intensity of the exchange increased dramatically with players on both sides of the net to scrambling to make shots. The action was so quick, one player’s paddle flung out of his hand and hit a player on another court.

“The great thing about pickleball and tournaments like this is that there are a lot of different levels,” Sue said. “Wayne plays at a higher level than me but we both enjoy it and have a lot of fun.”

Sue, at 58, was competing in the 55+ division while her husband, at 67, was playing in the over 65 division.

“This is our first visit to Brantford and we’ve really enjoyed it,” Sue said. “Everything has been really well-organized and the facility (Gretzky Centre) is really nice.

“The people are really friendly including all of the people who have been serving us food and driving the (shuttle) buses.”

Sue’s only issue was the lighting at the Gretzky Center on the rinks which was a little bit low. She would have preferred to see brighter lighting.

Sue said she especially enjoyed the opening ceremony held at the Gretzky Center on Wednesday.

“That hoop dancer was really something,” Sue said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before and so was the piano player.

“He got a lot of people out of their seats and dancing.”

The opening ceremonies included entertainment by world champion hoop dancer Ascension Harjo, of Six Nations, Mike ‘Piano Man’ Stoneman and comedian Graham Chittenden. The evening also featured local, provincial and national dignitaries including Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell.

“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.

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.

This year’s games concluded on Friday.

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