Nearly all of the Cowichan Valley soccer players who competed at the 2016 BC 55+ Games in Coquitlam came home with medals.
The renamed BC Seniors Games took place from Sept. 21-24, and included soccer competitions in the Over-55, Over-60, and Over 65 categories. As part of Zone 1 (Victoria to Ladysmith), players from the Cowichan Valley joined up with teams from Victoria in order to take part.
Three Cowichan Valley players were on the Victoria United team that won gold in the 65+ division: Alan Crisp, John Garvey and Alex Nelson, who scored the winning goal in the final. Two more — Ken George and Tommy Johansen — played for the Victoria International team that took fourth.
Mike Walter and Bob Mackie also won gold in the 60+ division with the Victoria Strikers. In the 55+ division, the silver medal went to the Vancouver Island Rangers, who included Tim Achtzner, Will Chaster, Alan Gilmore, Harvey Johnny, Pat Smith and Duane Weaver.
Cowichan Valley athletes won medals in several other sports as well.
In archery, Roger Walker of Duncan won gold in the men’s 63-69 recurve.
In dragon boating, Terri Foote, Fiona Glaeser, Mary Heath, Shirley Imada, Diane Kay and Sue Lyle took silver in women’s competition with Gorging Gold, and Ken Foote, Fiona and Pete Glaeser, Shirley Imada, Diane Kay and Sue Lyle won gold in mixed competition with Gorging Black.
In golf, Chuck Keehn of Chemainus took gold in men’s 75-79 low net, Ray Bourassa of Lake Cowichan claimed silver in men’s 60-64 low gross, and Brian Lundberg of Honeymoon Bay also took silver in men’s 55-59 low gross.
In hockey, Don Petrie of Cobble Hill and Ben Weber of Mill Bay helped the Victoria Grizzlies to silver in the men’s 70+ competition.
In tennis, Dick Stone of Duncan earned bronze in men’s 80+ singles.
In track and field, Marg Radcliffe of Lake Cowichan took gold in the women’s 70-74 100m, high jump, discus, shot put and javelin and silver in the 200m and 50m; Nola Hendrie of Chemainus won gold in the women’s 60-64 pole vault and 80m hurdles, silver in discus and long jump and bronze in high jump; Doug Miller of Chemainus took gold in the men’s 75-79 5000m and bronze in 1500m and long jump; Hazura Sangha of Duncan earned silver in the men’s 80-84 1500m and 5000m and bronze in the 400m and 800m; and Tim Hendrie of Chemainus took bronze in pentathlon. Radcliffe and Nola Hendrie also helped the Island women’s 60-64 4x100m relay team to silver.