Eleven eager competitors from across the province kicked off the first day of alpine skiing at the Ontario 55+ Winter Games at Horseshoe Valley Wednesday morning.
Athletes in the 55+, 65+ and 75+ divisions raced their way down the slopes, weaving around gates, as they vied for the best time in the two-day event that will see each competitor take four runs down the alpine track.
Winners will be determined by the cumulative time of their best three runs, with results available through the Winter Games website.
For many of the competitors, however, getting out and having fun is an equally important part of the provincial competition.
Etobicoke’s Phil Semple, 68, has been skiing since he was 16 years old, and he looks forward to the Games as a way of getting active and coming together with other athletes.
“It's the thrill of speed. This is Canada, so winter takes up one quarter of the seasons — you should do something. It's a wonderful thing to do,” he said.
“It's just good fun, and that's all it is,” Semple continued. “It's not about winning or losing — it's the camaraderie of coming together.”
That said, Semple added — with a grin — that he plans on finishing in the “top two” in the 65+ division.
First-time competitor Larry Marchand, cousin of Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand, joked that his hopes for the Games are to find time for “lots of beer.”
“I started skiing when I was 45. Have I ever raced before? No,” said the 65+ competitor. “This was my first time going on a race.”
“Getting outside makes the winter go quickly. It's just a lot of fun,” said the London-based Marchand. “You get to meet a whole bunch of different people.”
Despite unfavourable weather through most of the winter, 55+ competitor Cathy Frederick said the conditions at Horseshoe Valley are “beautiful” and “nice and smooth,” adding she hopes to “get the gold” in her division.
Semple also said his experience with the Games so far has been “wonderful.”
“The host city here put on a wonderful venue for us, and the opening ceremonies were wonderful with the Gordon Lightfoot tribute,” he said.
Event organizers said a dozen volunteers came together to put on the alpine skiing competition, noting the event went off without a hitch on its first day, with lots of smiles from competitors.
“It went smooth as butter — no injuries, which is always the first thing that we're looking at,” said organizer Neal Claassen. “I think the racers had a lot of fun. You saw a lot of chuckles, and I think there was definitely some tension in the start gate, so a lot of people were absolutely hyped up for it.”
With just 11 athletes across the event’s three divisions, Claassen said the only thing that would have improved things would be more competitors.
“I do believe we have a very active 55+ crowd, especially in this area – Oro-Medonte, Orillia, Barrie – I mean, it's huge. We could have easily had over 100 people entered here.”
Allan Millard, an Orillia competitor slated to ski Wednesday, did not show up to the first day of the two-day competition at Horseshoe Resort.
