By Jody Jewers, Editor, The Sport Section
An estimated 850 athletes gathered on the South Shore in September for the latest edition of the Nova Scotia 55+ Games.
Held in Bridgewater and surrounding communities, the games continued to deliver on its message of celebrating active living, competition and community. Events ranged from running, hockey, curling and pickleball to card games, darts and washer toss.
“We had a record turnout this year, which was great to see,” says Les Anderson of Upper Tantallon, a Saskatchewan native who moved to Nova Scotia to take a job at the Irving Shipyard and has been involved with the games since 2019 as an administrator and participant, having played junior hockey out west. He recently moved into the past-president position with the society and has served as board chairman.
“We’ve grown from about 150 people for the first games in Kentville in 2005 to 750 in Pictou two years ago to about 850 this year. Bridgewater was just tremendous this year, I’d say probably our best games yet.
“We’ll be in Amherst and other areas in Cumberland County in 2027, so it might be a challenge to get to that number of participants again, but the last 10 years or so we’ve averaged more than 700 athletes, so we should be in that ballpark.”
Anderson said the games try to strike a balance between those who are actively trying to win and those who simply wish to remain active as they get older.
“We have some pretty competitive sports,” says Anderson. “Hockey is always a competitive event and with the growth of pickleball we’ve seen some fairly competitive people enter that as well. But of course, we have some people who are there for the social side of it. Just meeting and interacting with people from all across the province is a big reason why people come.”
There are plenty of other activities outside of competition. Farmers markets, music festivals, walking tours, barbecues and dances were part of the schedule this year, allowing participants to explore what the region has to offer.
The games have even attracted some celebrity interest. Former CBC broadcaster Scott Armitage retired to the South Shore and brought some of his expertise to this year’s event, and former American Hockey League president Dave Andrews, who grew up in Halifax and attended King’s-Edgehill School in Windsor as well as Dalhousie University, was also involved.
Anderson says awareness continues to be a challenge.
“In many of the areas where we’ve held these games, a lot of people, especially those ages 60 and below, didn’t know anything about it,” Anderson explains. “We’re always looking to promote and bring more people in.
“And the feedback that we’ve gotten has been very positive. People really love it. Ideally, we’d like to have the games in Halifax at some point because there’d be more room for growth by having it in such a populated area. Just being mobile and adaptable, embracing sports and embracing people, and helping people get up off the couch once they get to 55 is at the core of what we try to do.”
