When an opportunity to lift up the voices of seniors in Prince George in a big way found its way into my world, I had to make the most of it and Masters in Motion BC was born.
The Prince George Citizen and Shaw Spotlight have partnered, with me hosting a show featuring seniors in sport in Prince George.
Through my regular gig at the Citizen and as part of a television series on Shaw Spotlight and the Masters in Motion BC YouTube channel, I will showcase the athletes who are competitive and those who are passionate.
I think in part I was offered this incredible opportunity because I am a masters athlete myself.
I throw a bunch of stuff.
I compete in track and field and throw all the implements I can get my hands on. It used to be five and now I throw six. There’s hammer, shot put, discus, javelin, weight throw and most recently super weight throw. I have held several BC records in my age category and currently hold the super weight throw and indoor weight throw record. I’m a good thrower but not a great one so Canadian records will probably always be out of my reach but I will still try to give B.C. throwers a run for the gold! Another reason I think I got to be host is that I am not afraid to flub up, misspeak and otherwise make a fool of myself but I figure if I can laugh along with you when I goof up, then that’s ok. Getting the point across – to showcase amazing athletes who are older – is what matters most.
The show recently made its debut and features a curling team whose four members combined age is 305 years but you’d never guess that by looking at the speed and agility at which they approach their game.
The skip, Floyd Crowley, is 84 and runs during the whole game, at times reaching distances of up to four kilometres on his pedometer.
Next up we’ll see two competitive power lifters who are each over 50 years old!
Then we’ll soon meet a team of blind curlers who recently won the provincial championships, won their first ever game against ‘sightlings’ - as they call sighted people - at a recent match up during the Seniors League, oh, because, did I mention? They’re all 50+. They are going on to the Western Canadian Championships in March and from there could potentially go on to the Canadian Championships to test their skills.
There’s a bunch more people that I haven’t confirmed yet, but rest assured we’re going to see so many different types of athletes and each and every one will be a senior who is doing their best to age in a healthy way and remain active until they just can’t do it anymore.
Here's the link to the first 15-minute show https://youtu.be/FQjzwhaCQp4.
And don't worry I will try to stop all that annoying nodding in the next show! Live and learn!
If you are a senior or a member of a senior team in sport who would like to be featured in both the newspaper and on Shaw Spotlight, please email me at [email protected] and we’ll see what we can do to make that happen.
