NEWS PHOTOS RYAN MCCRACKEN - Medicine Hat's Pat Hensing takes his shot during a floor shuffleboard game in the Alberta 55-Plus Summer Games on Friday at Medicine Hat Curling Club.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Pat and Marian Hemsing are hoping the Alberta 55-Plus Summer Games help give floor shuffleboard a home in Medicine Hat.
The husband-and-wife duo are representing the Gas City in the 70-plus division at Medicine Hat Curling Club this weekend – but with any luck, the Games will put shuffleboard on the local radar for years to come.
“We hope it really goes good and we get a lot of Medicine Hat support,” said Marian. “We live here but we have to travel either to Moose Jaw, High River, Edmonton or Innisfail to be into the sport and tournaments in the summer. So it would be very good to have it here.”
Marian added floor shuffleboard offers a way for seniors who cannot take part in more physical activities the ability to keep the mind active with competition and strategy.
“Floor shuffling, I think, is a real answer for a lot of people,” she said. “I think a lot of participants would step forth, when they maybe have to give up a little competitive golfing, and yet they’re not able to go into the new sport of pickleball.”
While there is no organized shuffleboard league in Medicine Hat, Al Plante – chair of the event at the Games – says interest is already on the rise, and he’s been putting in the legwork to offer the sport in the city year-round.
“I just think it’s an opportunity to get older people out doing something rather than sitting in their living rooms watching television,” said Plante. “Our sponsor, which is the Senior Advisory Committee, is looking at and will consider a budget from us to (purchase equipment).
“We’d like to obviously have our own equipment and get the community going, but then we would sponsor our own tournament as a way to make money.”
Plante added he was lucky to have friend Robbie Robinson step up and donate four shuffleboard mats for the Summer Games, though they’re still working on finding a full-time home for the sport in the future.
“He does a lot of the senior games, both in Canada and the United States, so when we took over the responsibility to hold the Games I called him and said ‘I need four courts, can you accommodate me?’ And he did,” said Plante, adding he’s looking into several potential locations to host floor shuffleboard regularly, including the curling club, local schools and the Redcliff Legion.
The Hemsings opened their weekend at 1-2, following up a pair of losses with a wild victory over Zone 4 that required two extra frames to determine a victor. Given that they often play in different locations, Pat says it took a bit of getting used to before they found their groove at the curling club.
“You’re playing four frames, so you’re really just getting a feel of the board,” said Pat. “In the next four frames you’ve got a little bit of a better feel of the board, so yes we do play better in the second half.”
On top of bonding together as teammates, Pat says the Games also provide players with the opportunity to meet and mingle with like-minded athletes from across the province. Considering they share one end of the board with their opponents each game, Pat says they often spend the time chatting away.
“We do, except in the last bit with the tiebreaker,” said Pat. “It was getting serious.”
Floor shuffleboard is one of 16 sports and activities taking place across Medicine Hat this weekend – from cribbage and bridge to track and field – and Plante says it’s definitely one of the most accessible.
“We had one fellow in a wheelchair play this game. I’ve played with people who have oxygen. It’s available to anybody,” he said. “You’re not going to burn calories doing this but it’s going to keep your mind active because it’s all strategy. And it gets you out to socialize.”
Events are scheduled to conclude Saturday, however they may continue into Sunday as a result of any potential scheduling changes or weather issues.
