Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/486634
3 Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries 55 PLus GaMes | suPPLeMent to the winniPeG free Press APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE! OONHOUR N NOONHOUR NOONHOUR S OINTMENT T N APPOINTMENTS APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE! AVAILABLE! PercriptionGlasses orSunglasses withappointment 15% OFF SPRINGSPECIAL! ESTABLISHED 1920 MEMBEROFWEA •EyeExaminations •NoonHour Appointments •Children's VisionCare •ContactLensFitting •ComputerVision •ComputerVision Syndrome& Treatment •Glacoma&Cataract •Glacoma&Cataract Testing •DesignerFrames andDigitalLenses www.drrossmoore.ca 409-428PORTAGEAVE.|204-942-0059 (ByTheBayinthePowerBuilding) Dr.RossMooreB.SC.,O.D. Dr.BenjaminItzkow,O.D. Takeyourgametothenextlevel! 55+SENIORCOUPONSPECIAL 2greenfees and 1powercart ValidJune1-June18/15 Mon.-Thurs.after12noon Originalcouponrequired $ 100 Teetimescanbebooked at204-345-4653ortollfreeat855-593-3306 www.granitehills.ca Book your next tee time at the GRANITE HILLS GOLF CLUB 14 DAY ADVANCE BOOKINGS • GIFT CARDS Registeronlineafter May1forthe; MEN'SSENIOROPEN July8/15 LADIES'WELLNESSOPEN July21/15 running in the family John Houlden enjoyed a golden year in 2014. At the age of 90, he won four gold medals at the Canada 55 Plus Games in Strathcona County, Alta., after qualifying for the national event during the 2014 Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries 55 Plus Games in Neepawa. Houlden was in good company. His daughter Grace Atkins, 61, picked up a gold medal in the women's 400-metre race and silver medals in the 1,500 and 3,000-metre races at the national games. Houlden, now 91, says he didn't have a lot of competition in the 85 Plus category in Alberta. He was the only runner in the 100-metre race, and there were only three runners in the 200-metre and 400-metre events and two in the 800-metre field, but he was happy with his times. Competition was heavier in Neepawa, where he competed in the 70-plus category, earning a bronze medal in the 400-metre run. While there were only three competitors in that race, he was happy with his performance. "There's nothing wrong with bringing up the tail end of the field." While Houlden started running at the age of 48, Atkins was a track star in high school, winning third place in cross-country running at the Canadian Nationals. She started competing at the 55 Plus Games with her father at the age of 55. "I've always been a runner, pretty much my whole life, so when I became old enough to go to the Games with him I went," she says. "Every year that he's been able to compete I've been going with him." Since 1996, when he went on to compete in the first Canada 55 Plus Games in Regina, Houlden says he's only missed one year of track competition at the Manitoba 55 Plus Games — and he would have participated if he hadn't had eye surgery two weeks before the Games. He may attend the Games in Beausejour as a spectator, although he's kicking around the idea of entering a predicted walk. "As long as he can walk I'm sure he'll still be thinking about it," Atkins laughs. She says the theme of the 2015 Games is spot on. As long as you can move — and it doesn't have to be fast — you're never too old to play. "If the only reason you're not doing it is because you think you're too old, that's just not an excuse unless you're physically unable to. But if you're just looking at your age, age is just a number — it's how you feel," she says. "You'll feel so good about it. You know, it just makes you feel younger really." The next Canada 55 Plus Games will be held in Brampton, Ont., in 2016.