BC Senior Games

The B.C. 55+ Games are coming to Coquitlam in September of 2016.

The actual dates of the games are Tuesday September 23 to Saturday September 27. All of the events will be held in various locations around the Tri-City area and as with all games of this type most of the events will be held over the Thursday to Saturday morning time frame.

The BC 55+ Games are governed by the BC Senior Games Society and are administered by a locally elected volunteer board of directors.

I am proud to report I have been asked to serve on this board as the Director of Protocol. 

These BC 55+ Games will be an amazing opportunity for the whole Tri-Cities area to show off our recreation facilities, business and tourism opportunities in addition to demonstrating how it is a great area to live, work and play. 

You know that with the aging Canadian population these 55+ Games will generate a lot of media and public attention.

The BC 55+ Games have been held since 1988 and in the 2014 games that were held in Langley over 3,800 55+ athletes took part.

This is also a real opportunity for the local Rotary Clubs to increase our exposure within the community by stepping up and becoming a part of the overall leadership structure.

The number or type of events have not been decided as yet but past Games have included soccer, badminton, track and field, swimming, hockey, whist, and pool to name a few.

My responsibilities as the Director of Protocol  will require 5 chairs to work with me who will also need to recruit volunteers to support them.

Those 5 Chairs are firstly Guest Registration who will be responsible for the management of Games guests. 

Secondly the Hosts Chair is responsible for the recruiting, coordinating, training and scheduling the activities of a pre-determined number of men and women in the community who will serve as hosts and ambassadors of the Games. These volunteers will be very visible and will be the” go to” people before and during the Games.

Thirdly the Medals Chair is responsible for preparing all aspects of the medal presentation ceremonies. This Chair would strike a committee and work with representatives from each sport that is being contested, and its duties would involve correct seating arrangements for visiting dignitaries, medal presentation ceremonies and selecting suitable march on and march off music.

Fourthly the Volunteer Management Chair will responsible for ensuring the correct number of volunteers are available at all events and attend the appropriate events at the right time etc.

Lastly the Receptions Chair will be responsible for the following events Key Volunteer Rally, Community Awareness Event. Torchlighting Ceremony and Reception Host Society Reception and Guest Briefing etc.

This is an amazing opportunity to be a part of a national sporting event and to help your community shine on the national stage so I am hoping to get support from the Tri-Cities Rotarians from our 4 Clubs for what will be a once in a lifetime opportunity 

 I have put together a sign- up sheet and I would ask you to register by writing your name and phone number, the area you would like to learn more about and I will contact you in the next 7 days and we can get together and discuss this opportunity to support your community and also to watch a number of amazing athletes compete in the 55+ Games