A second trip to the Canada 55+ Games was pure gold for a curling team from Athabasca.
Skip Rob Balay, third Vic Shapka, second Tony Kiselyk, lead Bernie Giacobbo and fifth player Dave Pacholok represented Alberta on the weekend at the 2014 Canada 55+ Games in Sherwood Park and walked away with the gold medal in the men’s 55+ curling event.
And they won the gold the hard way, stealing one in the final end over Nova Scotia to win 6-5.
“It was pretty exciting to win,” said Balay.
“That final game was probably the best one I have ever played in. Their skip was left with a tough shot, nearly impossible, but I was still nervous because you just never know.”
To get the gold medal game, they defeated Nunavut to open the Games on Thursday, then edged Saskatchewan and beat the Northwest Territories on Friday to finish on top of their pool and play for the gold on Saturday.
“All of our games were really close and it was really neat playing Fred Koe from NWT – Kevin’s dad,” Balay said.
“It was also exciting having Heather Nedohin cheering us on and then presenting us the medals.”
Nedohin is the manager of the Sherwood Park Curling Club at the Glen Allan Recreation Centre, the venue for the curling events.
Overall, the Games was an unbelievable experience for Balay, who noted it was the largest Canada 55+ Games ever held.
“There were more than 2,200 athletes there and a totally different experience than our trip to Nova Scotia in 2012,” he said.
“It was a great and awesome experience. More people need to come and participate.”
He added its a lot of fun, keeps him active and you have a chance to enjoy meeting old friends and new people.
“It’s great to be active and enjoy life and be happy,” explained Balay.
“But everyone here still wants to compete and win, you don’t lose that competitive edge just because you get a little older.”
