The zone 5 medal contenders in badminton have been declared for the Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games, Feb. 24 to 27 in St. Albert.
The qualifiers are as follows:
• Rosalyn Thompson of St. Albert and Jean LeBlanc of Sherwood Park in 55-plus ladies doubles.
• Ray Smith of St. Albert and Mike Rasmussen of Fort Saskatchewan in 55-plus men’s doubles
• The St. Albert duo of Mary Harrison and Anne Emberly in 65-plus ladies doubles.
• Bob Stevenson of Fort Saskatchewan and Norman Carruthers of Namao in 65-plus men’s doubles.
Meanwhile, only two people in zone 5 signed up for the Scrabble playoff and both qualified for the games without having to think up a word. They are Etty Cameron of Sherwood Park and Mary Thompson of Sangudo.
As for the zone 5 playoff in cross-country skiing, the qualifier was rescheduled for today at Gold Bar Park after a lack of snow in St. Albert last weekend prevented the event from taking place.
The zone 5 results from carpet bowling, Alpine skiing and table shuffleboard were unavailable at press time.
Next month’s zone 5 playoffs include fivepin bowling, duplicate bridge, curling, darts, euchre, hockey and snooker. For more information, call 780-458-4564 or visit www.st-albert55plusgames.ca.
The games will bring together 1,100 competitors 55 years of age and older from throughout the province in a celebration of sportsmanship, culture and competition. More than 300 spouses and guests of participants and 200 VIPs from various levels of government and sports organizations will also attend.
Admission is free for all events.
After 11 straight wins, the St. Albert Flyers have now lost two in a row in the Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League.
The second defeat was Thursday’s 7-4 result against the Squires in Sherwood Park. With first place on the line in the north conference, the Flyers surrendered five goals in period two and trailed 6-2 after 40 minutes.
Jake Mykitiuk tallied twice while Jack Zubick and Sebastien Auray notched singles.
Mykitiuk ranks second in conference scoring with 39 points on 23 goals and 16 assists in 18 games.
The Flyers were outshot 38-18. The loss was the first of the season for netminder Landon Bow (9-1, 2.40 GAA).
In the pennant race the Flyers (15-3) trail the Squires (15-1-4) by four points with two games in hand.
Leading up to the Christmas break, the Flyers play the Lloydminster Rage (9-5-4) at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Border City and CAC United Cycle (1-14-3) at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Akinsdale Arena.
The junior men’s northern playdowns are under way in Spruce Grove for the Ben Bellamy rink of St. Albert.
Bellamy, third Kenton Maschmeyer, second Brett Winfield and lead Jaques Bellamy played their first game in the 11-team draw Friday against Ben Bissell of Strathcona, but the score was unavailable at press time.
The A, B and C event winners advance to provincials, Jan. 5 to 9 at the Crestwood.
Draw times and results are online at www.northernalbertacurling.com.
The Lorne Akins Crush wrestling team pounded the mats for 29 medals at the St. Cecilia tournament in Edmonton last week.
Twelve teams competed in the season opener for junior high grapplers.
Upcoming for the Crushers is the Edmonton all-girls tournament Jan. 13, Edmonton all-boys’ tournament Jan. 15, University of Alberta Paperweight Feb. 5 and the Alberta Junior Olympics in Olds on Feb. 19.
At the 2010 provincials in Calgary, the Crushers owned the podium with four gold, six silver and four bronze. They were represented by 22 wrestlers, of which four were in Grade 9.
The Crush record for provincial medals is 21, set in 2007 and equalled in 2009.
