A Ponoka couple won gold in the tennis 60-65 age division at the 55+ Canada Games, held in Kamloops, B.C., from Aug. 22 to 26.
Jean-Anne and Darrell Nichols have been playing together for about 30 years, but started playing a bit more seriously about 10 years ago when they joined a club in Red Deer.
They won gold at the Alberta Games, which was held at the Red Deer Tennis Club, qualifying them for the Canada Games in Kamloops.
Jean-Anne said this was the first time they had played in a tournament outside of the club.
They had been perfecting their skills with the help of coach Tyler Begg, who gives lessons in Ponoka and other central Alberta towns.
The couple said they certainly didn’t expect to do as well as they did at the games.
Their last game was a close match, with the Nichols eventually coming out on top for the gold.
“It was a good feeling; a a really good feeling,” said Jean-Anne.
A total of 2,900 seniors participated in the games from all the provinces and territories in a total of 26 events.
“It was cool there were so many healthy seniors there, involved from all across Canada,” she said.
