Slow pitch, pickleball players gold at 55-plus provincials

Long known for having strong slow pitch teams, Medicine Hat’s Huff and Puffs proved it on a provincial stage last week.

At the Alberta 55-plus Summer Games in Calgary and Strathmore, Huff and Puffs teams wound up first, third and fourth in different men’s divisions.

The gold medal-winning side came out of the 55-andover division, going 3-1 in the round robin in Calgary to earn a spot in the final at Strathmore. They beat the Calgary Red Sox 19-7.

“We ended up second in the round robin competition, so got to play the first place team in the gold medal game,” wrote Jamie White, one of the players. “And our bats came alive and our defence was superb.”

The 70-and-over squad took bronze and the 65-andover Huff and Puffs were fourth in their respective divisions. But the 55-and-over team has now qualified to play at the Canadian Senior Games in St. John, N.B. next year and will have to figure out if they can make the trip.

With 12 teams in the local league and four age group sides that travel, the Huff and Puffs knew they’d be able to contend at provincials. And they weren’t the only Hat seniors to fare well at the games, either.

Pickleball

Hat pickleball players combined for four sets of medals, including two doubles champions in Calgary.

Linda Bowles and Ruthmary Hollis went 4-0, not dropping a set in claiming the women’s 65-and-over crown. In men’s 70-plus doubles, Guy Riddell and Gordon Masson went 2-1 and also took first place.

Both teams also qualify for next year’s national games in St. John.

In mixed doubles, Hollis and Masson nearly won the 65-and-over division by going 2-1. They settled for silver. Charlene Andreas and Carolynn Snyder had a long route to a bronze medal, going 3-2 in the women’s 55-plus division.

Guy and Lynda Riddell (mixed 70-plus) and the team of Dwight Berg and Larry Millington (men’s 55-plus) both registered a win but didn’t wind up on the podium.