On Saturday, March 4, Drumheller Sandstone Lanes hosted the Zone qualifiers for the 8-ball pool competition to determine the six men and women to represent Zone 2 at the Provincial Summer Games in Brooks, Alberta in August 2023.
In total, 11 men and women from Drumheller, Hanna, Cochrane, Airdrie and Didsbury enjoyed a fun day of round-robin play.
In women’s play, Deb Werner from Hanna won Gold and will once again advance to the Provincial Games. Derek Campbell of Drumheller won Gold in the Mens 55+ age group with Keith Lee capturing Silver. In the Mens 65+ age group, Hanna’s Cal Werner was the Gold medal winner and he too will once again advance to the Provincial Games.
In the hotly contested 75+ age group, local Remie DeFoor was undefeated as he captured the Gold medal. The Silver medal went to Bill Gibbons of Cochrane and the Bronze medal to Bob Moffatt also from Drumheller.
A group of 12 bowlers from Big Country Senior Sports joined the pool players to have a day of fun and bowling. Individuals from Drumheller, Three Hills, Okotoks, and Cochrane took on the pins in anticipation of qualifying for the Winter Provincial Games which will be held later in the year in St. Albert.
Congratulations to all who participated and good luck at the Provincial Games. Many thanks to Sandstone Lanes for hosting these games and to Ralph Veenhuis for judging the pool competition.
Alberta 55-Plus offers a total of 36 various sports and recreational activities. Summer and winter Provincial Games occur every two years - and are the basis of making up the Alberta team who advance to the Canada Senior Games - to be held next in Quebec City in 2024.
For further information on Alberta 55-Plus, you can contact Linda Traquair at 403 823 8460.

The U18 React/ DT Fire Raptors were crowned league champions on home ice Sunday, March 5, after defeating the Hanna Colts in two straight games.
It has been a whirlwind of hockey for the U18 Raptors as they topped Stettler in a three-game series and went on to play the Colts for the banner.
Game one was on Saturday, March 4 in Hanna. The classic rivalry of Drumheller and Hanna was a highlight of the season, and for the Raptors, in the regular season, were not able to get that elusive win, going 0-3-1. On Saturday, however, Terry Martin, Kerric Chambers and Kegan Regis all found the net in the 3-2 win in game one.
This gave the Raptors a chance to win in two games on home ice. The score wasn’t indicative of the battle on the ice, as the Raptors went on to a 5-1 win.
The rivalry was not lost on coach Stephen Fournier.
“I grew up in this town and had that rivalry my whole life. I tried to instill this in these kids,” said Fournier. “We hadn’t beaten them all year and we took them in two games, finally.”
As the results of the game became a forgone conclusion, some tempers flared on the ice. Drumheller however held on.
“We skated them into the ground, we used our legs, we used everything we taught them, and they played a full 60-minute game for both games,” said Fournier.
“We got in on the dump and chase. They (Hanna) had a short bench as it was, so we skated on them and played an aggressive game on them. We let them take the penalties.
For the series, the Raptors only allowed three goals.
“Our goalie stood on their head for a whole 120 minutes, even in the Stettler series they both came out to play, it was phenomenal to watch.”
The victory was especially sweet for seven players on the team who are in their third year.
“We hope to have 7 or 8 guys coming up from the Bantams, and we’ll just build on from there,” said coach Fournier.
With a banner under their belt, the Raptors still have the opportunity to compete at provincials.
“There’s still work to do,” said Fournier.