By Sheree Hoddinett
Forget the Olympic Games, there’s a new sporting arena in the mix, the GemLife Games. While they may still be young-at-heart, most of the competitors at these games are aged 50 and up. In its second year, the GemLife Games, an inter-resort event proved extremely popular, with up to 500 athletes, volunteers and spectators heading towards GemLife Palmwoods for two-days packed full of competition on September 5 and 6.
While some have played for decades, others describe themselves as ‘rank amateurs’ having taken up their sport mere weeks ago, but all have one thing in common — a desire to give it a go, have fun and meet new people.
Bribie was well-represented with a team of 48 from the Island taking part across eight sports - tennis, pickleball, table tennis, ten-pin bowling, eight-ball pool, golf simulator, lawn bowls and swimming.
At nearly 80, Bribie’s own Jean Imms certainly doesn’t shy away from giving it her all. The former New Zealand representative leads ‘The Four Js’, an eight-ball pool team featuring Jean’s son, Jason, who also lives at GemLife Bribie Island and fellow residents James Humm and Josef Zoontjens. While she doesn’t consider herself quite the pool player anymore, Jean certainly racked up a few wins back when she first picked up a cue.
“When I was younger, I regularly played pool at the local working men’s clubs and I’m sure you’ll still find my name up on the competition leader boards on the walls of some of those clubs today,” Jean said.
As much as she’d love to win, for Jean it’s more about making the most of the game.
“I play to enjoy it now, I don't actually have to win,” Jean said. “But in my mind, I know all the shots, even if the body doesn't always do them.”
In what has traditionally been a male-dominated sport, Jean can certainly hold her own. She might be shorter than her competitors, but what she lacks in height, she makes up for in skill.
“I feel they treat my opinion with respect,” Jean said. “Because even though I can't play as well, I still know the basic moves and the rules that you should physically work by, it’s in my head. Like if I was playing in a tournament and I looked at the table, I could plot the next six shots and there's only seven balls to pot. And if everything went according to plan, I'd win. But it doesn't always go to plan. “There is no reason why women can’t be as competitive as men; the only real advantage men have is their greater reach across the table.”
GemLife director and CEO Adrian Puljich said the popularity of the GemLife Games was evident in the explosion of participants in this year’s event.
“We had 160 over-50s competing in our inaugural games last year. This year, we had more than 280 taking part, supported by a contingent of about 200 volunteers and spectators,” he said.
“We expanded the games to a two-day event, so more people could participate and introduced a new sport — swimming. “The spirit of the games is truly inspiring, with so many of our over 50s willing to jump in and give it a go, no matter how much experience they have – and that’s what it’s all about. Trying new things, staying active, making community connections and having a laugh.”
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