These hockey players are in their 80s and competed at the Ontario 55+ Winter Games
CBC
The sound of skates cutting into the ice filled a London arena as players moved through passing drills, pucks sliding from stick to stick. Between shifts, teammates leaned over the boards to catch their breath, adjusting helmets before pushing off for the next rush.
“We’re used to playing against younger guys every day,” said John Hayton, a player with the London-based Waryears hockey team. “We just keep playing.”
The team’s name, the Waryears, reflects the era in which most of its players were born, with players on the roster all over 80 years old.
The competitive team took part in the Ontario 55+ Winter Games in Huntsville. The provincial competition is designed to give older athletes a chance to remain active, but it does not include a division for players over the age of 80.
As a result, the Waryears are competing in a younger age category, making them the oldest team taking part in the Games.
John Hayton, 82, who plays and helps coordinate the Waryears, said the team has been playing together for decades and continues to grow.
“Every year we get bigger and bigger and bigger,” Hayton said. “Every year we make more friends, get more exercise, and it’s a real high to come here and play.”
Hayton said the team is part of a seniors hockey league in London that dates back decades.
“Back in the mid-1970s there was a change in hockey where they created what was called old timers,” he said. “Hockey provided recreation for people over the age of 35, and then in London there were a bunch of guys who started playing hockey in 1985.”
Bill Chalmers, 84, the oldest player on the Waryears roster, has been playing hockey since he was five years old.
“I'm not a very talkative person, but I enjoy the company of the other teammates, and listen to some of the stories,” he said.
For Chalmers, time spent at the rink is as much about the people as the game itself.
"It's a fellowship with your teammates and just getting out and some fun.”
For some players, continuing to skate is as much about staying healthy as it is about competition.
The N.W.T. needs up to 2,700 homes just to meet current demand, and it must build thousands more to replace aging dwellings, according to the government's first comprehensive analysis of housing needs in 26 years.
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon says OpenAI's CEO agreed to let Canadian experts into its safety office to help evaluate future threats following the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
Newly released financial documents for last year's municipal election show The Calgary Party more than doubled its competitors in spending.
Alberta is not ready to deal with the threat of online disinformation coming from foreign actors in a possible referendum campaign on separation this fall, according to national security experts.
Fuel prices on Prince Edward Island rose overnight Wednesday, and energy experts say more increases could be on the way if tensions in the Middle East continue.
The Alberta Teachers' Association was in court Wednesday asking a judge to temporarily suspend the province's Back to School Act while the union’s broader constitutional challenge proceeds later this year.
An elder in Taloyoak says publishing her first book is a dream come true.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has shaken up the senior ranks of the public service, creating and expanding some roles in a continued effort to put his stamp on the machinery of government.
The billionaire U.S. owners of the busiest land border crossing in North America turned to a high-powered lobbying firm run by former top aides to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in recent years, records show.
Students across the province are protesting recent changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) — the post-secondary financial aid system will go from a majority grant structure to a majority loan structure in the new school year.
A program at the University of Prince Edward Island that trains future French teachers once struggled to find students, but it's now seeing more interest than ever.
All school purpose vehicles outside of London, Ont. are cancelled Wednesday morning due to a thick blanket of fog causing poor visibility on the roads.
Gas prices in the Greater Toronto Area jumped six cents on Wednesday, with experts warning more increases are expected in the days ahead due to the U.S. and Israel-Iran war.