Prince George, B.C. – The BC Seniors Games officially get underway today with hockey, snooker, curling and the opening ceremonies from 7:00pm to 8:00pm in Kin I.

 

Face-off begins in Kin 3 from 11:00am to 4:45pm and at the Coliseum from 12:30pm to 4:45pm.

 

Snooker will break from 4:30pm to 6:00pm at Nicholson Billiards and rocks will be thrown at the Golf and Curling Club from 4:00pm to 10:30pm.

 

Opening ceremonies will feature entertainment from the Excalibur Theatre Arts Company.

 

President of the 2008 BC Seniors Games Society, Les Waldie is excited to see Prince George making history as the only community to host the games for the second time, “It has been an incredible amount of work that has taken 1250 volunteers to organize for the past year. We have 35 venues with 27 sports so the logistics of an event like this are huge but we think we are organized and ready.”

 

An event for athletes also requires food. The events committee not only has 35 venues to organize but also 2700 box lunches for two days and a dinner for 2700 participants on Saturday. The committee has enlisted the help of the CNC Culinary Arts program for the boxed lunches and Goode’s Catering for the dinner. 

 

It is custom for the host committees of the following year to attend the current games to paint a picture of what is required, speak with organizers and gain tips.  The committee attended the games in Nanaimo last year to gather information and Richmond will be present in Prince George to help prepare for the 2009 games. Prince George does have the advantage of hosting for the second time as we hosted the 2002 Seniors Games.

 

Admission to all events throughout the week is free of charge.