From June 3–5, well over 1,000 senior athletes converged on Steinbach to participate in the 2025 Manitoba 55+ Games. At least three residents from Ritchot and Niverville emerged with medals thanks to their dedication to and love of pickleball.

Taking silver were Neal Hastings of St. Adolphe, as well as Perry Daigle of St. Pierre-Jolys. Also from St. Adolphe was Gerard Gill, who walked away with a bronze medal. Daigle and Gill are regulars to Niverville’s CRRC daytime pickleball programming.

The senior men’s pickleball competition took place on the morning of June 5.

Hastings and Bradford

Neal Hastings and his partner Ken Bradford of St. Andrews were registered in the 60–64 age group of the 4.0 category. In the Manitoba Games, this is the highest category in which one can register.

The duo walked away with a silver after five round robin and two playoff games. As impressive as the second-place finish is, though, Hastings says it wasn’t his personal best.

“I won a gold medal in Halifax in the men’s 60+ [category] last year,” says Neal. “I’ve won a few gold medals in provincial tournaments over the years, so I kind of hoped I’d do better.”

Hastings has played with a variety of different partners in men’s pickleball competitions, as well as partnering with his wife when he plays in the mixed category.

Together, the husband-wife team took gold medals at the 2022 and 2024 Manitoba Games and silver medals in 2023 and 2025.

The pair first became interested in the sport four years ago and they haven’t looked back since. As winter snowbirds, they play numerous times per week in warmer climes. When back on home turf, Hastings plays with a group of friends at the Dakota Community Centre.

Hastings is also involved in the organization of the Pickleball Canada National Championships, which is coming to Winnipeg this year. Already, he says, more than 700 people are registered to play at the Taylor Tennis Centre, where 32 courts will be set up for the event.

Why is pickleball such a growing phenomenon within the senior community? Hastings says there are a number of factors.

“It’s physical fitness, it’s a whole bunch of laughs, and it’s getting together with [friends] three times a week and just having a good time.”

Daigle and Poirier

Competing in the 60–64 age bracket at a 3.0 level was Perry Daigle and his partner Ron Poirier, staff sergeant of the St. Pierre-Jolys RCMP department.

For Daigle, the Manitoba Games were a completely new experience, having only played a number of lowkey tournaments in Niverville prior.

“The facilities [in Steinbach] were wonderful,” Daigle says. “They had nine courts in the new arena. I’d never made it to the finals anywhere before, so [it was interesting that] they had a referee monitoring the [lines] and the score.”

For Daigle and Poirier, the gold medal was well within reach as they played a nip-and-tuck closing game. Leading their opponents with a score of 11–10, the opposition jumped ahead in the end to nab the win.

Daigle joined the pickleball craze only two years ago. He admits that he draws on his ping pong skill from decades earlier.

Court dimensions, he believes, is one of the reasons that pickleball captures the interest of senior citizens.

“It’s the size of the court and the number of people,” Daigle says. “You have only a little bit of real estate to look after, which is doable for people our age.”

Gill and Gerylo

Partners Gerard Gill and Gary Gerylo played in the 65–69 age group at a level of 3.0. The games in Steinbach qualified as Gill’s second time in the Manitoba competition.

Until recently, Gill’s sport of preference was badminton, in which he has competed on a national level, including at the U.S. national seniors games, which boasts itself as the largest seniors multisport event in the world.

For Gill, pickleball felt like a natural transition from there.

“The switch to pickleball was necessitated by my shoulder,” Gill says. “All those overhead strokes in badminton and my shoulder said, ‘That’s enough!’ So I took up pickleball.”

While competition is in his blood, he admits that, these days, entering events like the Manitoba Games is mostly about meeting like-minded people and having fun.

“I thought [the Steinbach Games] were really well run,” Gill says. “The times were accurate and it flowed really well. I hadn’t been in that Southeast Event Centre before and it’s gorgeous.”

The Seniors Games

The Manitoba 55+ Games take place every other year, in odd years. Winners of the provincial competitions can move on to the Canada 55+ Games, held in even years.

Steinbach played host to the Manitoba Games twice before, in 1993 and 2011.

Unfortunately for the winners of the 2025 provincial games, there will be no Canada 55+ games in 2026. According to the Canadian Senior Games Association (CSGA), next year’s nationals, which were scheduled to take place in Winnipeg, have been postponed to 2028 due to funding challenges and rapid growth in participation.

“This is such an unfortunate situation where we have a national event that encourages so many seniors to stay both physically and mentally active, and yet, despite constant door knocking, emails, and grant applications, we can’t find the funding to support it,” says CSGA President Dave Finn.

Supporters and participants are encouraged to contact their local members of Parliament to encourage government funding that ensures the long-term success of the national games.