The deadline for submitting the "I Might Go" forms for the 2022 Canada 55+ Games Aug. 23-26 in Kamloops, B.C. is fast approaching.

Yukon director for the Canadian Senior Game Assoc. and chair of the Team Yukon Organizing Committee Brenda Dion said the numbers are looking good so far.

"As of last Thursday, we had close to 100 'I might Go' forms in already, which is a pretty good number for this early. We want people to know that it's important to get those forms in, and we do have a deadline ... Jan. 10, for people to get them in," said Dion.

They had a substantial amount of people signed up last time for the ill-fated 2020 Games.

"Last time when we were preparing for these Games in 2020, by March, prior to them being cancelled, we had close to 250 participants going to the Games," related Dion.

Of those, about 225 were in the events, and the rest were cheerleaders.

"That would have been our biggest team," said Dion. "We're wondering how COVID is going to impact people’s decisions to go to the Games in 2022 ....

“I also know that the Canadian Senior Games Association is following all the health guidelines around COVID. We'll be following everything when we're going to the Games and we're certainly at the vaccination requirements, etc.,” she said.

“So the result of all that – I still think our numbers are going to be large. I think they're certainly going to be somewhere between 200 and 250 again, because we're so close to B.C. For Yukoners, it's a much easier place to get to than say, four years ago, when we were out in St. John's. Even then we had a big team.”

Because team Yukon is getting larger every single Games, it's becoming more popular for people,” Dion said.

"I think the other opportunity will be for people to drive themselves, as opposed to flying, and some people, we're already hearing, will be camping in Kamloops. So they're making a vacation out of it as well," added Dion.

She thinks COVID-19 will have an effect on the Games.

"Well I think it's certainly going to be affecting behaviour, much like it's affecting everyone's behaviour around the world. I know vaccinations will be a big part of it. I also know the mask requirements will be a big deal. Also all of the sanitation that will be required,” she said.

"There are a number of large gatherings at these events, like opening and closing ceremonies. So I'm assuming there will be some changes to those kind of procedures.”

Right now, it doesn't look like Games organizers would actually cancel any events.

"That's not what I'm hearing, like, I don't get any suggestion of that," said Dion. "I think what we're probably going to do, which is what the world is doing, is try to figure out how to live with it, and be safe at the same time.

"I think the other thing is, us up here, we're itching to travel. And B.C. is pretty close – it's not out of the country. So it does maybe provide us with a safer opportunity to travel," said Dion.

An ElderActive membership, which is $30, is required to go to the Games.

"ElderActive is the sport governing body who manages the organization of Team Yukon to go to these Games,” Dion said.

“Part of being a Team Yukon member means that you also have to be part of the ElderActive organization. So there's a ... year-round membership that people pay for, but in addition to Team Yukon, you would also be a member and entitled to all the other programming that ERA (ElderActive) does, which is year-round programming that they offer to its members.”

Costs for attending the Games would include travel (flights or driving), accommodations (Team Yukon hotel or camping), registration fees ($150 plus team fees for participants, $100 for non-participants), food and incidentals, and Team Yukon uniforms.

Games registration includes opening ceremonies and a welcome lunch, closing ceremonies and a gala dinner, transportation to and from the Kamloops airport, transportation during the Games for your events, Games competition and some evening entertainment.

A small subsidy for hotel accommodations is provided by Team Yukon, assuming it's within their budget, which depends on how many people are coming.

"Unfortunately, our offers of subsidy this time are less than we had before because of ... we just weren't able to fundraise, with COVID," related Dion.

"All of our regular bingo activities – we couldn't do them. So our fundraising ability went way down.

“But one of the things we did incorporate into this budget this time, recognizing that it might be hard for some people to pay for everything, and we don't want the cost to prevent some people from going, so we do have a bit of a participant assistance fund, that people can apply to through ElderActive."

The deadline to apply for assistance funds is also Jan. 10.

The selling points for participating in the Games are numerous, Dion said.

"These are just such fun Games," stated Dion. "For us folks who are 55-plus, they're all about supporting us in ways to maintain healthy lifestyles.

“There's 26 different events. Some of them are about promoting physical activity, some of them are mentally challenging, and some of them are about the opportunity to be with other people and to support other people through these kind of social connections.”

It's way more than a sporting event, she added.

“People come to these Games year after year for the fun, for some friendly competition, for camaraderie, and for also meeting up with friends that they've seen before or met before at different Games. So if you're in an age category with someone who's in track with you, you're gonna see them Games after Games, which is really kind of fun," said Dion.

The other selling point is that to prepare for these Games, she said, “many people start training pretty soon, or they try and maintain this healthy lifestyle, even in-between these Games.

“Some people use these Games as an opportunity to try something new. I know that we have one lady on our team who's done a variety of the different events. She just changes the event each Games, so that's fun," added Dion.

Team Yukon is unique from the other provincial and territorial teams.

"We don't have territorial 55+ Games. For the other jurisdictions, those are their qualifiers.

“So people have to compete at their provincial level, then they get to qualify to go to these Games. We don't have that kind of population to do that here.

“So basically anybody who's 55+, and wants to go to these Games, we can try to find a space for them on the team in some event ... that is really exciting, but it's also why the I Might Go forms are important, because we will provide spaces based on those forms, and it's first-come, first-serve," explained Dion.

"The other thing that's unique about our team particularly is that we do a block booking at one hotel, so that many of our team participants can stay at the same hotel. That's different from all the other jurisdictions. Their participants book their own hotels,” she said.

A team headquarters is set up at the hotel, open all week for Yukon participants.

“And sometimes other teams come and get information about transportation or where different events are happening that day, or just details about the Games – results or whatever," said Dion.

"We have two mission staff that travel with us ... and we also rent a couple of vans, so that we can help people who have ... mobility issues or maybe a little bit of trouble reading the bus schedules and stuff. But we can help them get to their events."

Dion added that the Yukon organizing committee has been busy.

"We have the Team Yukon Organizing Committee (TYC). We start a year ahead of the Games, so in September our committee was formed, and we've been meeting monthly, and we will do that more regularly as the Games get closer.

"Behind the scenes, we are working on the team uniform. We've got the accommodations booked. We're looking at various travel options for people.

“So people do their own travel arrangements, but we provide them with some background information, about different flights and connections ... so we're really busy, putting people into different events now, and also promoting the Games," Dion said.