The 2005 World Masters Games are now well underway in Edmonton.

Running from July 22 - 31, the Games are the largest multi-sport event in the world.

Masters athletes are usually at least 30 years old, and there is no upper age limit. The games have seen competitors into their nineties. There are no qualification criteria for most sports.

The 2005 World Masters Games features 27 sports: athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, 10-pin bowling, canoeing, cycling, diving, golf, ice hockey, lawn bowling, orienteering, rowing, rugby (union), shooting, soccer, softball (fast-pitch), softball (slow-pitch),squash, swimming, synchronized swimming, table tennis, tennis, triathlon, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball and weightlifting.

The Yukon has 13 athletes competing at the Games six in orienteering, three in cycling, one in swimming, one in athletics and one in triathlon.

The orienteering three-person relay was one of the events held on Friday, the opening day of the Games.

The relay team Yukon Trail finished ninth in their category and 38th overall, with a total time of 205 minutes and 23 seconds.

Barbara Scheck was competing on a combined Canada-Russia team, which was disqualified.

Also on Friday, Yukon swimmer Tim Arnholz posted two impressive results, including a third-place finish in the men's 45-50 200-metre breaststroke. Arnholz was also fifth in the 200-m IM.

Marcus Waterreus crossed the finish line sixth in the men's 40-44 category of the mountain bike event on Friday. Waterreus finished the 36.8-kilometre race in a time of one hour, 38 minutes and 45 seconds, just under 12 minutes behind the winner.

In the cycling individual time trials on Saturday, Mike McCann was 27th in the men's 55-59 category. McCann finished the 18-km course in a time of 36 minutes and 29 seconds, 10:58 behind the first-place competitor.

Ross Phillips was 32nd in the men's 35-39 category, with a time of 29 minutes and 15 seconds just over five minutes behind the winner.

The road race was held on Sunday at the Games, but no results are available yet.

There was also more action in the pool both Saturday and Sunday, and Yukoner Stephen Waterreus ran the triathlon on Saturday as well, but no results are available from any of those events.

Yukoner Al Hammond is competing in rugby at the Games this week while Lisa Vowk is representing the territory in athletics. Moira Lassen is attending the Games as a VIP.

Arnholz will be back in the pool today, while orienteering action also continues.

The Star will provide updates on the Yukon athletes participating in the World Masters Games as they become available.

Edmonton 2005 is the sixth World Masters Games. The first Games were held in Toronto in 1985 and they have since been held in Denmark, Brisbane and Portland. Almost 25,000 athletes competed in the 2002 Games in Melbourne, Australia.

The Games are typically held every four years, but Edmonton 2005 is the exception.

The International Masters Games Association changed the cycle of the event so it no longer coincides with other major multi-sport events, such as the Olympics or Commonwealth Games.

The Games will revert to the four-year cycle after this year's event in Edmonton.