Team Yukon made history at the recently held Canada 55+ Games, winning more than a few medals in the process.

The Yukon contingent was the first team to take home the Spirit of the Games Award two times in a row and finished with an all-time best 40 medals in an Outside competition for the biannual event.

"It's a wonderful accomplishment, considering the population size," said co-chef de mission, Sue Meikle. "Other contingents get more medals, but they are also three times our population or more. So per population it's really great and even better was that we won the Spirit of the Games award for the third time in five Games, which is pretty significant. It really speaks to the sportsmanship and goodwill of our team members."

The Canada 55+ Games were first held back in 1996, but the first time Team Yukon sent a contingent was in 1998. The first Yukon team consisted of around 25 athletes, but since then the Yukon's participation numbers have continued to grow, which peaked in 2004 when the Games were put on in Whitehorse.

More than 100 Yukoners took part in Whitehorse Games and won a record number of medals as a result. Since then, all of the Yukon +55 Games contingents have been in the 80's or higher.

The 2008 team had 92 Yukoners, which included 84 competitors, two co-chefs de mission and eight cheerleaders.

Members on Team Yukon ranged between the ages of 55 and 89 years old.

Yukoners participated in candlepin bowling, cribbage, darts, floor shuffleboard, golf, curling, lawn bowling, scrabble, slo-pitch as well as track and field.

The different Yukon communities that were represented at the competition included Watson Lake, Faro, Mayo, Teslin, Marsh Lake, Tagish and Whitehorse.

The team's 40 medal haul surpassed the previous best, at an Outside competition, of 35, which it totalled in 2006.

The 2008 Games, which were held in Dieppe, New Brunswick, were not only special for the Yukon, but also Quebec, which participated at the competition for the first time.

B.C., Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Nunavut didn't send an official contingent for the 2008 Canadian Senior Games.

At the banquet to conclude the senior sporting event, the Yukon was given the Spirit of the Games Award, which was a pleasant surprise to the team, which didn't expect to receive such an honour after winning it in 2006.

The Spirit of the Games Award is presented to the contingent, which most exemplifies goodwill, sportsmanship, camaraderie and enthusiasm.

The Yukon team is formed by territory's Elder Active Recreation Association, which promotes active living among older adults.

In Dieppe, the Yukon won nine gold medals, 21 silver medals and 10 bronze medals.

The track and field team had a particularly impressive showing, breaking three Games records in discus, shot put and the 3,000-m run.

Tom Parlee, 61, had a particularly impressive showing in his three track and field events.

Parlee, who competed in the senior games for the third time, broke two records in discus and shot put in the 60+ category. Parlee exceeded his expectations, winning the two gold medals after throwing 36.59-m in discus and 9.89-m in shot put event. He also took home a silver medal in the javelin competition.

Parlee, who finished with two gold medals and one silver medal at the two previous senior games, said he was happy with how he did in Dieppe.

"I think it ranks right up there," he said. "I had some distances that I wanted to meet and I surpassed them."

Watson Lake's Dave Kalles set the third Games record in the 70+ category, finishing the 3,000-m race at 14:19. What made Kalles' gold medal run even more impressive is the fact that he hasn't been in a competitive running race in around 55 years.

Kalles also won three more medals, which included placing second in the 1,500-m, third in the 400-m running event and third in the 800-m running distance.

Other Yukon gold medalists included Bob Candow, in darts; Nesta Leduc, 50-m freestyle swim; Millie Jones, 50-m predicted swim; Paul Dabbs, swimming; Merton Friesen, 400-m predicted walk; and Susana Edwards, 400-m run.

Silver medal winners included Edwards for the 800-m run, while Judy Lightening, Eileen Bird, Ken Burke and Micheal Bauer placed second in lawn bowling.

Bob and Beverly finished second in darts, while swimmers Leduc, Barb Phillips and Paul Dabbs won a combined eight silver medals.

Merton Friesen placed second in the 1,000-m running distance, while curlers Pat Banks, Gary Hewitt, Clarence Jack and Madeline Boyd each took home a silver medal for their efforts.

Beverley Candow and Betty Sutton placed third in darts, while other bronze medal winners included Phillips, Jones, Marg Dun, Jim Coxford, Paul Dabbs, Jo Hopkins and Maura Glen.