Committee president Barb McDonald said bingo has been the go-to for years to raise money for participants.
Even over the past four months, she said committee members had pooled a “good amount of money” playing bingo at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre.
To bolster those fundraising efforts, a golf tournament will be held at Yellowknife Golf Club. According to the club’s website, it’s scheduled for early June.
The money raised goes toward the cost of people attending the games. This year’s edition takes place in Quebec City from August 27-30.
“Flights and hotels are quite expensive … There was Covid-19, then last year we got evacuated. We couldn’t do very much during that time, so this time our funding is not very high,” McDonald said.
“There’s more and more enthusiasm and participation I’ve seen over the years. The group here in Yellowknife is getting bigger.”
Joan Hirons at the NWT 55+ Games Association said almost 80 people have expressed interest in participating at this year’s games.
Sports on offer include the likes of hockey, curling, table tennis, track and field, tennis, golf, eight-ball pool, duckpin bowling, cribbage, pickleball, bridge and darts.
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“We’ve never had any table tennis players go before, so that’s exciting. There are six expressions of interest for that,” Hirons said.
“Table tennis is taking off in Yellowknife, isn’t it? I imagine it becoming more popular. [Interested participants] are not all from Yellowknife, which is kind-of nice.”
Hirons has also noticed the popularity of pickleball grow in the territory. Last year, a pair from Fort Smith participated in the sport. This time, eight players (four pairs) expressed serious interest.
On the other hand, Hirons said, interest in cribbage – which usually fills 10 spots – has fizzled out this year, with only two players intending to go.
The deadline to apply for a spot at the games is May 15.
