BATTLEFORD — Les Semchuk may be 69 years old but that hasn't slowed down this senior, who picked up three awards in the Provincial pickleball tournament recently.
The Battleford resident won Gold in Men's Singles 4.0 for ages 60-plus; Silver in Mixed Doubles 4.0 and above for ages 56-plus; and Bronze in Men's Doubles 4.0 and above for ages 50-plus in the Pickleball Trifecta competition held at the Kinsmen Soccer Centre in Saskatoon from June 6 to 8.
For the Men's Doubles, he was partnered with Jason Liu, from Regina, and for Mixed Doubles he was paired with Colleen Moniuk, from Saskatoon.
On his big win in three categories, Semchuk was thrilled but thought he could have won top spot in all categories he competed in.
"I was expecting actually two [more] golds," he said. "I'm very competitive.
"And even though I'm 69, I still feel like I'm 25," Semchuk added. "So the age of the competitor doesn't really bother me at all."
He said after he got into pickleball and got into shape, he didn't want to get out of shape again.
"I'm still maintaining my level of fitness for the last few years," Semchuk said. "So it's kind of fun to stay in shape, because then you don't have to go through that curve of pain [to get back in shape]."
In playing in the Provincials, he said his only challenge was sustaining an injury to the heel of one of his feet about a week before the tournament.
"I rested for the week before the tournament," Semchuk said. "I tried to get it to heal up as much as possible, and then I had to make a plastic cuff for my heel and tape my heel. But every day I played, I got a different wear mark from all the tape. So every day I was dealing with scrapes and heel discomfort, so I had to figure out how to play without that affecting my play."
Semchuk, who is a member of the Battlefords Pickleball Club, said he previously won in the local club's pickleball tourney in April, and picked up Gold in Mixed Doubles with Tricia Heidel in the Open Age event.
He said the duo went 8-0 in the round robin, then 3-0 through the playoff round to capture the title against people who were in their 20s to 50s.
"It was an amazing undefeated run that put big smiles on both our faces," Semchuk said.
The fitness advocate will next compete in nationals in Winnipeg from Aug. 19 to 24.
Semchuk, who is married with two children and several grandchildren, said what he enjoys about pickleball is it's simply a lot of fun to play.
"It's low impact on the body, when you play normally for only two hours every other day," he said. "Plus, it has a very high sociability factor that makes pickleball the most fun game I've ever played."
When he isn't playing pickleball, he enjoys playing disc golf and kayaking to work out.
To other people who are getting older and want to get in shape, Semchuk's advice is just to be active.
"I still feel like I'm in my 20s by staying active and staying in reasonable shape," he said. "I don't feel much different than I did in my 20s."
