Photo from left: Councillor Scott Morrison, Kelly Haywood, Mayor Nancy Alcock, Pachi the Mascot, OSGA representative Daria Thompson, Games Ambassador George Nickerson, and Kathleen Tiede at the 100 Days Out event.
There was plenty of good will and good energy to go around at the Summit Centre on October 27.
Organizers, sponsors, participants, and well-wishers were celebrating the official announcement of the 2026 Ontario Senior Games Association (OSGA) 55-plus Winter Games 100 days out, with the countdown beginning.
Even Pachi the porcupine, the official OSGA mascot, was on hand.
The Games will be hosted by Huntsville, with venues from Sundridge to Gravenhurst also being used, from Feb. 3 to 6. It is expected that over 1,000 athletes will be in town to compete in one of the 14 events taking place, while it’s estimated that another 500 to 1,000 family members and supporters will also attend.
It’s a significant boost to the economy during the shoulder season, explains Games chair and town councillor Scott Morrison.
“It hits so many of our strategic initiatives,” he says. “We’re trying to grow our tourism base outside of the summer season. And midweek in the winter, which is this February 2026, hits that on all levels. So, it’s great for our local business and accommodators to use. But also, we love the demographic of 55 plus.”
There are 11 main sports and three demonstration events taking place, this includes figure skating, which will take place for the first time ever at a 55-plus Games.
Other events are badminton, hockey, curling, stick curling, table tennis, volleyball, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, prediction skating, duplicate bridge, contract bridge, and the other two demonstration sports, snowshoe racing and fat biking.
Huntsville Games ambassador George Nickerson will be competing in his fourth 55-plus Winter Games as a hockey player.
“This February’s version of the Winter Games will foster association through sport,” says Nickerson. “It will provide participants the opportunity for active living in a safe and supportive environment. There are clear links between healthy aging, enriched community spirit, and participation in sports like hockey . . . physical health gains are very evident, but the hidden treasure is social health.”
In addition to being active, there is incredible mental health and social benefits of the Games, explains Morrison.
“Anytime we have events like this, it gets people thinking about getting no cross-country skiing or playing more hockey or anything at all,” says Morrison. “There is duplicate bridge as one of the events, so that’s not all that active, so it’s not just physical well-being, but also mental well-being. So that kind of stuff, being involved in something you’re passionate about, is really good for your mental well-being.”
Huntsville is hosting the 55-Plus Winter Games for the third time. Several of the organizing committee members have been a part of all three.
One of them is Kelly Haywood, executive director of the Huntsville Municipal Accommodation Tax Association (HMATA), who says one of the missions of her current organization, as well as her former one, the Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce, is to “flatten the curve” in terms of the tourism economy’s peaks and valleys.
“Huntsville’s winter activities and nearby locations for skating and skiing, like Arrowhead Provincial Park, set the community apart from other destinations,” she says. “Combined with fantastic food and beverage options and world-class accommodations, it allows Huntsville to continue to host amazing events like this one.”
The event schedule begins with an Opening Ceremony on February 3, featuring a performance by the Huntsville Skating Club, which Olympian Kurt Browning helped coordinate.
February 4 will feature sporting events as well as a Middle Night celebration that will take place in the downtown core. Main Street will be lit up beautifully, and more information will be available closer to the date.
Then February 5 concludes with the final day of events and the closing ceremony.
To make it all happen and ensure the Games are as successful as possible, the organizers are asking for community members to volunteer a bit of their time throughout the three-day event (and leading up to it).
In total, they’ll likely need around 300 people in a variety of roles to help. There will be some perks, including a volunteer appreciation event after the Games, as well as the chance to meet new people.
Morrison says the community has a history of stepping up when it counts, particularly to help with events like the Games, and that the organizing committee is full of excellent people who have set the foundation.
“We need volunteers, and I know that the town will step up, they always do, and this is a fun event to be involved in,” he says. “You can be a part of something high-level very intense, really competitive … So, to be involved in something like that should be a lot of fun and hopefully that helps us get the volunteers we need.”
To find out more, volunteer, or learn how to be a participant in an event, visit: https://www.huntsville2026.ca/
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Is the mascot on vacation , cause that looks like a racoon not a porcupine ! Maybe that is the look of a 55+ porcupine .
Congrats on the event folks !