Gold medalist at Games

Photo: Wayne Emde

Paralympic gold medalist Darryl Neighbour is competing at the BC 55+ Games.

Darryl Neighbour and his Lower Mainland team of curlers are battling hard against younger opponents at the BC 55+ Games in Vernon.

A gold medal winner with Team Canada at the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver and at past world championships, Neighbour was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame last year – at the same time as Ina Forrest of Armstrong.

His eyes gleam when asked about competing at the international level, but he admitted age was now a factor.

“I'm about to turn 76," he said. 

When asked to compare a major international bonspiel to the four-day BC 55+ Games, Neighbour replied, “It doesn't matter where we go. Curlers are great people.”

Neighbour is not playing wheelchair curling at these games and his team is up against players who are up to 20 years younger.

He said the age difference was a challenge, as his team stood with one win and one loss at noon on Thursday.

For anyone who's suffered a disability, Neighbour advised them “to get out there and enjoy yourself.”

“I was so glad to find curling. It was a reason to get out of bed.”

A natural athlete, the Richmond man was involved in tennis before he switched to a sport that allowed him to travel the world with the likes of Forrest and Vernon's Sonja Gaudet.

Neighbour continues to curl five to six times per week and is involved in two Masters' leagues in Richmond and Vancouver as well as a men's league.