A healthy lifestyle is the surest way to longevity.
We have all heard the fitness gurus who tell us exercise and diet are the most important ingredients to good health and a long life.
I would like to add a third condition - enjoyment. If you are not enjoying life, the other two seem pointless.I have a brother, now 95 years old, who had been active all his life, but age has finally caught up with him. He was ordered by his doctor to give up tennis at the age of 85, so he took to swimming daily. Now he is still living on his own and able to cope, though his hearing and sight are diminishing rapidly.
I am 75 years old. My brother introduced me to tennis at the age of 11. I am still enjoying the game with many friends who are well into their 60s and 70s. At the peak of my playing, since retirement in 1991, I was playing four or five times a week, both outdoors and at the Grant Connell Centre in North Vancouver.
The population on the Sunshine Coast is growing rapidly and more older people are retiring here. As the aging population requests more services, the younger providers will be able to find a base here to settle and raise their families.
There are so many opportunities here on the Coast for young families to become actively involved. The latest is the upcoming project of a year-round indoor community tennis facility, which is to be built at the Sunshine Coast Arena site off Lighthouse Avenue in Sechelt.
The Suncoast Racquet Club (SRC) has been in existence for more than 14 years and is now in the throes of a membership drive and a fundraising campaign.
After the loss of the Wakefield tennis bubble, the group worked hard to obtain from the District of Sechelt a lease for the land at the southwest corner of the arena property on which to build a permanent indoor tennis facility.
Together with a grant from the District, their own funds collected over the years and a recent drive to amass more funding, the total is now in excess of $160,000 - not too far from the point of being able to put the two courts planned in place.
The covering structure will be leased, with the payback monies coming from the regular income attained by use of the facility. However, before the leasing company will entertain this, certain guarantees have to be made - that there is a viable base of users and a steady monthly income that is sufficient to make the required payments.
The SRC, that will be managing the facility, has estimated that 80 members are required, as a minimum, to sustain a viable position. There are currently over 50, with more joining as a result of the membership drive.
If you are interested in tennis or wish to get your family involved, we urge you to join now, to attain that 80 membership figure as quickly as possible and in order that construction can start this spring. There are various categories of membership available, including junior, family and senior rates.
Currently underway is a Valentine's limited time offer for purchasing a membership prior to Feb. 14 and receiving a second membership at 50 per cent off. Each new member will get a bonus gift voucher redeemable at Trail Bay Source for Sports for a similar arrangement with equipment purchase.
To join or for more information, call 604-885-6440.
