Fiona Innis prepares to pass the ball to her scrimmage teammate, Joyce Poole, as Suz Park anticipates an interception. In the background, Nady Dadmehr, Benita Black and Lorna Beatty position themselves for support during a Toronto Chill practice in February, 2025.Alex Franklin
In this series, Reimagining Wealth, we explore the evolving definition of wealth in today’s world. We meet Canadians who are thinking beyond traditional measures of success to maximize happiness and build more fulfilling lives.
It started with a shattered ankle, then a broken wrist – and before she knew it, Vicky Merrick was benched.
At the time, she was in her mid-50s, so being sidelined by injury didn’t come as a complete shock. But it still smarted. Ms. Merrick had a lengthy history of playing basketball, from her days as a student on Toronto Metropolitan University’s varsity team to Friday night pickup games later in life.
“So I was like, ‘I guess I’m a fan now. I’m going to get my pompoms,” she recalls.
But cheering on other teams wasn’t enough. Neither was staying active through yoga, swimming or pickleball as she entered her 60s. Ms. Merrick yearned for the competitive thrill of team sport and the feeling of being utterly present while building trust in her teammates.
“It just brings me alive,” she says of playing on a team. “It turns the switch and I’m on.”
Happily, she was able to flip that switch again after her sister sent her videos of women, middle-aged and older, playing something called “granny basketball” in the U.S. There was an active league with teams sprouting up everywhere from California to Iowa. The organization’s website calls the sport “a gentle game for women of a certain age.”
In other words, fewer chances of busted ankles and wrists.
Curious, Ms. Merrick reached out to the organizers for details. She discovered that any woman 50 and older can join and the rules are different from traditional basketball – players stay in designated zones, while running and dribbling results in fouls. Teams sport goofball names like Late Bloomers, The Hot Flashes, Indy Pacemakers and the Silver Belles. Clearly, the “grannies” don’t take themselves too seriously.
But it wasn’t until Ms. Merrick travelled to Minneapolis to watch a tournament that she fully grasped the zany, yet accessible, beauty of the game. Families and friends cheered the players on as they sunk baskets in team shirts, knee-tall socks – and billowy bloomers.
“Oh my gosh, they were having such a ball,” says Ms. Merrick, now 64. “I just wanted to get my shoes on and go out there. ‘Pass me the ball! Show me how to do this!’” That day inspired her to create a granny basketball team – Toronto Chill – the first one in Canada. “I literally could not wait to get back and get started.”
Health and social benefits
Benita Black prepares to pass the ball to her scrimmage teammate, Jill Kohlsmith, as Nady Dadmehr moves in to intercept.Alex Franklin
The old saying, “You’ve got nothing without your health,” rings true for many adults entering retirement. After all, retirement savings are most valuable when you’re healthy enough to use them. Whether trying a new sport or hitting the tennis court, swimming pool or walking track, staying active is its own kind of wealth.
Unfortunately, most older Canadians are not taking heed. According to the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, sport participation decreases with age, with only 9 per cent of women over 65 taking part.
Joyce Poole, 69, retired as a chaplain in 2016 and joined Toronto Chill in 2023 after seeing Ms. Merrick on morning television. With two knee replacements and a heart condition, Ms. Poole says she needed to keep moving. Though she hadn’t played basketball since the 1970s, she jumped in and expanded her social circle.
“They’re a really great group of women. It’s a big social outlet for everybody,” says Ms. Poole, team captain. “And it doesn’t matter how you play, it’s all about having fun.”
Team member Lorna Beatty, 65, notes that granny basketball is designed to go easy on aging joints, bones and muscles.
“You don’t have to be part warrior or part accomplished athlete to play. It’s more about strategy,” she says. “It’s surprising the number of people who come out who say they never played team sports and play well now.”
On the hunt for competition
Canada’s first granny basketball team, Toronto Chill, after practice. Back row (from left): Fiona Innis, Nady Dadmehr, Suz Park, Carole Robotham, Vicky Merrick (coach), Jill Kohlsmith, Lorna Beatty, Leslie Jordan. Front row (from left): Benita Black, Dorothy Du, Joyce Poole (captain).Alex Franklin
Confidence can be a major barrier to taking up a new sport later in life, especially for mature women who rarely see themselves in sports media. Opportunities like “old-timers” hockey leagues – common for men – are harder to come by. Ms. Merrick says that family responsibilities put an end to her own basketball playing for decades. After so much time, it can be tough to convince yourself you still have what it takes.
But granny basketball, with its goofy uniforms and anyone-can-play attitude, helps knock down those barriers. As word gets out, more women across Toronto are giving it a shot, and interest is growing.
Now, Toronto Chill just needs some Canadian competition. Ms. Merrick, the team’s coach, says her next goal is to build a league across Ontario and beyond. She’s happy to talk to anyone interested in starting a team and much of the administrative groundwork – like adjusting insurance for Canadian players – is already in place.
“For me, playing this game, teaching people, and having others come alongside who might want to invest in a Canadian league – I’ll talk to someone every day if I have to,” she says. “There’s definitely a richness to life when you’re doing what it feels like you’re meant to do.”