Terry Farrell
Record staff
Coffee lovers in the Comox Valley know how good Dyan Spink’s product is, but even she could never have predicted that it would lead to a gold medal … in golf.
“It all started when the Comox Valley hosted the BC Seniors Games,” said Spink, who owns Royston Roasting Company, with her husband, Gary.
The local Salvation Army held the coffee contract for the Games, and approached Royston Roasting Company about supplying the coffee.
“We were donating coffee to the Sally Ann… whenever we had extra coffee we would donate it to them - it was sort of like the ‘official coffee’ of the Sally Ann,” said Dyan. “So when they got the Senior Games contract they asked if we could handle it.”
She said the event was incredible.
“I had so much fun. I met athletes from all over B.C. and they were saying ‘you should be in it (competing)’. I was 54 at the time and you have to be 55 to compete. So the next year I turned 55, and I put my name in.”
Dyan signed up to try out for the North Island golf team. It so happened that the qualification tournament for the 2011 BC Seniors Games was at Dyan’s home course - Sunnydale.
“I was nice and comfortable with the course, which helped me get a good score, and got me on the team.”
Dyan went on to win the gold medal in the women’s 55-59 division at the 2011 BC Seniors Games, held in the West Kootenays.
And promptly retired.
“This is so funny… The next year (2012) the Games were in Burnaby. They called me up and said, ‘Hey, you should try out’ and I was, like, ‘Well, I got a gold. There’s only downhill from there. I think I’m good thanks’,” she said, laughing. “So I actually haven’t been back.”
She might “come out of retirement” soon, however.
Spink turned 60 this year, which would put her in a new age category.
“I might have to think about that.”
Looking back at the 2010 Games, Spink says that experience was invaluable for her business.
“It was really well received. The promotion was fantastic. We were a new company then and everyone in the community saw that I was the coffee of the Senior Games.”
As for her coffee, just how good is it?
It’s “it took less time to write this last line than it took to read it” good.