Athletes sign up for SI Masters Games

Nearly 1000 athletes already signed up for SI Masters Games in Christchurch

Nearly 1000 people have already signed up for the South Island Masters Games in Christchurch in October.

Organiser Chris Thomas said netball, partly as a result of interest in the Silver Ferns in World Cup year, has attracted the biggest field of entries so far.

``We have more than 300 netballers lined up already and we’re sure to get plenty more,’’ he said.

``We are expecting around 3000 athletes to take part in the Games – the biggest sporting event in the South Island this year.’’

Thomas said many athletes are in training including weightlifter Ramon clean, 73, veteran ice skater Jeanne Begej and walker Pat Jeffrey, 82.

Jeffrey is entered in the 50m breaststroke and the 5km walk during the October 11-14 Games.

``I previously helped as a volunteer at the firefighters’ games, disabled games and the masters games before and decided I would compete when I turned 80.

``I broke a leg two years ago so missed out and the event was in Timaru last year so hopefully I’ll be competing in October,’’ Jeffrey said.

Begej was the NZ women’s figure skating champion in 1968 and 1969 and has won a clutch of Masters medals since 1994.

``It’s great to have an event like the Masters Games to compete in. It is another goal to aim for as you get older.’’

Begej has been an international skating judge for nearly 30 years. She is a foreign exchange teller at Christchurch airport.

McLean is competing in the bench press and the pairs mountain bike event
``I am training now so I can bench press 55kg. I used to be into athletics - track, road and cross country. I have won medals and set a 3000m track record of 10min 24.26sec as a 60 year old.

``I started veteran athletics at 40 and decided at 70 that it was time to do something different.’’

It’s not known yet if world record holder Timaru’s Shirley Godkin will compete in October, Godkin set a world indoor rowing record on her home patch last year. The other 2006 world record breaker was Marius Boon of Dunedin who set three NZ lift records and two world records.

Sports for the Games include aerobics, badminton, basketball, billiards, canoeing, kayaking, cycling, football, futsal, golf, gym sports, ice skating, ice hockey, indoor rowing, lawn bowls, mountain biking, netball, petanque, 10k run, five km run, clay target shooting, smallbore shooting, snooker, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis, tenpin bowling, touch rugby, volleyball, walk 10k, five km walk, weightlifting.

Twenty-six Christchurch venues will be used to host the events.

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