Going for gold is fit for thousands

Sydney will be the global sports hub this October when the world’s largest social sporting event, The World Masters Games, comes to town.

Bringing together approximately 25,000 people from upwards of 100 countries to compete in 28 different sports, the World Masters Games promotes, ‘lifelong competition, friendship and understanding between people in the world of sport regardless of their background or skill level’.

Promoting physical fitness and health, in some cases the games will also see handicapped athletes competing alongside those without any registered disability.

Like the Olympics, The World Masters is held every four years, but this is where the similarity ends. With an emphasis on participation and mature age exercise, these games attract more than twice the competitors of the Olympics, with 65 per cent of the athletes  between 41 and 60-years-old. This year one third of the competitors will be from NSW.

51-year-old Paddington advertising stylist and amateur long-distance swimmer Kathy Mckinnon is competing for the first time in the three-kilometre ocean swim.

She says the lure of competing against the world’s best in her age group was just too good to pass up.

“I competed at school but not anywhere else until a couple of years ago when I competed in a local Ocean Swim,” said Ms McKinnon.

“I just thought the Games would be amazing to compete in such a huge international event in my home town.”

Despite her excitement, Ms McKinnon’s aspirations are modest: ”It’s a fitness thing for me, a personal goal.

“I train at Bondi Icebergs about twice a week and if I finish in the midfield I’ll be happy. I can’t wait. I think the group participation thing and the whole spirit of the event will be great.”

Held at Chowder Bay in Mosman, the ocean swim is just one of the 28 sports on the World Masters Games program. Everything from archery to weightlifting is on the agenda at more than 70 venues throughout the city, with Sydney Olympic Park as its home base.

One-time Commonwealth Games competitor David Buck is beginning to get back into the swing of things for the World Masters table tennis event.

The 37-year-old Woolloomooloo resident admits the games were a great excuse to revive his love of the sport: “With the World Masters coming up, it’s such a big event I thought, yeah lets start playing again.

“I’ve played most major events like the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, but the World Masters has got to be the biggest event for people over 35, next to the Olympics.

“I captained the NSW Table Tennis team in about 2003 and then in 2006 I was selected to play table tennis for Wales as I was unable to play for Australia then.

“After that I tried to make a bit of a comeback but realised the training meant three and four nights a week and I just couldn’t devote the time to it. Competing in the Masters for me is just about having fun and enjoying the whole experience.”

by Ceinwen Brown