Countdown to Masters begins
Kiwis have just one month left to register for the world’s largest multi-sport event taking place in Auckland and Cambridge this year.
World Masters Games 2017 (WMG2017) will see some 25,000 participants taking part in 28 sports across 48 venues in Auckland and the Waikato from April 21-30.
Registrations for the games close on Friday, March 3.
WMG2017 Chief Executive Jennah Wootten said more than 20,000 athletes and almost 2000 supporters have already registered for the unique event but time is running out to commit.
‘‘We’ve had a fantastic response from sports fans in New Zealand and around the world with athletes now registered from 93 different countries,’’ she said.
‘‘In fact, internationals outnumber Kiwis by some margin which is a great result from the perspective of incremental GDP and visitor nights.’’
Competitors are coming in large numbers from Australia, Canada, UK, USA, Sweden, Finland, Japan, Germany, South Africa and Brazil.
‘‘Around 8000 New Zealanders have also joined up so far but as the host nation, we hope we can do better,’’ Wootten said.
‘‘This is a callout to all New Zealand sports lovers to take on the world. Six sports are fully sold out and others are nearing capacity, but many sports remain open – like netball, basketball, touch, baseball, water polo, rugby, the 10km and half marathon, ocean swim, dragon boat, triathlon, table tennis, lawn bowls, sailing and selected cycling disciplines.’’
The six sold-out sports are archery, football, golf, hockey, squash and softball. With thousands of competitors taking part in these sports alone, the Masters Games promise to pack out host venues across Auckland during the 10-day event in April. There are 48 venues stretching from North Auckland to the Waikato.
As with all other World Masters Games, there is no need to qualify or be selected to compete. Anybody over the minimum age for their chosen sport can take part. Entry ages vary by sport but generally start at 30 or 35 years.
The Masters Games also feature 11 para-sports which are open to anyone over the minimum age who meet the disability classification requirements.