Fathers and sons share their passion
It’s all about following in dad’s footsteps as three father-and-son pairs compete at a top canoe polo tournament in Palmerston North.
All three are competing for the Palmerston North Canoe Club at the Oceania Canoe Polo Championship at the Hokowhitu Lagoon.
Representing more than one generation of their families are Greg and Phillip Oke, Carl and Phillip Massarotto, and Greg and Matthew Sawyer.
Greg Sawyer, who plays for the NZ Masters team, said it was rare to have three pairs of parents and kids playing in the same tournament, let alone from the club.
Kids often follow their parents into the sport, but the elders have usually eased back before their juniors reached the same level of competition, Sawyer said.
‘‘People just get older, and they have trouble staying in the game and keeping up with their kids.’’
Greg Oke said their club encouraged the older members to mentor the newer ones, which was probably how they ended up with so many father and son sets.
Constantly playing against each other built the sons’ skills and kept the fathers fit.
‘‘[Our sons] are definitely better than us now, and we’re real proud of that,’’ Greg Oke said.
Both their sons were in the NZ under-21 A team, and were potential picks for the Paddle Blacks teams headed to Poland for the 2017 World Games in July.
New Zealand Canoe Polo Association executive director James Mitchell said the teams were to be chosen based on each athlete’s performance over the full three days.
Mitchell, who played for the NZ Mens A team this weekend, planned to hang up his paddle after 20 years, but said the sport was in good shape.