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Wednesday, 21 March 2007 |
History
The Masters Games is a multi-sport event that offers "mature"
participants the opportunity to interact with each other in a range of sporting
and social activities.
The philosophy of Masters Games is one of
participation with competition being important but not all-important.
HISTORY:
- The very first Masters Games event was the World Masters
Games, held in 1985 in Canada. This event attracted 8,305 competitors from 61
different countries.
- The 1994 World Masters Games held in Brisbane, Australia
attracted whopping 24,000 athletes from 71 countries. A marked increase from the
very first games!
- Following this, national events began to surface. The
first Australian Masters Games was held in 1987.
- The very first New Zealand Masters Games event was held in
Wanganui in 1989.
- Originally the NZ Masters Games was to be a biannual event
held only in Wanganui. However, Dunedin entered a bid to host the Games in
Wanganui's off-season.
- Since 1991, the Games have been held every year,
alternating between Wanganui in the odd years and Dunedin in the even years.
- The NZ Masters Games have been running for 16 years thus
far. 2008 will be Dunedin's 9th Games.
- The minimum age to participate is 30 years in most sports.
However, Ice Figure Skating is open to those over 18 years of age whilst croquet is only
open to those over 50 years!
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