He's 89 and still bowling 'em over

HE MAY have retired more than 30 years ago but avid tenpin bowler Doug Reekie hasn't let the grass grow under his feet.
And the 89-year-old has a goal: "Dad lived to 82, mum to 90-and-a-half. I've got a challenge there."
Mr Reekie, who owned a 32-foot Vindex design boat, retired to Russell in the Bay of Islands when he was 57 "because of the game fishing, I did a lot of that".
"I was stationed in Whangarei during the war and walked all over the north so I knew the area well.
"It gave me a lot of activity. Anyone who retires has to have an activity of some sort to get out from under the wife's feet," he said.
And he enjoyed travelling the world with his wife, Helen, who he married in 1949. Helen has since passed away.
In 1977, the couple moved to Tauranga "for better health facilities".
"I knew the area and had a son here," Mr Reekie said.
It was when he joined Probus that he discovered tenpin bowling.
"We were taken to tenpin bowling with a group from here. I fell in love with the game and luckily my wife enjoyed it too," he said.
Mr Reekie plays in four leagues each week, for enjoyment, health and social reasons. Every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday he plays three games each lasting an hour to an hour-and-three-quarters.
"More people should use it, it's marvellous. It's inside, you don't have to get wet or cold. It's 90 per cent women, most of the men are dead," he said.
"It's really quite social, I do really enjoy it. We have lunch, catch up on gossip. We play in the over-55 group and it doesn't matter if you are playing with an experienced player as we have a handicap system."
"I have a bad hip but I keep active. I can handle a short walk to send a bowl down and if it gets that bad I can shorten the walk up.
"I'm too busy with bowls now, I'd really miss it if I couldn't go."
However, this is not the only activity Mr Reekie has had a go at. He was a Padi qualified scuba diver and three years ago jumped from 3048m during a tandem sky dive.
"I thought why am I here. Just once, that'll be the last one," he said.
And he has also shot the rapids on the Everest River in Nepal and the Mohaka and Queenstown Rivers about 15 years ago, "when I was quite young".
Fellow tenpin player Ted Betts, 76, who has been playing for the past 10 years, is full of respect for Mr Reekie.
"He plays very well, usually playing better than I do and he doesn't miss very many games. He is an inspiration to me. I can beat him at times but as a rule he beats me and has a very bad habit of being behind and beating you on the last frame."