NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport

The AIMS Games' golden oldies

By Keri Welham
NZ Herald·
8 Sep, 2016 07:40 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Jack Kildare, 77, leads his fellow rest home residents from Cambridge Resthaven as they cheer for Cambridge Middle School netball team at the 2016 AIMS Games. Photo / NZCT AIMS Games

Jack Kildare, 77, leads his fellow rest home residents from Cambridge Resthaven as they cheer for Cambridge Middle School netball team at the 2016 AIMS Games. Photo / NZCT AIMS Games

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A kids' netball team from Cambridge has been adopted by an unlikely fan club - a sprightly cheer squad from the local retirement village.

Their voices were soft, their gait was a shuffle but the cheerleaders from Cambridge Resthaven retirement village shook those blue tinsel pom-poms like their ageing hands were on fire.

The elderly sports fans were courtside at Mount Maunganui's Harbourside Netball Centre this week to support their team - the 12 and 13-year-olds from Cambridge Middle School's top netball side. Cambridge Middle School (CMS) is among 110 netball teams at the NZCT AIMS Games intermediate schools' competition in Tauranga.

The eight cheerleaders sat in a row of deckchairs, with their backs to the wind and their team's fleecy CMS jackets draped over their laps.

There was Garry Blayney, "92 not out" and a former principal of intermediate schools in Wainuiomata and Invercargill. He knew all about the pluckiness and determination of children this age.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And there was tall and fit Geoff Walker, 80, who once played in a Chatham Cup-winning Eastern Districts football team and vividly recalls the graft and gratification of sporting victory.

And Del Sinnott, 75, whose only grandchild lives in London. This courtside seat was a welcome substitute to being sideline at her own grandchild's sports events, she said. She wondered aloud if the cheerleaders might attract some attention on social media.

"Facebook?" she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Twitter? Snapchat?"

The cheerleaders connected with CMS through Resthaven's project and sales manager Sandy Bennett, whose daughter Ashley plays GK for the team. When the residents heard CMS was heading to the AIMS Games, they held a bake sale, raised $307, and had the players over for afternoon tea.

Over tea and cake, former insurance rep Jack Kildare, 77, introduced the girls to a mantra which helped him stay ahead of the competition back when he played golf with a handicap of just 2: It's not over till it's over.

As the team faced Baradene College in a lively first-round play-off, the cheerleaders were there. Jack held a wee sign printed with the mantra, which he unfurled and held aloft when needed.

But one cheerleader was missing. Netball fan Pat McEwan, 83, fell seriously ill this week and by Wednesday morning her family had gathered at her bedside. Just before the cheer squad left for the Games, she gave Sandy a message for the team: "Tell them to reach for the stars."

CMS took the court undefeated in five games. They'd qualified top of their pool and hoped for a top 16 placing in New Zealand's biggest netball tournament. Last year the school claimed 14th place.

The AIMS Games bring together 9300 competitors from 271 schools for a six-day multi-code sporting event. An estimated 7000 supporters make the pilgrimage to watch young New Zealanders compete at the event but few travel over the Kaimai Range in a retirement village van with pom poms and homemade signs.

Head cheerleader Alan Luxton, 84, led a chant: "Who are we? CMS. Yes, yes, YES."
Jack rose to his feet. The other cheerleaders edged to the front of their deckchairs.
Cambridge Middle School won 27-23. Parents leapt in the air, players hugged and the cheerleaders stood and shyly shuffled forward.

Jack held open his sign. "Remember this," he said.

The netballers were giddy. Their cheerleaders had spurred them on. They had felt the excitement and energy from the sideline.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We had someone to work for," team captain Mandi Portegys, 13, said. "It made us feel like what we did was good."

The cheerleaders clutched their pom poms and pulled their jackets tight. The sky was growing dark, their thoughts were with their friend Pat and they had a long trip home ahead. As they turned to leave, a sing-song teenage chorus echoed around court 8: "Thank you for coming".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Boxing

'It's all on the line': Boxing legends prepare for final bout

Boxing

Sonny Bill Williams vs Paul Gallen weigh-in

Watch
Warriors

Capewell returns, back in centres as Warriors name side to face Knights


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

'It's all on the line': Boxing legends prepare for final bout
Boxing

'It's all on the line': Boxing legends prepare for final bout

Each boxer will earn $1 million, as they close out their feud.

15 Jul 07:45 AM
Sonny Bill Williams vs Paul Gallen weigh-in
Boxing

Sonny Bill Williams vs Paul Gallen weigh-in

Watch
15 Jul 07:25 AM
Capewell returns, back in centres as Warriors name side to face Knights
Warriors

Capewell returns, back in centres as Warriors name side to face Knights

15 Jul 06:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP