The New Zealand Masters Games organising bodies chief executive is confident that wet weather and a world championship in 77 days time will not bite the Whanganui hosted event too badly ahead of the start of competition tomorrow.
Events Trust chief executive Kathy Cunningham is estimating that with any last minute registrations the total entry for this year's 28th annual event will be somewhere between 4250 to 4390, "which makes me happy".
The 26th edition of the games in Whanganui 2015 attracted over 5000 competitors and supporters for nine days of competition, including 1600 locals.
One possible deterrent this year was the World Masters Games in Auckland, which will attract 25,000 entries for 100 countries, starting April 21.
With expenses always a factor, many upper North Island sports people may prefer to skip Whanganui to cover some of their entry fees into the international event, however Cunningham said there is room on the plate to do both.