Downer NZ Masters Games organisers already looking towards next event

Crowds gathered at Wembley Park for Masters football over the weekend. photo / Bevan Conley

Organisers of the 2021 Downer New Zealand Masters Games breathed a sigh of relief on Sunday evening, after the week-long event wrapped up an hour after new Covid-19 alert level 2 restrictions were announced.

Whanganui Masters Games Trust chairman Leighton Toy said he was "really pleased" with how the event ran.

"The whole village environment was really good, but also the support that you get from local businesses and sport co-ordinators was just brilliant," Toy said.

"They [sports co-ordinators] are the ones who actually deliver the Games, so without them we're not really an event.

The Master Games remained a "great advert for Whanganui", Toy said.

"There were over 3000 registrants coming to town, let alone their supporters.

"It's brilliant that they get such a good reception from the locals here, both throughout town and throughout the sports codes.

"From a trust perspective, we're fortunate to have a really competent manager in Rachel [O'Connor], and also the team she had wrapped around her. It's a tough, taxing event to put on, and they did a smashing job."

Toy said he had managed to get on the podium twice himself during the Games.

"I won a gold in the mixed six-a-side football, and another in the twilight lawn bowls.

"The shoulders are sore from carrying all that gold around."

Whanganui Masters Games Trust chairman Leighton Toy. Photo / Paul Brooks

Games manager Rachel O'Connor, who competed in netball and twilight bowls, said the closing ceremony finished around 8pm on Sunday, just after the Government announced new Covid-19 alert level 2 restrictions would come into place at 11.59pm that evening.

"We managed to pull the event off, which was good," O'Connor said.

"I think it went really well. Everyone seemed to be happy and positive, and there was some good competition out there.

"We were really lucky with the weather as well. We couldn't have got a better forecast."

The final number of participants was 4852, an increase of around 600 from the 2018 event.

O'Connor said they had focused on the "next wave" of competitors entering Masters competitions - those aged between 30 and 45 - in a bid to attract even more competitors to the event in 2023.

"At the moment we're trying to get everything packed down before the weather takes a turn for the worse.

"There are always a few things that happen in the event industry, like last minute changes and stuff, but all in all it's gone well."

Official feedback on the 2021 event would be sought over the next few months, O'Connor said.

Mayor Hamish McDouall speaks during the 2021 Downer Masters Games opening ceremony. Photo / Paul Brooks

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said he announced his retirement from test cricket at the opening ceremony of the Masters, but that didn't stop him competing in the cricket and football competitions during the week.

"Overall, it's just incredible to see the numbers, especially in some of the team sports," McDouall said.

"I think women's football was almost twice what it was last time.

"The numbers are one thing, but the spirit that it was held in was great."

McDouall had been to the Games Hub fives times during the week, he said.

"It was great, everyone was behaving themselves, and what was really cool was seeing 30-year-old footballers talking to 70-year-olds who'd just finished bowls or golf or fishing.

"To see everyone mixing and having a good time was tremendous."

McDouall's one-game stint for Marist in the 50-plus football competition had taught him a lesson, he said.

"Here I am in my early 50s and yet these people who were 10 or 15 years my senior were running right past me.

"It's a real tribute to their fitness, I tell you."

McDouall's "Style Council" cricket team, comprising members of the Whanganui District Council, hadn't managed to secure a medal.

"We got a medal for fair play and spirit, rather than actually winning anything," McDouall said.

"We met a lot of great people, and we even played against an ex-Black Cap, which was pretty cool."