Whanganui launch for revamped 30th New Zealand Masters Games

A reinvigorated New Zealand Masters Games launched in Whanganui on Friday night with pleas for the city to get behind the iconic event.

The Cooks Gardens launch marked 30 weeks until the 30th edition of the Games which will run from February 1-10 next year.

Aside from it being a milestone event, all eyes will be on how successful it will be following a revamp.

Friday night's ceremony featured a raising of three flags — the original Masters Games flag, a new one and the New Zealand flag — to accompaniment from bagpipes.

Four Games ambassadors were announced by Sport Whanganui chief executive Danny Jonas.

They are cycling legend Ron Cheatley; former netballer Cindy Hoskin, who has represented Whanganui in several sports; 61-cap Silver Fern and Whanganui-born Jodi Brown; and former All Black turned Whanganui police officer Glen Osborne — and they are all charged with promoting the event.

Cheatley encourage the city to get behind the Games to "create a spectacle that visitors enjoy so much that they all want to return".

Event manager Tasha Parker said there would be new sports next year, including weightlifting, events for para athletes and even mobility scooter racing. The Games are being billed as "10 days of sport and 10 nights of entertainment".

Early bird registrations on a revamped website will open on August 8.

Mayor Hamish McDouall expected a strong contingent from Dunedin, which hosts the Games on alternate years, and Whanganui's sister city Nagaizumi in Japan.

"It gives a real adrenaline shot to the whole district for the start of the year and it's a huge economic benefit — and last of all it's a lot of fun."