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Older
they get, the better they were
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The
ADF men’s and women’s basketball sides at the
World Masters Games in Melbourne.
Photo by FSGT Tassie Horvat.
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An Australian
Defence Force Basketball Association (ADFBA) Olds and Bolds team
recently competed in the 2002 World Masters Games in Melbourne.
The World Masters Games is one of the biggest multi-sports events
consisting of 24,805 competitors, 2892 accompanying persons, 443
officials and 4000 volunteers.
The ADFBA men’s team nominated in the over-35s and women in
the over-30s, competing against teams with international, national
and local A-grade players.
One of the highlights was the men’s tight tussle with the Estonian
team, unfortunately resulting in a loss of seven points. Another
highlight (high being the operative word) was playing against the
Russian team. The Russian team’s smallest competitor was slightly
taller than our tallest player.
The women’s team played very well against teams consisting
of ex-women’s National Basketball League players. Although
coming together for the first time at the event and never having
trained together, they played against well-coached sides and had
some very close contests.
Through consistent performances both ADF sides reached the bronze
medal play-offs.
The men’s game was against a New Zealand team, with the ADF
improving remarkably, considering New Zealander’s won by more
than 40 points in the prelim games, and then by only ten points
in the bronze play-off.
The women saw a similar turnaround and held their own until late
into the second half, eventually losing by 20 points.
The events gave Defence members a chance of meeting some of their
idols to compete against a diverse range of international, national
and local competitors in a very friendly atmosphere. Remember the
beauty about Masters is that, ‘the older you get, the better
you were’.
The proposed itinerary involving the ADFBA Olds and Bolds is: Australian
Masters in Canberra 2003; Honda Masters in Alice Springs 2004; 2005
World Masters Games in Edmonton, Canada 2005.
Any current member of the ADF is eligible to join the Olds and Bolds,
just drop an e-mail to mark.thomas2@defence.gov.au.
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