Pahīatua team marching their way to friendship

Carol Allmand, Gillian Patterson, Georgia Towler, Sophie Griffiths and Sara Cook decided to take up leisure marching for fun and fitness.

When Sophie Griffiths was growing up, marching was pretty much a constant in her life.

Her mum was involved in leisure marching and Sophie also participated in competitive marching.

So when the idea came about to start a leisure marching team in Pahīatua, Sophie thought it was something she could be a part of.

She now runs the Facebook page for the Pahīatua Aviators, so named for the plane that sits at one end of the town.

It’s a small team, with five members: Sophie, Sara Cook, Georgia Towler, Gillian Patterson and Carol Allmand, as well as coach Margaret Cook.

So they’re looking for a few more members and are hoping that once the weather warms up, they’ll get a few more coming along.

Sara, whose mum was also involved in competitive marching, says they decided to do leisure marching to take the competitive aspect out of it.

Sophie puts the team through their paces.

While there is a leisure marching team in Dannevirke and further south, the team wanted Pahīatua to have “something of its own”.

With leisure marching, the emphasis is on having fun and building friendships and fitness, while having a few laughs.

“We just do our best and as long as we have a good time, nothing else matters.”

The team meets on Wednesday nights at Pahiatua Marae from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.

Anyone interested in getting involved can contact them through their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095395504027 or by sending a message to phone number 0272171569.