Whangarei veteran tennis players still loving the sport at 90

Cynthia Voss has been playing tennis for 40 years now and at age 90 she's still got a killer serve and powerful forehand.

And fellow Whangarei Veterans Tennis Club member Ron Diment admits after a heart operation he isn't as fast as he used to be but at 90 he can still get round the court and play a good rally.

Ron Diment has slowed up a bit after a heart operation but still loves playing a game of tennis after turning 90. PHOTO/ Michael Cunningham

Cynthia Voss still loves tennis at the age of 90. PHOTO/ Michael Cunningham

They are the oldest playing members of the club and this week they were on the courts at the Thomas Neale Tennis Centre in Kamo enjoying a few games and a delicious morning tea where club members sang happy birthday to the pair.

Voss took up the sport aged 50 while living in Auckland and said some of the younger members at that club were not all that supportive.

"I always wanted to play and it was time to start doing something for myself. I just happened to get a pamphlet to join the club at the same time.

"Of course it was all young people and they thought 'who is this old girl?'. It was a bit difficult that first year," Voss recalls.

But steely determination saw her stick with the sport and at the end of the first year she was awarded the most improved player.

When she and her husband, Roy, moved to Waipu Cove 25 years ago she joined the Whangarei Veterans Tennis Club.

Since then the great-grandmother has gone on to play for the Northland Tennis Seniors at national tournaments. She quietly points out that also in her late 50s she took up water skiing but doesn't continue to do that sport these days.

Her 66-year-old daughter Diane Voss also plays tennis at the club and together they share the driving - a 100km round trip twice a week for tennis.

As for how long she will keep playing she reckons: "That's in the lap of the gods. But I suppose as long as the body will let me."

For former market gardener Diment a heart attack has slowed him up but he's determined to not let it keep him off the courts.

Diment, also an accomplished indoor and outdoor bowler and table tennis player, said tennis was more than just a game - along with keeping him fit and active, the company was invaluable.

He reckons he's been playing tennis for 20 years or so, but it's likely to be longer. He likes the old adage of "use it or lose it" and even after a heart operation he continues to play.

Whangarei Veterans Tennis Club members going strong at the Thomas Neale Tennis Courts in Kamo. PHOTO/ Michael Cunningham

"I like the exercise but I'm a bit slower than I used to be and the others take advantage of that. I turn up and just keep going," Diment said with a laugh.

"I'm going to keep going until I stop."

Club president Alice Ottley said most club members were in their 60s or older but there were a few young ones in their 50s.

"It's a friendly and supportive club with a great bunch of people supporting it," Ottley said.

They play on Tuesdays and Fridays even in miserable weather.