Dennis Drake used to think when you got to 40, that was the end of your sporting career.
But then four years ago, he began playing masters hockey and his perspective has changed.
"It gives you new goals to focus on," he said.
The 52-year-old, who plays for this year's premier men's champions
Maungakaramea, has been selected once again for the New Zealand Masters 50s side, who will contest the Hong Kong International Masters Hockey Tournament and has his sights set on winning the age-group.
Mangapai's Steve Shepherd, 40, will also be competing at the event for NZ Masters 40s team - making his representative debut.
The duo were selected at the conclusion of the National Masters Tournament in Hamilton earlier this year and have put in a solid seven months of preparation for the event.
"The training has been hard, especially since the hockey season has finished," Drake said.
"We've had to keep our fitness up as we have set levels - and we had to report in to NZ Masters saying how our training was going.
"It paid to be truthful as we were tested when we went to our training camps."
Drake joined the 50s masters, who stem from all corners of the country, at Tauranga for their pre-tournament training camp, while Shepherd's team gathered at Nelson.
Shepherd's dedication to training and his team ahead of the tournament has seen him lose 20kg.
"He is getting around the field with a lot of speed after working hard on his fitness," Drake said.
Also selected from Whangarei for the tournament was Barry Thorne and Paul Snelling but both had to pull out due to injuries.
"Barry Thorne was our captain in the past ... he cleans up the mess in the midfield so he will be missed."
Drake and Shepherd leave for Hong Kong on Thursday, ahead of the opening match on October 24 where they will go up against teams from Australia, Brunei, England, Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Spain and Pakistan.
