Mello Yellos are entering their 16th season in the Whanganui twilight football league. Photo / Supplied
Mello Yellos are entering their 16th season in the Whanganui twilight football league. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand is known to be a sports-mad country.
But the madness doesn't always mean high-level competition, with a kick-around on a Wednesday night or a catch-up for a round of twilight golf more than enough to scratch that competitive itch.
Mike Tweed investigates the social sports scene in Whanganui.
For 16 seasons the Mello Yellos have entered the Whanganui twilight football league and team stalwart Dion Frew says "upwards of 50 people" had been through the ranks during that time.
Frew's partner, Aimee Ashworth, is the only original member left, and continues to be the de facto manager.
"Aimee's managed to keep the band together, and her organisation of the entire thing makes it easy and enjoyable," Frew said.
"You can just show up and have a kick around.
"There's always that question of 'do I want to go this week?', but when you get there and the sun is shining you always enjoy it and get that rush of kicking someone in the shins."
Frew said the sheer amount of people at Wembley Park on any given game day meant there was always someone to have a chat and a beer with.
"There are literally hundreds of other players there.
"For the most part things stay out on the field.
"There are injuries that come along with social football though, usually involving collisions. We've had broken wrists and fingers, a split in the forehead, and a couple of hospital trips."
Frew, who has been a part of the team for the past six years, said Mello Yellos had enjoyed the talents of some "foreign imports" over the years.
"Carlos was an interesting fella. He would be drinking milk while we had some beers."
The team had managed to lift silverware on multiple occasions through their history, Frew said, and they won the Mixed Grade B competition last year.
"We try to stay in Mixed B to keep the mood nice and light. The team tries not to take it too seriously.
"Time wasting is always a bit of a tactic, especially as everyone is getting towards middle age. You don't have the stamina of an 18-year-old and quite often you have to play the ball out.
"If there are some bushes around, all the better."
Sport Whanganui boss Danny Jonas said trends were indicating people in the community were moving away from club memberships and towards a "pay to play" mentality.
"That's coming through loud and clear," Jonas said.
"One of the good examples of that is the footy [soccer] over at Peat Park.
"In the early days it was called the rebel league, which was a bit unfair, but that was around people wanting to have a game in more of a social environment."
Danny Jonas makes his way back to the pavilion during a Sons of Pitches match. Photo / Supplied
There would always be an element of competitiveness in sport, Jonas said, but winning wasn't the "be all and end all".
"We did a little exercise recently where we asked why we played sport when we were younger, compared to why kids play now.
"The same reasons still apply - having some fun, being with your mates, and feeling comfortable in your own skin."
There was an "endless" list of sports that had social competitions in Whanganui, Jonas said.
"There's everything from bowls and darts through to twilight football and twilight hockey.
"The sports that have modified their product are the ones that will survive. The ones that don't might die a slow death.
"Let's use bowls as an example. Back in the day you would have to turn up in your whites and flat soles, whereas now you can rock up in your jandals and still have a roll up. That could be where the next members come from."
Jonas said he and some friends formed a local cricket team, Sons of Pitches, to enter the Whanganui Master Games, and they planned to keep playing together.
"Out of all the names on the team sheet, I don't believe there's one of us that plays cricket on a Saturday. That's the point though, it's purely social. We probably take the piss out of each other more than the other team.
"One of our players continuously reminds us that he's the top wicket taker. In our last game he was charging in and there were at least three simple catches that got put down.
"He was convinced there was a conspiracy to stop him being the top wicket taker.
"If the truth be known, I think he was exactly right."
Kellie Ranginui (third from right) and her team of umpires from Whanganui Indoor Link Netball at the 2021 Masters Games. Photo / Supplied
Kellie Ranginui is the owner of Wanganui Indoor Link Netball, and she says more than 40 teams compete at Springvale Stadium during the summer.
Their winter season begins this weekend.
"We operate for 30 weeks out of the year and we have two grades - competitive and social," Ranginui said.
"On top of that there are weekend tournaments on Christmas, Labour weekend and Easter.
"There is no other indoor league like this in New Zealand. We are the only competition that has our own rules - a mixture of both indoor and outdoor.
People from "all walks of life" took part in the social grade, Ranginui said.
"We've just started noticing that a lot of businesses are paying for work teams to enter.
"There are a lot of sponsored teams, like Silks Audit, Mitre10, and Pak'nSave. They get behind their employees and promote healthy lifestyles and team bonding."
Ranginui said participation was a big reason people got involved with the competition, and most teams entered "every single season".
"If you join a club there is an expectation that you have to be at a certain level, or already skilled as an adult.
"With social grades like ours, you have the chance to just give it a go without being judged, and to be around others who are at a similar level.
"There are a lot of men in the competition as well.
"They absolutely love it."
Meanwhile, Frew said he had aspirations to get back into the 11-a-side game on a Saturday.
"I'm trying to get back to a level of fitness where I can comfortably play, and something like twilight really helps with that.
"You can have a game on Wednesday and a game on Saturday and you feel really good.
"Mello Yellows will be back next season, that's for sure."
