As the countdown to the 2013 New Zealand Master's Games begins in earnest, the heart of its village was raised at Springvale Park yesterday.
Subsisting on maybe six hours sleep a night for the next couple of weeks, this part of the building process is always a special time for village master Les Lunny.
As he supervised the crew raising the 14-tonne, 30m by 40m giant tent that will serve as game headquarters for those 10 glorious days in February, Lunny fondly recalls the good times had under the big top.
"When you're tired, the joy is seeing people enjoying what you've created," he said.
Among the previews written about these games, many of the arriving athletes have spoken about enjoying the social side of the action as much as the time on their sports field of choice.