Opinion: Price tag a barrier for Games

Jared Smith

It's been a bit of a dampener this week.

The 2015 Southern Trust New Zealand Masters Games is always a fun and busy occasion for the Wanganui Chronicle team, whose weary eyes can now see the light at the end of the tunnel with one more big evening and two days activities ahead of us.

However, the week's unwelcome inclement weather has brought about the demise of several outdoor sports on the schedule, while others have simply not reached the same level of entry numbers as they maintained two years ago.

As was said to me with resigned shrugs in the netball headquarters yesterday as we looked out over the puddles, of which 35 teams were gainfully playing compared to 46 in 2013, it seems to be "a sign of the times".

While NZMG trumpets a 85 per cent return rate for its Wanganui and Dunedin showcases, losing events to the rain can certainly stick in the craw, especially considering Rule 10.F in the terms and conditions.

"No refunds will be issued if sports are cancelled due to adverse weather conditions," it clearly states.

Speaking with competitors about their enjoyment of the games over the past seven days, there is no question the price tag keeps being brought up.

On top of entry fees, most sports come with their own individual costs, between $15 and $70, and there seemed a resignation that if one was going to truly immerse oneself in the full culture of NZMG, from dawn to dusk, it was going to cause a big whack in the pocket.

Late entry ($85) combined with five or six of the bigger events is getting up around the $500 mark, which, added to the travel and accommodation costs, is certainly getting a little steep for the average punter.

A Palmerston North multisporter told me he would never consider Dunedin for those very reasons, preferring Wanganui on a biennial basis so he could zip over and back for the weekend's duathlon and triathlon.

"It always seems to be the same bunch [of people] you meet every time," he said.

Other events like the Urban Assault should have been a fantastic spectacle and real fun highlight of these games - especially considering this demographic grew up watching the iconic Top Town in the late seventies and early eighties - yet it also proved a bust for lack of numbers.

I'm sure when Wanganui's games committee goes back and reviews the last few days, where many circumstances were out of its hands, the members will cast their eyes over the areas they can control.

They're a smart group - a mix of keen businesspeople and former athletes - who are aware of the mounting costs for a generation that does not find itself with as much disposable income or time as it would like.

It's not like they don't want to come as Whakatane's Dennis Sax told me on Thursday, being freshly arrived in town to do the cycling events and excited about fitting in with 2015's western motif.

"We've got a few dress up outfits for Saturday night.
"We'll be cowboys, got a couple of gee-gees to ride. There may even be a Mexican bandit."

NZMG needs to find feasible ways for Sax and his boys to keep their enthusiasm high for a Saturday competition then party, in such a way that the bank statement on Monday just stays firmly in the very back of the mind.