Downer NZ Masters Games 2021 – and that’s a wrap!

14/02/2021

Downer are naming rights sponsors of the Downer New Zealand Masters games which have just wrapped up in Whanganui. This 10-day event feature a wide range of sports from jigsaw-puzzle racing, action shooting, fishing, waka ama, golf, mountain biking – and more!

This year we made all entry fees free to all Downer, Hawkins and Spotless staff and had over 100 entries across the sports. We ended up with a decent medal haul too, winning medals in the Waka Ama, Mountain biking, golfing, netball, yachting, fishing, and more – well done team!

Selwyn Ponga-Davis (Zero Harm Advisor) was one of our team who took part in the Waka Ama competition. “I participate because Whanganui is my home town. I’m proud that our town was the foundations of Downer when our Tuakana, Arnold Downer attended my old college. Ko au te awa, ko te awa ko aue. I am the river and the river is me. It was a given that I was going to put waka ama high on the list. The team performed really well and it was so great to get out there and compete with many like-minded people,” he says.

Aaron Waitai (CWNOC Operations Manager) picked up a medal the motocross and spoke on the importance of Downer being aligned to these games, “it’s great to have Downer’s brand out there helping people come together in a positive and healthy way to be able to enjoy a sport...I felt like I had been run over by a truck after my race but it was great to be a part of the comradery and compete against work mates and to meet new people with the same interests,” he says

The Downer NZ Masters games offer a unique and inclusive sporting competition that celebrates high performance, participation and investment into the physical and mental wellbeing of its participants, which reflects well with the values of what Downer stands for.