Gerald Lynch
Whittlesea U3A’s Walking Football team have returned home from South Australia with bronze medals around their necks.
The Australian Masters Games were held in the second week of October, with Walking Football one of the 50 sports played. Teams from all over Australia played in the Walking Football Tournament.
Whittlesea U3A’s squad took on the women’s over 50 category, with the oldest player at 80 years old.
Before joining the team, none of the players had ever played soccer before.
Last year, they competed in the Pan Pacific Masters Games and lost every single game.
However, that didn’t deter the ladies, as they braved up for a trip to Adelaide this time around and pushed their way into third place.
However, playing soccer in their spare time is little bravery compared to their regular lives, as players in the team battle on with a number of serious health conditions including Parkinsons, Heart issues, mental health issues, as well as several cancer survivors.
Walking sports organiser and soccer coach Mick Trim said the women love the program and it has been incredibly beneficial for them all.
“The program allows the ladies to connect to people with different backgrounds and cultures, and challenge themselves out of their comfort zone, while making friends and keeping active,” he said.
“The team at Whittlesea U3A are very proud of the diversity in the team, we’ve got members from Sri Lanka, China, Philippines, Iraq, Poland, and Australia.
“Planning for the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast in November next year is already under way. We plan to expand the sports we play in and are looking to add Walking Netball, Tennis and others to the Walking Football teams we take there.”
