Age is no barrier to sport
North Shore’s Alive ‘n’ Kicking over 60s football club scored a gold and silver medal at the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast in November 2024.
The biennial games for sportspeople over the age of 30 attracted 15,000 Australian and international competitors in 45 sports.
The Alive ‘n’ Kicking over 60s team beat the Gold Coast Legends to take the gold, and the over 65s team took out the silver medal after a close loss to US team Sacramento FC.
Eric Anderson, 85, from Northbridge, established Alive ‘n’ Kicking on Sydney’s North Shore with 16 players in 2019, and membership grew before COVID-19 swooped in and kicked the club to the sidelines.
However, it’s taken off over the last 12 months, and the club has about 130 members getting together for a ‘kick around’ twice a week at Northbridge Oval.
“We call it a kick around, but we play a round robin,” says Eric. “We’ve got four teams playing on half a pitch. They play for half an hour, and then they play the next team and so on.”
Silver medalist Eric
Eric says getting together to play football with his teammates, whom he calls ‘the boys,’ is a great social outlet.
“That’s what the draw card is,” Eric says. “It’s brilliant. I say, ‘Would you rather be up a ladder or shopping or on the couch?’ Some (players) say, ‘This is the highlight of my week.’
“Even if it’s raining, they’re there,” Eric laughs.
Alive ‘n’ Kicking players simply enjoy being active and social. Because of the increased risk of injury for older players, the club has specific rules to keep players safe, such as no tackling from behind, no throw-ins, and there’s no referee either.
Eric does a lot of the organisational tasks for the club, and has yet to make plans to hang up his boots.
“I’ll come on in the last 15 minutes and hang around the side, on the wing, and do my own thing,” he laughs.
In 2025, the club plans to send three teams to the Australian Masters in the ACT, with an over-70s team expected to make the trip.
If you are looking for some exercise and a social outing, get in touch with Alive ‘n’ Kicking at alivenkicking@gmail. com and see the team on Facebook: alivenkickingAUS
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