A group of kaumātua, aged between 60 and 80 years old, leave Rotorua today for Napier to compete in the Kaumātua Iron Māori tomorrow.
Laurie Morrison, of the Ōranga Tinana kaumātua group, says, “Since March they have been working towards the goal of participating in Kaumātua Iron Māori- not all of our members will be in it. All up we have had 30 Kaumātua join our group to work out."
The group began attending gym sessions in March at Instinctive Fitness but soon transitioned over to Toa Advanced Health & Fitness.
“The kaumātua love it here. We train twice every week, each kaumātua pays two dollars to come and for many of them it’s their first time ever in a gym” says Morrison.
Preston Whare, co-owner of Toa Advanced Health & Fitness, says that the group has been training for the last few months.
“They are hard-case, they bring a lot of warmth and a lot of laughter into the gym every time they come in.”
The Kaumātua Iron Māori will be held tomorrow at Pandora Pond in Napier.
The event involves a 100m swim and 1km walk/run.
Kaumātua also have the option of doing a triathlon which includes a 250m swim, 7km cycle, 1.5km walk/run, or 1km-3km walk.