A group of men who describe themselves as “old shire blokes” are determined not to age gracefully.
They are pursuing adventure activities to “have same fun” in their retirement.
“Never too old” is the unofficial motto of the members of Cronulla Probus, a social group for men who are over 55 and retired or semi-retired.
Their last event was indoor go-kart racing and, before that, “we had a crack at whitewater rafting, and the men could not get enough of it”, said events organiser John Picken.
”We are looking at more new adventures for later in 2017, but we definitely won’t take on anything that will risk reducing our membership numbers,” he said.
”Despite some protests, we have ruled out skydiving, rock climbing and abseiling, but everything else is currently ruled in.
“We might have to review our insurance policies.”
Club president Gary Daniels said there were “some sore and weary drivers”, aged 65 to 80, who headed home from the go-kart racing.
“The old, forgotten competitiveness of all the blokes came out as soon as the engines roared into life and the starting flag was dropped,” he said.
“Unfortunately the confidence and aggressiveness of most of our drivers, simply, was not matched by the fast driving skills required by the very tight and very fast indoor circuit.
“There were prangs all over the place in the warm-up laps and preliminary race.”
Mr Daniels said the reason for the adventure activities was, “baby boomers, in particular, don’t want to grow old with slippers and a TV remote control”.
“They want to grow old – or not get any older – having fun, learning, travelling and experiencing new adventures,” he said.
Mr Daniels said Cronulla Probus offered these opportunities for members and their partners through many tours and social activities.”
The club meets on the third Monday of every month at Cronulla Golf Club, where they hear from “an interesting speaker” and plan activities.
Membership is open and visitors are welcome.
Contact: Club president-elect David Fletcher, 0412 645 087.
