Why was Vintage Sports set up?

The Vintage Sports Movement was established as a result of approaches from cricket, rugby and softball clubs in Australia and New Zealand who wished to enjoy “Mature” sorts at selected venues with competition amongst international teams.  

The emphasis is on sports participation, travel and camaraderie. 

What is the Vintage Sports Movement?

The Vintage Sports Movement is created by those who take part in Vintage Sports Carnivals and who are dedicated to the regular enjoyment of sports in attractive parts of the world. Membership of the Movement is granted to Vintage Sports Carnivals participants who support the principles of the Movement:

The principles are:

• Mature sports for mature people.
• National and international competitive fun on sports fields all around the world.
• Enjoyable social activity and opportunities to meet people off the playing field and sightsee in interesting places.
• Interaction with Movement members, clubs and sports organisations.
• Support and encouragement for youth sport, participation and enjoyment.

Mature Sport for Mature People - COMPETITIVE FUN 

The members of the movement enjoy serious sport - but the rules are slightly amended to ensure that the games remain competitive and that they are safer for older players.

Enjoyable social activity and Interaction with Movement members 

Vintage events are fun and many lifelong friendships are formed. Interesting places are chosen as the venues and social events and sight seeing trips are included in the packages. After all this is meant to be a holiday! It is also important that non-playing partners can have a holiday they enjoy too. 

Support and encouragement for youth sport, participation and enjoyment.

Each Carnival aims to make a small surplus that can then be used to support youth sport in the area in which the carnival is being held. 

Who joins the Movement?

Anybody can join but the basic things that our members have in common are:

• a love of their chosen sport
• a desire to continue playing or supporting
• the enjoyment of the company of other players

Players of all ability levels play. Vintage means that members have to be at least 35 years old but there is no upper limit. We have several 70 year olds playing Rugby and Cricket!

Some members may have represented their country in their younger days but most players are just club players who enjoy the fraternity and mateship of playing a game they love. To ensure good competition, teams are graded by age group and standard on the basis of a questionnaire they receive before the tournament.

Since we have introduced Softball and Golf into the Vintage Sport fold, many more women are joining.

Membership

You will become a Vintage Sports Movement member when you attend a Vintage Sports Carnival as a player or supporter. This will give you priority bookings for future Carnivals together with a growing list of exclusive benefits. 

The first stage though is to register as Supporter simply by subscribing to the free Vintage Sports e-mail newsletter on your favourite sports.

Where are Vintage Sports Carnivals held?

The carnivals are held all over the world in locations that you would probably want to visit even if you weren't playing sport.  Cricket carnivals, for example have been held in Perth, Australia,  Los Angeles,  Barbados and  the next one will be in Stratford on Avon in the UK.  

Who runs the Vintage Sports Movement?

The Vintage Sports Movement is managed by a sports events management organisation appointed by a registered Trust in New Zealand.  The management and decisions concerning Vintage Sports are made by sports people who are free of commercial influences and encumbrance

The Trust will be responsible for the finances of the Movement and for beneficial distributions to youth sports organisations wherever Vintage Sports are played. By way of example, funds raised from a Carnival in South Africa would be distributed back to the South African community in which the Carnival was held.

What happens if you don't have a team? 

We will find one for you! 

Most people coming to the Carnivals do so as a team, but frequently this is not possible. There are several "teams" who regularly attend carnivals where the membership is made up from players from different countries, but who all love their sport. 

Sometimes individuals will have come with their club team one year, enjoy the experience so much that they want to come again so they will join up with other individuals in a similar situation to form a team. The friendships formed can be long lasting and these 'ad hoc' teams once set up last a long time! 

Vintage Sports Movement People

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Who decides on the rules in a particular sport? 

Our Advisory Board and Consultants.

Vintage Sports will appoint an advisory Board for each sport as it is added to the Vintage Sports line-up. The Board will oversee the rules, development and sporting aspects of Carnivals.

The overriding principle behind any variation from the standard Rules of the Game is to make the game more enjoyable and accessible to the more mature players. 

Vintage Sports has associates and advisors in each sport in all parts of the world. Clubs and advisors are regularly contacted to ensure that Vintage Sports Carnivals recognise their requirements and meet their needs.

On going improvements:

At the end of each carnival, Vintage Sports holds a breakfast for team captains at which there is a thorough debriefing covering all aspects of the carnival from accommodation , entertainment and the feedback about the competition and rules. This in turn is fed back to the Advisory Boards ensuring continual improvements.