Winter sport sideline shopping
It’s the heart of winter and you definitely notice just how cold it is on the sideline of Saturday sports. A few winter woollies from the Albany Mega Centre are just the hot tonic you need to get through the winter sports season.
Saturday morning and an early start to get to Cooper’s rugby game on time. It had been a wet and cold week and the ground looks muddy, damp and miserable. The kids are out there in their shorts and t-shirt but don’t seem to mind the cold - I didn’t when I was their age either. At my age though, you feel the cold more intensely and I’m convinced that my bones creak when the temperature gets below 13 degrees.
It was a good game and I tried to keep active on the sideline to fight back what was surely the first onset of frost bite! Secretly, I was delighted when the game was over and we could pile back into the car, turn the heater up and head home.
Just enough time for a hot coffee to thaw the insides out before setting off to the second game of the day: Lucy’s soccer game in Albany. Fortunately, it’s a bit warmer so not the same bone chiller it was this morning. Or so I thought, because halfway through, the weather turns and the heavens open. 30 or so parents huddle under a handful of umbrella looking miserable. My wet clothes amplify the cold and I’m convinced I’m about to spend a week in bed with hyperthermia!
Sunday dawns bright, but cold, and I head off for my usual Sunday golf game. After two and a bit hours, I walk towards the clubhouse with my fingers numb from the cold, as memories of yesterday flood back. I think about giving up my cheerleading but know how important it is to be there for the kids.
I decide it’s time to seriously kit myself out for Auckland’s winter so I drive home via Albany Mega Centre. Bivouac Outdoor, Kathmandu and Macpac are all within a couple of hundred metres of each other so I can get everything I need in one go.
I start at Kathmandu looking for thermals. They’ve got an excellent range called KMDCore and the salesperson, who does some serious outdoor activities, talked me through, using first-hand experience, which ones work best in which conditions. I buy a couple of pairs of mid-weight long-johns and a long-sleeve polyprop top. I also find a merino wool hat and matching gloves. They’ll no doubt become essentials of Saturday sports.
Next stop is Bivouac Outdoor, with its huge range of clothes and outdoor adventure equipment. I find a number of items I like including a North Face hoodie, a Patagonia flannel shirt and an Icebreaker crew sweater. Their range of products is excellent and all of a high quality. The sales team are very helpful, listening to my tales of sideline sports (without laughing) and recommending versatile products that will get me through a number of conditions.
I finish up at Macpac. They have a huge range of jackets and the challenge is deciding which one. I want something that will keep the cold out but not restrict my golf swing. I settle on a Halo hooded down jacket in steel grey. I then look at waterproof pants, deciding on the Gauge Rain Pants because of their comfort. I also grab some socks and a merino t-shirt to finish off what’s been a good afternoon’s shop.
I can’t wait for next weekend. Thanks to Albany Mega Centre I’m ready whatever the winter sport weather is. I hope the kids are ready for the most warm-hearted sideline support they’ve ever seen!