He’s been on the bowling green for almost half a century and Geoff Olsen isn’t about to slow down any time soon.
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The 91-year-old is too busy trying to perfect his technique and entice his bowling ball towards the jack.
There’s no time to rest during the game – even in Dungog’s scorching summer heat. That’ll come later at the post-game drinks.
Mr Olsen says age is merely a number and he’s got too much living to do to start taking it quietly.
He plays lawn bowls at least three times a week and is a regular with the Tuesday Clique group at Dungog’s Memorial Bowling Club.
But lawn bowls hasn’t always been his game of choice.
He was an avid golfer until 1968 when he turned up to a game of night bowls with his late wife Mavis to keep her company.
“She used to play a lot of bowls, then the opportunity came that they were playing night bowls so I came along to keep her company and started to play and I’ve kept playing,” Mr Olsen said.
The game was purely a social outing in the beginning, but as the months went by Mr Olsen started to develop a competitive streak that saw him continually strive to improve his technique.
“I’m trying to do better all the time,” he said.
“It’s the same thing over and over that you’ve got to think about – bowling towards the jack, hoping you’ll get it as close as possible.
“There’s no strategy that I have, there’s a bit of luck involved.”
Mr Olsen’s eyes never stray from the game.
“You’ve got to try to read what they call the grass, that’s the curve, then you’ve got to try to get the weight, which is the speed,” he said.
“You’re trying to get yours or your team’s bowls close to the jack … Sometimes you’re right on it and sometimes you’re waves short of it.
“The one that’s got the most points in the end is the winner.”
Mr Olsen and his team lost the club men’s fours championship in January, and he is now looking toward to the next game.
“I’ve played two or three times a week for the last five or six years, I just keep practicing,” he said.
“In 1975 I was part of the country runners up team in NSW.”
Mr Olsen was born and bred in Dungog, and after 12 years working in Newcastle he returned to be part of the family business, Davey and Olsen.
“I was working as a fitter and turner tool maker and then I came back and worked with my father,” he said.
“My father was one of the founders of the garage.”
Mr Olsen has a special place in his heart for Dungog and always tries to give back to the community.
His desire to help others has seen him receive an Order of Australia Medal for services to health and the Dungog community and an Australian Fire Service Medal.
He’s been with the Dungog Rural Fire Service for 64 years and is the branch vice president.
He says the key to a long life is “pure living”.
“Don’t take life too seriously, enjoy yourself,” he said.
“I’m involved in so many things, enough to keep me occupied.
“I’ve been fortunate that I’ve had very healthy parents and it’s apparently been inherited.
“Both my grandmas lived into their 90s.”
Mr Olsen, who will turn 92 in May, has one regret – that Mrs Olsen is not around to share it with him.
He met her on a blind date at the Maitland Show in 1946 and will always remember the years they had together.
“I was going with a mate of mine, from Dungog, to the Maitland Show,” he said.
“He was taking a girl called Sylvia and he said do you mind if Sylvia’s sister comes along.
“I didn’t mind, I wasn’t lined up with any girl, so we went and that was the start of it.”