Show some heart @ AMG23

The 19th edition of the Australian Masters Games returns to its spiritual home in Adelaide, South Australia for a week-long festival of sport that brings together our over 30’s community living their best lives from around Australia and the world to enjoy an extensive sporting and social program between October 7-14, 2023.

Rob Bradley AM (Chief Executive Officer, Confederation of Australian Sport) said, “The event presents the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of heart disease and conduct preventative heart health checks to the 8,000+ inspirational Australian adults aged 30 – 90+ years, participating across around 50 different sports at the Games.”

He added “We have watched what Andy and the Heartbeat of Sport team have been doing for many years and felt it was timely for them to be part of the Games in 2023 as the health and wellbeing of all participants is a key priority for all involved at the Games”.

Heartbeat of Sport, a not-for-profit charity, has been at the forefront of heart health in sport since 2016 as result of cardiac arrest deaths to those close to Andy Paschalidis (founder of the charity) and many lives saved since through its unique community-focused heart health screening checks at sporting grounds across Australia and advocacy efforts that lead to the NSW Government Local Defibrillator Grant program. 

Andrew Paschalidis (Founder & CEO, Heartbeat of Sport) commented, “We are so honoured and appreciative of being appointed the official charity of the Australian Masters Games. Whilst our charity has predominantly conducted activities across football, we have always been sport-agnostic and inclusive - this opportunity really validates the impact of the charity and highlights the power of sport as an agent for positive change. We look forward to engaging with participants across all the sports”.

Andy added, “We want our over 30’s community living their best lives to keep being active  and playing the sports they love, but we also want them to be able to return home to their loved ones - so getting a simple, quick and free heart health check is a great start. Also the fact that the Games are being held in Adelaide and the SA Government recently passing the Automated External Defibrillator (Public Access) Bill 2022 offers great alignment and synchronicity. The tireless efforts of Cr Frank Pangallo over many years and supported by Health Minister Chris Picton need to be applauded as the legislation is nation-leading and life-saving”.

Heartbeat of Sport will be conducting heart health checks across the week and testing as many people as possible for key modifiable risk factors - Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar and Cholesterol. As in business, knowing your numbers are important to make informed decisions with regards to your health.

Individuals and teams are encouraged to create their own fundraising page and raise funds for preventative health; world-leading research and support programs ensuring better outcomes for Australians and their families.