John and Jamie Andrews enjoy of bit of family rivalry
The Andrews family has been engaged in a little healthy competition over the years, and for father and son, John and Jamie, the quest for the top title continues.
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Both have recently been named the 2021 club champions of their respective sporting organisations - John for the Gloucester Bowling Club and Jamie for the Gloucester Golf Club.
The quest to win the top trophy is part of this family's fabric. John and his wife Anne raised their children surrounded by sport.
"We agreed when we got married that we would put one day aside for sport," John said.
Being farmers, which isn't a typical five day a week profession, it was important to mark a day off in the calendar each week. And so the family quest to be number one began.
"It's been a lifetime of competition," Jamie smiled.
His words may seem to be in jest but the pair proceeded to list each sport they've competed against each other in and at what age Jamie beat John. Jamie was 15-years-old when he beat his dad at cricket and 16-years-old when he beat him in boxing. But the age when Jamie beat John at table tennis is still hotly debated. John reckons it was when Jamie was 30-years-old but Jamie disagrees.
Their competition is light-hearted and full of fun. And it's not just about beating each other, it's also about the size of the trophy they receive.
Anne shared a story about when they both won a Best and Fairest award across consecutive years for playing cricket in Walcha.
"John's trophy was a quarter of an inch taller," Anne smiled. "When Jamie came home to visit for two weeks during the school holidays, he slipped a book underneath his to make his taller."
When John discovered what Jamie had done, he put a book under his own. Over the two weeks, the pair each quietly took turn raising the height of their trophies until they touched the ceiling.
At 74-years-old, John doesn't play sport like he used to, giving up tennis and cricket at the age of 60 for physical reasons. He now focuses on bowls. Jamie joins him occasionally to play in pairs and they've been known to win a match or two.
Jamie also doesn't play as much sport as he used too but he is continuing the sport tradition with his sons, Mitchell and Will, playing golf, cricket, soccer and bowls.
While John and Jamie aren't currently playing against each other in a particular sport, they continue to one-up each other when it comes to trophies.
And according to John, the competitiveness doesn't stop at sport.
"My veggie garden is better than his," John laughed.