Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1949

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 48, 7 October 1949, Page 4

Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1949

ENTER SUMMER SPORT Tomorrow sees the finish of the Rugby season here- when Wairaka and Poroporo play the final of the Bracken Cup. Other winter sports competitions are all finished, though the golf season does not end officially until later this month. Some summer sports have already begun. Bowling, always one of the strongest, started at Whakatane last week-end, at Ohope the week before, and opens at Taneatua tomorrow. Cricketers all over the district have started to practice, and the Association’s annual meeting is this weekend. St George’s Tennis Club opened last week, and the Lawn Tennis Club opens on October 22. With the Empire Games regatta ahead, rowers are training more keenly than ever. Though the Hunt season is over, rickers and brushes are popping up all over the countryside to school horses and riders for summer sports events. Newcomer to the summer scene this year is women’s marching, sponsors of which have followed last year’s Athletic Club example and revived a dormant organisation. From the keenness already shown, there seems reason to hope that the sport will become firmly reestablished. Cinderella of the summer sports so far as this district is concerned, athletics got an encouraging start last year after n lapse of some seasons and, if the same enthusiasts who got it under way then are prepared to battle along to the opening of this season, There is every reason to expect good results. Actually last year’s effort more thm justified continued work, and though there is only one possible Empire Games candidate in this district at the present time, there is no lack of promising talent. Farther, the Games may be relied upon to catch the imagination and stir the enthusiasm of the youngster?, who are the nucleus c t any Club’s future strength. A to, there is no finer way for foo bailers, boxers, hockey players and the like to keep fit during summer. There is a move afoot, as yet but the vague stirrings of a desire, to get an amateur cycling group associated with the Athletic Club. That move is one deserving of strong encouragement, because no two sports are better suited to team up with each other to make one strong Club. The suggestion should make an interesting subject for discussion at the annual meeting of the Athletic Club, for which no date has yet been advertised.

Last, but perhaps most important with Ohope so near with all the hazards of a popular beach resort, come surfing and swimming.

The Surf Club’s annual meeting is on Tuesday night, and once again the need for full and active support of this publicspirited group of young people cannot be too strongly stressed. The Club might not be called upon to fulfil its life-saving function this year. Certainly everyone hopes it will not be; but there is comfort for the parents of - children and for nervous bathers in the knowledge that there is an organisation standing by equipped and trained to prevent tragedy in the water. From the purely sporting angle, Whakatane surfers have an interesting season ahead. There is to be a visit from the Australian team in February, and it is intended to send both men's and women’s teams to the Dominion championships at Wellington, if the enthusiasm and standard of work justify it.