TWO NOBLE SPORTS.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18405, 11 June 1925, Page 12

TWO NOBLE SPORTS.

CRICKET AND TENNIS. STREET SALES OF ART UNION TICKETS. Street sales of art union tiekets will take place in tho city to-morrow, whon tho Canterbury Cricket Association and Tennis Association will make their final appeal in the Gigantic Art Union "in which tho prizes total £4OOO. Tho art. union is in aid of the coaching and ground funds of the two Associations, and to-morrow'a sales are expected to clinch the success of the effort. Tho rank and file of cricketers and tennis players, as well as the office-bearers, will take a hand in disposing of tickets tomorrow. The drawing of tho art union will take place on Monday. Nobody is likely to deny tho importance to tho community of tho cultivation of those two fine forms of rocreation and skill, and tho promoters hope that nobody will refrain from supporting the present enterprise, which is directed solely to raising funds, sorely needed, to meet the local requirements of cricket and tennis.

Interviews relating to the position of tho two recreations were accorded yesterday by gentlemen prominently identified with each.

Cricket. . Mr D. Eeese, president of the Canterbury Cricket Association, said: — "Ever since the commencement of cricket in Canterbury, dating from tho earliest days of tho foundation of tho province, tho game has always had difficulty in financing itself through takings from interprovincial matches and tho various clubs from the subscriptions obtained from their members. "There has always, however, been a loyal and helpful public in the province of Canterbury, and so up till'date, _ in the ovent of any special moneys being required for such as coaching funds, monoy has usually been found by a special appeal for assistance. Up until about the year 1890 all players selected to play for Canterbury in matches away from home, had to pay their own expenses when visiting either Dunedin, Wellington or Auckland. This made it difficult for the province to arrange to bo represented by its best teams away from home and it naturally made it unfair for those who wei;e unable to pay their expenses in this way. \ "However, with the gradual development of the organisation of cricket in, the province, this, state of affairs has been entirely changed and so to-day we find the ordinary revenue of the Association being sufficient to meet what you call current expenditure, but not enough to provide for' tho upkeep of Hagley Park as well as the coach fund. "The wonderful effort made on behalf of Lancaster Park some years ago has freed that ground from' debt, but Hagley Park has remained a difficulty as far as the Cricket Association concerned until to-day the Ground Committee' finds itself considerably on the wrong sido of the ledger. The increased cost in the management of a ground like Hagley Park is very considerable. When I say that twenty-five years ago the salary of the caretaker at Hagley Park was £9B per annum with a free house, a comparison with,, the presentday wages and costs will be readily understood. .. . . • "The extra cost of maintaining iiagley Park has naturally had to be passed'on to tho Cricket Clubs using that ground, and so in turn we find each of these clubs having a hard fight- for their existence owing to not only the increased ground rent but the very largo additional oxpense in the way of providing materials, etc., for their members. - , • "In my young cricketing days the highest price for the best bat was only £l, while to-day it is two and a half times that amount. I mention these things to explain some of the difficulties of the Association and clubs in Christchurch, thus explaining the Teasons of the general appeal that is being made to the public through this art union running at the moment, and which closes on Saturday next, the 13th inst. "Apart from the ordinary expenses of the Association and clubs, I might further refer to the spasmodic attempts that have been made in different generations of cricketers to provide a proper coach for the young players. First we had "Phillips, the Middlesex professional, in 1898, followed by Humphreys, the English Kent professional, in 1908; Carlton, the Melbourne player, was appointed in 1910. but no further attempt was made as regards tho arranging of a coach until Shacklock, the Nottingham professional, was appointed in 1921. Since his appointment an attempt has been made to organise the coaching of our young players on a permanent asi3 - Shacklock's efforts are confined to the boys of 14 years of age, and his work among the various schools has already borne fruit for quite a number who were youngsters under him when he first came to Canterbury have already.represented the province, while one has played for New Zealand, and another acted as twelfth man for the Dominion team. "This statement of the case of the appointment of professional coaches in the Province' brings me to the point which I want to emphasise, and that is that practically the whole of the monoy which has been secured for the payment of these coaches has been provided by the public of Canterbury. We have been rich in supporters of the game dating right back from the earliest days, but in each generation it has always been the case of leaning too often on tho same people for assistance. "At the present moment the success of this art union campaign is assured, but it depends on the remaining few days and the special effort that we are asking the Canterbury people to make as to whether we arc going to be able to free ourselves from the necessity in future of making further appeals for public support. "I hope that with the grounds and the different Association accounts all placed on a sound footing, it will leave the Canterbury Cricket Association in the position of being able to finance itself for all time, and this must appeal to everyone as a most desirable position to get into." Tennis. Mr W. N. Seay, president of the Canterbury Lawn Tennis Association, puts the case for tennis as'follows: — "The sale of tickets for the cricket and tennis gigantic art union closes at tho end of this week, and many citizens have not a clear conception of the objects for which this great appeal is made, On behalf of the Canterbury Lawn Tennis Association, I should lika"to explain that for some years past, owing to the popularity of the game and the ever-increasing overcrowded conditions of all club courts, my Association folt the necessity of having its own grounds and courts as a centre and home for tennis in Canterbury, where all matches, tournaments, Now Zealand championships, interprovincial, interState matches, and perhaps Davis Cnp matches may bo played. Two years ago my Association, through, the generosity of Mr J. H. Kirk, -was in a position to purchase ten acre's of land within easy reach of tho centre of the city, to be known as Wilding Park. Hero there is sufficient space for 50 . tennis courts (grass, asphalt, and ca-

tout-cas). Already a great deal of work has been done—l 4 hard courts and 12 grass courts have been laid — the whole of the park has been graded, fenced, planted with shelter treos, and provided with some seats around the principal hard courts. A fairly large sum of money has been subscribed by tennis players, and through the generosity of the citizens, for which my Association is deeply grateful. Tho motto of my Association is 'pay as the work is completed.' "With the extensive work already done our funds are naturally being depleted, and the gigantic art union has been organised on a fifty-fifty per cent, basis by the two kindred sports —cricket and tennis.- Both are naturally deeply interested in the result, which ' it is hoped will be satisfactory to all concerned, as a large sum of money is still requirod by the tennis section for the completion of Wilding Park.' Occasionally the officials are told to get the tennis players to find the funds for their own game. They have done a great deal, and can find the ground and lay down their courts, but they cannot build the stadium, the pavilion, tea-rooms, paTk•ing places for cars, etc., all of which are so expensive and so. necessary for the comfort and convenience of the public in their attendance at important matches and tournaments. Tho New Zealand championships usually draw an attendance of upwards of two thousand spectators, while the attendance at a Davis Cup contest would probably reach eight or ten thousand, bo tho high cost of this Park can be readily seen. "This is where the community effort should come to the aid of the Tennis Association. Moreover, the ground now acquired with its equipment will be a great asset not only to the present generation, but doubly and even trebly so to future generations. In 25 years the population of Christchurch will probably be doubled, and in 50 years it may be in the vicinity of half a million. The tennis players will be ten to one of their present number, while the land will be ten times as expensive, and, where obtainable, ten times further from the centre of the city. With these prospects in view, is it worth all the work'!,and worry the present band of workers are putting into tho effort? I know the citizens of Christchurch are lovers of "good, clean sport. I know they are always proud to see the progress of their city in all matters pertaining to its welfare. I thank them on behalf of my Association in anticipation of what they will do, and I am convinced they will not rest until both the cricket and tennis schemes are crowned with success."