N.Z.A.A.A.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19180, 10 December 1927, Page 16

N.Z.A.A.A.

DOMINION CONFERENCE.

CONTROL OF THE SPORT

Last evening a conference of delegates representing the various centres of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association was held, and remits, mostly from the Canterbury and Wellington Centres, were discussed at length. Those present were: Messrs \\. C. i'lcueilvii the chair), L. A. Zealand Council;, U. 0 Lockvvood iUuiierimryj, ,j. Vs. hhirley J. \\. snvidaii H ■ A. -Melrose, V. C. Kitto OVelti»^ 01, .S "• i ' J ,\ h - Nen ton. L. Hum OVanyiuui-lant-imki.i. 14. C Clark and C. N . The conference discussed tiie remit from tlie Wellington Centre: 'that the i,i-;iH)sal of the Now Zealand Council regi-.nling the T. K. Sidey trophy bo considered. After representatives oi the various centres had explained the .steps winch the latter had taken, Mr Mc\ ■ illy saiti the opinion ot the Council was that the Act would lie of very great advantage' to sport, and thac it would he right for the A.A.A. to recognise Mi; alley's efforts over u long period of years by having u trophy for competition a't the championship meeting;• Thfc Council merely represented ilie centres, and if the latter said that the Council's funds were to be utilised for a trophy, it would give efEect to their wishes. If it had taken this action without consulting the centres, it would prohablv have been told that it should have done this. "If the centres don't want a trophy, that is the end of the story," .tic said. '"The Council has no money to splash about, and must husband'its' resources. Most of the centres are in the same position.'' Appreciation of Mr Sidey's work should bo shown in some practical way. Trophy in Honour of Summer Time. Mr Kitto moved that it bo a recommendation to the Council that it set aside- £2O for the purchase of a trophy for competition at championship meetings to commemorate -Mr .Sidey's work. Tlw motion was carried. Entrance Fees. Mr Kitto moved, on behalf of Wellington, that the entrance fee lor all amateur events be Is. '"This is like the brook, it will go on for ever—until adopted," he said. His centre had refused to give a permit to any professional club if its entrance fees were over Is. This was for the purpose of protecting its own members. Mr Melrose seconded the motion.

Mr Shirley said amateur sport in Auckland was not supported by the public sufficiently to make it pay. 11 Is entrance fee was charged, no amateurs would run for a trophy valued at less than £2 2s. If the Centre was limited to an entrance fee of Is, the losses on the meetings would be too heavy to bear. Mr Hunt spoke in favour of tho motion. In his district the runners and cyclists would compete for 5s trophies. Mr Shirley's remarks did not sound lileo amateurism. To got fields for some of the races no fee was charged. Mr Cla?-k said that his Centre would support the motion. It had had a hard struggle with cash sport, hut was getting larger fields now, and was prepared to adopt the Is entrance fee. Position In Canterbury. Mr Lockwood said that in Canterbury very little public support was obtained as a regular thing. The Centre was so placed that it could not roly on it. It depended a great deal on country clubs. The country meetings necessitated considerable expense on the part of the clubs, and tho trophies were higher in value. Tho Centre was trying to keep the value down and the entrance foes to a2s Gd maximum. At present the Canterbury Centre must oppose the motion. It was not practical politics for tho Centre in view of the keen competition from another body. The rule would be all right for "Wellington, where the Centre had a good public. In Christchurch the Centre did not have a good public, and tho competitors paid largely for the sport, themselves. The country meetings represented the pot-hunting fieM of the amateurs. Mr Lockwood said the Canterbury Centre had 10 City and 15 country clubs affiliated.

Mr Kitto said Wellington Centre had more country clubs now that it had Hawko's Bay. His Centre could not force affiliated amateur country clubs to adopt a' Is limit. The motion was carried by 6 votes to 4.

The applications for reinstatement of E. F. Skellerup (Nelson) and F. W. Juno (Wellington) wero discussed.

It was decided to instruct the Council to make application to the Australian Board of Control for the runners' reinstatement.

Mr Kitto moved that entrance fees for all New Zealand championship events be 2s 6d.

Mr Melrose seconded tho motion, although he said he was in favour of Is all round.

Mr Guy was opposed to tho motion. It was only a way of whittling tho funds of tho Council away, he said.

Mr Shirley: The Council must have cash. I support Mr Guy's remarks.

• Cost of Championships, Mr Lockwood said the cost of the meeting being held at present to the Canterbury Centre would bo £SB which would not be covered by entrance fees. If there was not a big gate a heavy loss would fall on the local Centre.

Mr Guy said that if tho right men were in control where the championships were held, they would always be a success. The motion was carried.

Mr Melrose moved that in tho 440 yards and 880 yards championships, when the number of competitors exceed 10 the events be run in heats. Mr Newton supported the remit for the 440 yards; it was not necessary for tho 880. Mr Kitto also took this view. The motion was carried.

Mr Hunt said the specifications for tho field ©vents in the handbook should be carried out.

Mr Flewellyn said the rules had been carefully studied by the officials in charge. The recommendation would bo noted for the future. Selection Committee. Mr Lockwood moved that the Selection Committee for future New Zealand teams consist of two selectors, one from eacli Island. He said the recent trouble could very well be buried. The proposal was reasonable and practicable.

Mr Flewellyn .-,c onded the motion, which was carried unanimously.

Australian and N.Z. Championships,

Mr Lockwood moved that the present system of Australasian championships be abolished, and replaced by biennial contests by the whole of Australia and I.cw Zealand. lie said the present system worked most unfairly for New Zealand. Mr Guy s;iid New Zealand w;;s. athletically speaking, healthier than Australia, and deserved more than the. standing of an Australian State. It would be a better thing for Australia, too, if the proposal was adopted, and the Centres should be unanimously in fa'-our of it. The remit w.as adopted.

Mr Lockwood moved that affiliated clubs supply copies of their balauce-

sheets to the Centre with jurisdiction over them. Mr Flewellyn seconded the motion, which was carried. Olympic Games. "That the present system of levying a registration fee of Is per head on competitors for the Olympic Association be abolished. He said the Centre in Canterbury ran everything, and the clubs were extraordinarily weak. Over a period of years an endeavour had been made to shift the organisation to the clubs, but it was still the responsibility of the Centre, which was forced to charge a registration fee. It had avery active competitor in the cash body. Individual amateur runners had to pay fairly heavily for their sport. The Centre was without a ground, and was hit in every way possible. Canterbury was in favour of competition at the Olvmpic (James, but public interest sufficient to raise the funds should bo aroused. The levy would embarrass ■'.'anterbury without helping tho Council. Tho most that would be raised from Canterbury would be £lO. If the Olympic Association in (.'anterbury was not (load it was moribund. .Mr Fiewellyn seconded the motion. ~S\v Tracy said it should be the ambition of every runner to compete at the Olympic Games. lie said that in five year-; £"200 would bo raised from the Centres, which would pay half the expenses of one competitor. The scheme would assist in' creating the Olympic spirit. Mr Kitto said it seemed to be a hardship on (.'anterbury. The amount was collected in members' subscriptions Initio dubs in "Wellington "Don't the clubs get any subscriptions here?" he asked. Mr Loekwood: Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. The motion was carried. Deletion of Walks Opposed. Mr Lockw'ood moved that the onemilo and three-mile walks be deleted from the programme at the New Zealand championships. "They are now so farcical," he said, "as to be unworthy of a place in the programme." Mr Flewellyn seconded tho motion.

•'•'They are more nuisance than they arc worth," said Mr Kitto, ''and they should be deleted from the programme. They arc always unsatisfactory, tyul cause trouble." Messrs Clark and Hunt both strongly opposed the motion, stating that walking was being well supported in their districts. Mr Guy said the walks had been deleted from the Olympic programme. The motion was lost. Cycling Standards. "That the standard times for cycling events recently adopted by the Council arc excessively high, and should be modified," was a remit moved by Mr Loekwood. The standard for the halfmile was OOsec, yet this time had rarely, it' ever, been equalled on English Park, which was probably the best in New Zealand, he said. Mr Flewellyn said Harris Hordcr had done 58 4-sscc. Mr Loekwood said the cream of cash riders took part in races at English Park, and they laughed at the standards Mr Flcwellyn seconded the motion. Mr Tracv said the standards were adopted after consultation with cycling experts in Wellington, and the centres had not raised any objection. Mr Shirley said he had seen Grose ride a paced mile in 2min 9sec. let have asked him to have- done 2mm 2sec would have been ridiculous, yet this was the standard. Or/nnict in Otago. Mr Isaacs said there had been a great deal of trouble in Dunedin between the amateur and professional bodies. He asked the conference what its attitude wae towards the inclusion ot amatojr events in professional programmes. , Mr Isaacs said he had had a good deal to do with lighting cash athletics in the south. There had been a threat by the cash Centre that its affiliated clubs would refuse to put amateur events on their programmes. I urthermore, the matter was to bo taken up at the annual conference of the New Zealand Athletic and. Cycling Union, and the boycott might be extended to the whole Dominion. "He are going to fight the professional people in'Otago.'i ho said, "but they have got us thinking." . , Mr Loekwood explained the position in Canterbury. Some of the country dubs had affiliated with the Amateur' Centre, but the latter was \inder no delusions. The clubs had no bias one wav or the other, but were just concerned in putting on a good programme. He explained the relations with the English Park control. The old promoting body had gone out of existence, and the cash body being now in control, the Amateur Centre was in n hole. Members were not allowed by tho Amateur Centre to compete in races interspersed with cash events at English Park. The country clubs .were not flesh, fish, or fowl, and the Centre did not discriminate against them. The Canterbury Centre had to he very diplomatic, and he urged that the New Zealand Control put no further restrictions on them. The Canterbury Centre would make no concessions without the consent of the New Zealand Council, and was not likely to make any, under any circumstances. Mr Guy said no man could make a profession of running or cycling in New Zealand. He urged that '.ho president of the Council put the case for amateurism through the "School Journal."

The conference* closed with a vote of thanks to the chair.