HOPE GIBBONS RULE HURTS

Press, Issue 31095, 25 June 1966, Page 11

HOPE GIBBONS RULE HURTS

TT is a pity that the rules of the event, and the long-held wishes of the Canterbury Amateur Cycling Centre required it to decline a request from the Papanui club to enter the Hope Gibbons national 25-mile teams’ time trial event this season. On the last two occasions it has entered, Papanui has been placed third (in 1963) and, a year later, was second to the powerful Point Chevalier combination, in the process riding the third-fastest time in the history of the race.

However, because the Canterbury centre is more interested in a national 100 kilometres event—which it will stage this year—it has decided not to hold a local qualifying race for the Hope Gibbons event and thus no Canterbury club team can enter.

Papanui has a depth in senior riders and three likely members of a Hope Gibbons team would be R. D. Mann, J. H. Cleary and P. A. Skilling, all members of the outstanding Canterbury track pursuit team. The other members would, most likely, have been R. J. Hogan and J. S. Danielson, two strong riders who are near and around scratch every Saturday.

However, Papanui—or any other Canterbury club team —can not enter for the na-

tional race, but a remark made at the same meeting underlines a possible failing in liaison between riders and officials.

Mr D. R. Johnson said that if the riders wished to compete in the Hope Gibbons race (they were apparently prepared to pay their own expenses), then perhaps the centre was not giving the riders the races they wished.

This is a valid point. The centre does not usually make hasty decisions but it may not occur to the members to first seek the opinions of riders for whom after all, they are catering.

The obvious solution, if officials are not prepared to consult their riders, is for current riders to be appointed as delegates from their clubs. There are some experienced riders who have the practical knowledge and experience to assist in administration.

However, cycling officials, as in most sports, are probably wary of the still-active official and would prefer to wait until they are rather greyer and of less value, in some ways, as administrators. A leavening of experienced administrators and (a few) current riders would provide more diverse opinions and sounder administration.