MYTH OF UNPOPULARITY

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31098, 29 June 1966, Page 13

MYTH OF UNPOPULARITY

Ski-ing is often referred to as a sport for the few rather than the many but a consideration of the numbers who go ski- ing each year is enough to fully refute this misconception.

New Zealanders are inclined to judge a sport on its public appeal and this ski-ing has always lacked but it lacks public appeal because it is a participant rather than a spectator sport.

This is surely enough to refute ski-ing's reputation of unpopularity. lit is a myth which owes considerably more to the situation of the sport in New Zealand than to the mechanics and expenses of the sport itself.

New Zealand’s ski fields are generally regarded as the least expensive anywhere in the world and, if access is sometimes a problem, they are within easy travelling distance of any part of the country.

Where ski-ing misses out is its lack of spectator appeal. This is not to say that ski-

Ing is boring to watch—far from it and films and televisio ntakes of the sport have proved popular with vast numbers of people. It is just that those on the ski-fields get more pleasure out of ski-ing themselves than by watching others.

No spectator can really enjoy watching another ski because ski-ing races, unlike Rugby or cricket matches, are held over a wide area. Only someone at least as proficient as the racer can fully appreciate a race because to fully appreciate it he would have to follow each racer down through the course.

This is why ski races fail as spectacles. They are spectacular when filmed because there are cameras placed at intervals down the slope, but this is not possible for an onlooker.

Many have been lured into the mountains in the hope of seeing a film spectacle reproduced in the flesh, only to be disappointed. They have stood around, semi-frozen, and seen only the merest fraction of the race they may have walked several miles to see.

So, through no fault of its own, ski-ing has, in the popular imagination, been placed beyond the pale—a sport not

suitable for the general public. But the numbers who do ski each winter make nonsense of this deep-rooted myth, and the numbers will continue to grow every year as more discover what the sport entails. In most countries, sport is not something the bulk of the population can afford the time or the money to pursue. In New Zealand, where everyone who wishes can afford both the time and the cost, the merits of ski-ing are likely to force themselves on to the attention of everyone who is energetic. When this day arrives there will be no doubt whether ski-ing is a popular or an unpopular sport