Strike Hampers Bid For Games

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31118, 22 July 1966, Page 1

Strike Hampers Bid For Games

An airline strike in America has upset the plans of the four-man delegation from the Commonwealth and Empire Games Promotion, Canterbury, which will leave this morning for Jamaica, where it will press Christchurch’s claim for the 1970 Games.

It was to have left the New Zealand team at Los Angeles and flown to Miami, thus saving a day’s travelling timn, but the strike is forcing it co stay overnight in Mexico with the New Zealand team. Instead of arriving late on Saturday in Kingston, the delegation Will now arrive late on Sunday. This means that a press conference arranged for Sunday afternoon will have to be postponed, as well as other official business.

The situation has been com plicated by the fact that arrangements have been made in Jamaica to have a staff on hand to assemble stands and publicity material in the New Zealand Room in the games village on Sunday. A member of the delegation and the chairman of the publicity committee of the promotion body (Mr R. S. Scott) said yesterday that the strike had considerably upset the tight schedule that bad been set.

The delegation, which com prises the Mayor (Mr G. Manning), and Messrs A. 1 Cottrell, E. H. Williams, and Scott, will leave Christchurch this morning and meet the New Zealand team in Auck land.

Mr Scott said that the decision on the 1970 games allocation would be made at a meeting of the Commonwealth and British Empire Games Federation on August 7. New Zealand’s case depended largely on the vote of some of the smaller, newer countries in the Commonwealth, and the withdrawal of some of these from the games might have lessened New Zealand’s chances. Edinburgh, Christchurch’s only rival for the 1970 games, miss ed last time only because the smaller countries voted for Kingston, said Mr Scott. The delegation hoped to be invited to address the games federation meeting on Augusl 7 before the deciding vote was taken.