TV to cover Lewis match

Press, 1 July 1983, Page 1

TV to cover Lewis match

PA Wellington There will definitely be television coverage of Chris Lewis’s Wimbledon tennis semi-final early tomorrow morning, Television New Zealand’s head of sport, Mr Keith McEwen, said yesterday. Although the time and court for Lewis’s match against the South African, Kevin Curren, had still to be finalised, “it does not really matter — we will have live pictures for the New Zealand audience,” he said. TVNZ had confirmed two separate satellite links, depending on what court the match was played on, said Mr McEwen. If the match was on centre court as scheduled, they would take 8.8. C. cover. But if it was transferred to another court because of delays to other matches, they had arranged for an outside broadcast unit and a special microwave link to a satellite station.

Mr McEwen said it appeared likely that the Lewis-Curren match would be the first of the day, at 1 a.m. (New Zealand time), although this would be confirmed by the tournament organisers today.

TVNZ had block booked the satellite links from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. tomorrow.

The anti-apartheid group, H.A.R.T., said yesterday that it had sent a telegram to the organisers of Wimbledon demanding that Curren be withdrawn from the tournament.

A H.A.R.T. regional councillor, Mr Richard Cuthbert, said, “If the Wimbledon authorities are frightened to remove Curren, we will urge Chris Lewis to search his conscience, knowing what he does about the suffering apartheid causes.”

Mr Cuthbert said that he had also sent a telegram to the Minister of Recreation and Sport, Mr Highet, saying that the attempt to get television coverage of the match showed Government support of apartheid.