New March Plan And Coming Events In Girls' Marching

Chronicle (Levin), 19 October 1949, Page 7

New March Plan And Coming Events In Girls' Marching

From all indications the coming marching season will be an outstanding one. New teams are being formed within existing associations and it is pleasing to note that Carterton last week t'ounded an association. These enthusiasts also intend to f'orm other associations within their boundaries, thus leading to the formation of a new centre and bringing the number of centres m the Dominion up to 20, Taranaki having broken away from the Marching Union to affiliate with the New Zealand Marching and Recreational Association. ' .

Because of the intention of thecontrOilmg authorities to standardise the judging of all eontests, one teams througnout New Zeaiand will be assurred of the same treatment wherever they go.. This " uniformity in judging has been found necessary pecause of the particularly high standard of periormance achieved by ihe majority of teams, making it a very difficult task to difterentiate in the top classes. The position and executian of all the movements laid down in each year's march plan is indicacive of the great deal of praciice and training carried out by the teams and their coaches. In no other country -is girls' marching organised on such a truly 11ational sca.e, with representation from eVery part of the country coordinated hv a central organisation, ahd this is^^a fact which escapes Jie attention of New Zea'landers who have watched the development of this sport. The New March Plan. Each new march plan must be performed in accordance with the instructions lai'd down in the pamphlet. The methods used in - the various movements are set out in the association's handbook and only complete and thorough comprehension of the detail therein will lead to a high standard of performance. Many of the

movements have departed from the military interpretations and have been amended to suit thbexisting conditions. To give a good display, every individual girl must know each movement in detail and only after hours of- concentrated practice can the team be expected to produce the really worthwhile exhibition seen in the past. In the Horowhenua association several new senior and junior teams have been formed and with the standard achieved by the Caledonians last year as their goal", their performances will be looked forward to with great interest throughout the district. Most teams in every association 'do a good deal of travelling throughout the season and, apart from competing in the various eontests, the girls make hosts of invaluable sociai contacts. These trips are financed by the girls themselves and their supporters. Uniforms, which in many eases are. of striking design and make a -spectacle well worth going a long dis.ance to witness, are usually the responsibility of the team's sponsors, but in the majority of instances the girls and their parents provide these. Programme Of Events. On Saturday, November 5, the teams in the Manawatu Centre will take part in a street march

in Palmerston North and then give a display at the Royal Show. n. week later (November 12) a grand gala opening day for the 1949-50 season wiil be held in Levin on the Park Domain, when it is hoped that all senior and junior teams will be' participating. As- a new team has. been formed at Waikanae, the Horowhenua Association' is endeavburing to take several teams down* there on the last weekend in November to' give a display. The Manawatu Centre Championships will be held in Otaki on December 3, the ; three placed teams in this contest being eligible to compete in the North Island championships, which will be held this seas.on on January 28 'at Carlaw Park, Parnell, Auckland, the venue of the Empire Games, which begin the following Saturday. The Auckland Centre secretary has arrangements well in hand and in spite of the thousands who will be requiring accommodation fbr the Games, he has secured the use of .three large hoiels for the accommo'dation of marching teams. The new set-up for the New Zealand championships, which will be held in Christchurch in .March, provides for the winner of each centre championship and the North and South Island champions (if these are not alre.ady centre champions) to compete for the national thle at present held by that outstanding team, Hastings Police. To witness the spectacle of such grand types of New Zealand young womenhood is well worth the effort which has been and still is being put into the organisation of this ever-increasingly popular girls' sport.