PARADES AND SPORT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1550, 20 September 1912, Page 5

PARADES AND SPORT.

: j ;■■■■• ;/■ •' ■ ♦, ■ ' • :NO HITCH, WITH CARE. • Some time ago representatives of the various local sports oodies conferred with •the officers oftho territorial units in the Wellington coast defence command with regard to an arrapgemeijt .qf,.f|jife? )M T)"Jiich would pr4eltfde,.the, possibility, of, between the compulsory daylight parades ■ on.. Saturday , afternoons and .tile sports events. . An agreement wa3 arrived at and under: that agreement Saturday, Septem-. ber-21 (to-morrow) and Sjturday, September 28, were to be rwerved for the parades. Rather, it was understood that nothing would be done by the sports bodies which would interfere . with the attendance at the parades.. The ' wretched weather which prevailed almost throughout the past winter, and wretched weekend after week end, has had the result of seriously delaying tho finishing events in the winter sports programmes, and the position now is, so far, at least, as Rugby j and Association football are concerned, ■ that if certain matches are not played tomorrow and on the following Saturday, thoy cannot be played at all. Under these circumstances it has been decided to play whatever matches have to Tie played. Steps, are to be taken to see that nobody erodes parade on account of the matches. It is understood that the military authorities will not interfere with anyone who may be a bona-fide playpr and absents himself from parade in order to play in his match, provided that the parade is made good at a later date, arid his case is reported. But every territorial who absents himself from parade merely to look on will bo dealt with as a shirker. The sports'officials'do not consider that the matches, will affect the jnrades very much, if at all, so far as the teams are concerned, but it is generally admitted that the attraction of a, I>ig match at. the park may" prove too istrong for vacillating youths whose military ardour is lukewarm.