Spoon-Fed Athletes

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 27, 16 February 1937, Page 5

Spoon-Fed Athletes

club "fed-up" No More Sports Meetings in Hastings This Year LACK 0F PATRONAGfc Radical changes in the activities of the Hastings Amateur Athletiq and Cycling Club were' decided upon at the meeting of the execu*. tive last evening, when it was da» cided to discontinue the conduct ofj cluh-night sports meeting^, and tq substitute for them weekly trainififf) "Lack of patronage by the pnbWSf and the disinclination of a good num* ber of athletes to help the olub to help them are the two main reasons for which we have decided to make the changes in our programme for the sea* son," said Mr. G. N. Reee, secretary, this morning when interviewed by ,* Herald-Tribune representativei. "fta'ffik* iy, the cocnmittee is just fed-np with the way things have been going of la^e with our sports meetings, and it has decided that the time has come to eal) a halt in the spending of our finance* when it is not appreciated, even by those whom we are endeavouring i0 serve." Regarding lack of patronage, Mr Rees pointed out that it 'was now same years sinee a club-night sports meeting was a successful financial venture^ ♦♦This season alone so far we have lost over £30 on the five meetings we have field, and it was just the saoae last year," he said. "It costs about £9 to run a night meeting and the average gatetakings, which include the 64 paid by the competitors and which, ineidently, giYes them the xight to enter in every event on the programme, works out at £1 17/6. The most we have taken this"yfearir is"'£2 7/-. ♦'But really the committee would not mind this so much if it were not for the attitude taken by a good number of the competitors tfiemselves," said Mr. Rees. "We have felt for some ticne now that we have been spodnf eeding the athletes too much, and now we are just fed-up with spoon-feeding jthem. They will do nothing to help tfiemselves, and unless we hand out trophies we cannot get the fields. Even then we have to ,offer special inducements to get some of our leading athletes to corapete. Nowhere else in New Zealand do athletes get such a good • spin as they do in Hawke's Bay, and it is time that they .began to appreciate all that .the dub is doing for thecn." Mr. Rees went on to say that fhe elub was now in a good eound financial position and that-- the committee had no desire again to "get on the rocks." It was realised, however, that it had a . duty to perform in looking after the interests of those who were keen on the sport, and it had been decided to dis* continue the club nightq| which invohN ed the giving of trophies, and substti tute weekly training nights of one hour, commencing each Tuesday night at 6.30. There"~will be no trophies, though the events will count for Ihe points prizes. "These training nigH^s will give those competitors whQ want to have the outings the opportunity of securipg good training, and any success that they may achieve in the club pointi) events will not affiect their handicaps at the open meetings," he said. "It has to ba. Tecognised by the athletes that, though the club is now in a good financial position, it is not because of their efforts but solely by reason of the enterprise of the committee in other directions. Until they show some defi« nite signs of appreciatin^ the positiod the committee does not intenj to wasHus' monoy any longer. ' '