SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4537, 9 March 1923, Page 3

SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

FOOTBALL. Football is probably the most popu • lar form of spoilt on the 'Plains. There are now five clubs, with 150 players, and' there is talk of forming more clubs. A union was formed in 1920, which last season affiliated with .the Goldfields tp make the Thames Valley Union. There .are trophies for competition by both senior and junior teams. • TENNIS. Tennis has made rapid strides during the last few years, and there are now nine clubs. An active associa--9 tion has been formed, which talks of having association courts constructed. Several challenge trophies are being competed for at the present time. , OTHER SPORTS. I Cricket and hockey find supporters at Kopuarahi. Shooting is decreasing. Whereas a few years ago ducks were very plentiful on the Plains, the advent of settlement has driven them away; and the wild pigs that used to roam the Plains are now extinct. There is a strong athletic club in Turua which annually holds a successful sports meeting. At Kerepeehi a sports club hold equine sports annually on Easter Monday. Effdrts have been made to form a racing club, but so far without success. It will thus be seen that sport, as well as industry, is making rapid strides on the Plains.