WINTER SPORTS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3256, 28 April 1943, Page 3

WINTER SPORTS

PRESENT-DAY PROBLEMS PROSPECTS FOR SEASON MEN AND WOMEN IN SERVICES Almost every form of sport is affected by the number of young men and women engaged in one or other of the branches of the armed' forces. As a result it is difficult to assess the prospects for games during the coming winter.

Rugby, which has long been regarded as the king of winter games in New Zealand, has suffered perhaps more than any other sport because most of the youths and men of playing age have (been called upon for military service and the possibility of being able to maintain anything beyond school teams is pretty remote for all the clubs in the Thames Valley. With the release of the 18-year and 19-year-olds from the Army it is possible that rugby will be played if sufficient signify their intention of turning out. Home and home matches with possibly Te Aroha and Waihi might be arranged. Far-Reaching Effects

Golf is not so much affected by the war’s drain on manpower though there are many golfers in the services and other forms of war-time work, the demands on whose time has lessened the amount of time they can give to sport. Hockey has never been strong in the Thames Valley and it is unlikely that much of this sport will be played this year.

Badminton has been badly hit, not only through the demands on man and woman power but also by the fact that many of the halls and buildings formerly used for this winter sport are now being used for various forms of war service activities. Basketball will be carried on in the schools and to some extent by clubs of older girls, but here as in other realms the demands on the time of young women for war work have reduced club membership to an extent that makes the organised competitions and tournaments of pre-war times impossible. So far as sports, requisites are concerned they will generally be in short supply and clubs and players in the various kinds of sport will be able to replenish their requirements only from stocks at present held by dealers, as there is .little likelihood of any new materials being imported for the coming season. This situation, however, will be largely offset by the reduced number of players engaged and the , consequent decrease in the demand for sports equipment. The same considerations apply also to sports clothing.