THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 305, 19 August 1932, Page 4

THE OLYMPIC GAMES

With the exception of the oarsmen, so far as trophy-hunting goes, the visit of the New Zealand athletes to the tenth Olympiad has been a profitless one for the biggest New Zealand team j that has yet gone to this great international meeting, and there will be critics to say that money was wasted by sending the team. But that is not so. To answer those who may be excessively critical in their disappointment, it is necessary first to consider the position of athletics in the Dominion. None of the competitors who went away devotes his life maihly to the attainment of perfection in sport. All have their daily work to do, and with them athletics is simply a casual pastime that keeps them fit. They have not the advantage of skilled scientific coaching that is a feature of athletie life in other countries, particularly the United States. The truth is that they I run, fight and row Tbeeause for I a few years of their lives they j are able to make these things ! healthy and exhilarating hob-

bies. In spite of their lack of | advantages, some members of the team did extraordinarily well , in face of opposition of the world's best. Savidan and Elliott, i though beaten, were far from I disgraced, proving that they j were worthy opponents of the champions. If they had had the same coaching advantages as | some of their opponents, it is | possible that they would have I been able to bring honours home j with them. All members of the New Zealand team at Los Angeles will, however, return with something that they lacked when they left these shores ; that is fresh experience which should be of benefit to athletics in this country. They have seen the world champions in action; they have competed against them, and their widened knowledge ' will no doubt be available to those who were not lucky enough to accompany them. In addition to that, they have been able to make contacts that will be invaluable in other ways. These international meetings, although occasionally marred by incidents that are not always absent from other competitions of skill, facilitate the understanding of the outlook of peoples of other nations. All this is helpful, especially in a world that is now realising that the old barriers of nationalism must be lowered. The consolation, therefore, for New Zealanders who feel disappointed in the accomplishments of the Dominion's athletes is that these representatives, some of the best physical types in the country, will return with enlarged experience, and broader minds than they had before going away. For these reasons it cannot be argued convincingly that the money spent on the Californian pilgrimage has been wasted.