HOWL AND DO NOTHING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 538, 23 May 1933, Page 4

HOWL AND DO NOTHING

Although his criticisms may apply to a section of what is euphemistically termed "the sporting public" in larger and less fortunate countries, Archhishop Julius's contention that in New Zealand "a few fellows are highly trained to play games while the rest sit round and howl and think they are learning something" is a rather illconsidered judgment. It will receive support in some quarters, but like all generalisations, it is more than a little unjust to the majority. Unfortunately recent incidents in connection with the cricket tests in Australia lend colour to the Archbishop's view,

but it is scarcely fair to apply the condemnation in quite such sweeping terms to New Zealand, nor for the matter of that, to Australia. In a speech at Christchurch, Archbishop Julius made | the following statement: — records and the conduct of sport does not advance in our young people the , things we have most at heart. A great deal of our sport — I am not running it down, because I value it — means simply this, that a few fellows ' are highly trained to p'lay the game and the rest sit around andi howl and think they are learning ■ something, whereas, actually, they learn nothing and do nothing." In making this statement, His Grace has apparently entirely overlooked the extent to which participation in all forms of i sport is encouraged among i young New Zealand. Every child I i in this country by law, reeeives | 1 compulsory primary education ! anc] of the total an overwhelmj ing proportion actually attend school. In every primary schoo' j a considerable share of attention (it may fairly be contended in some cases, too considerable a share of attention) is given to games. Every school has its football and cricket, basketball and hockey teams, and in practically every case, • these are graded so that the great majority of the children are given an opportunity to participate. Definite time is set aside in the currieulum for these games and

every child who has the healthy and normal inclination to play games is given an opportunity to do so. This is even more the case when the child passes to the secondary school stage. In the majority of cases, the club or house system is in vogue in New Zealand secondary schools, and here, in the various grades, the child is able to participate according to its ability. Inevitably the higher honours in sport — the eminence of a first fifteen cap and so on — fall to the "few fellows who are highly trained," but that does not alter the fact that the ordinary rank and file of the young idea are also given equal opportunities. Again after leaving school, the young man and young woman, will probably join one or another of the multifarious sports clubs with which every town and indeed, every hamlet in the country is so liberally endowed. Any playing area in any town or village in the country on a Saturday afternoon will furnish a sufficient answer to the Archbishop's oontention. It is inevitable, of course, that there must be a "gallery" of non-participants. But the fact that there is this gallery does not imply that all its members merely "howl and do .nothing." It would probably be found, on investigation, that a v'ery large percentage of the ydunger generation at least were actively participating in one or another f orm of sport or that if they were not doing so, their reasons were quite sufficient to justify theif abstinenee. * ! • It' is manif estly unfair, there- ■ fofe, to Buggest' that a: New- Zeaiand sporting * crowd is Jafgely composed of rail-sitters. An in-

terest in sport without active •' participation, does not neeessar- ; ijy imply a desire f o "tiowl'^ but r rather a normal iiiclfnation to-. wiard what- is ' after all, 'd 'pef- ' { ectly normal and •'healthy fbrm ! of amusement. ' Oii the' otjier . h'and/. there is 'some justification for the Archbishop's strictures wheni they are t applied to the i partieular ' type of extremely ! "wise"\;indiyidnal who cocks a knowing eigarette and an 'equally knowing hat on the grandstand and lifts a raucous vojce j to high' heaven, without any in- f tention of • doing any more or j less than fhat. • But -this type is i inevitabje and the larger the population, the !|arger' ft must be. • It is, never'tneless1, unfair "to condemh the great body of the public and to class it with this type merely because it is not actually participating in games. In New Zealand it would not be too- much to say that -75 per

cent. of the male attend ance at a football mat'ch has itself p'layed the' game dr is actively interested in it and the same will apply to practlcally all forms of sport either for men or women. In older countries where the opportunities of education and participation in sport are not so great, the proportion is considerably less, but it is, after all, unfair to blame young people for their lack of opportunity. There is, on the otheT hand, a growing tendency to exaggerate the importance of games m the general scheme of things-, but the Archbishop could have dealt with this without indulging In a critical and rather intemperate generalisation upon the whole "sporting public." His contention that the encouragement of record-breaking purely for its: own sake, is not to be encouraged, is entirely true and if 'he Kad left it at that, no reply to it would have been necessary.