Young boarders left out

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 12, Issue 562, 15 November 1994, Page 4

Young boarders left out

• In your 18 October issue you published a letter I wrote to the Bulletin in which I voiced my concern over the way in which part

of the Turoa Triple Challenge was decided. Your choice of heading for my letter i.e. 'Snowboarding Drunks' seemed to me to somehow change the intended impact of my letter. I was not writing to gripe about snowboarders drinking. My only reason for writing in the first place was to highlight the unfairness of deciding a contest in such a way when, after accepting entry money from all ages, not all are eligible to actually take part in such a contest. You printed in your paper that the organiser (Neil Pollett) stated that all money had been refunded to the contestants from the boarder cross - this is untrue as neither of my boys have received any money

back as yet. In fact, to date, Mr Pollett has not even given me the courtesy of a reply to my letter requesting such. The boarder cross was cancelled and the unused prizes from the 'cancelled boarder cross' were given out at the Hot Lava as prizes for a drinking race which Mr Pollett organised on the spot. I feel that for the organiser of any sporting contest to suggest drinking races as part of disposal of prizes is wrong — under any circumstances. You also quoted me as saying that I did not want my sons to compete in drinking races. Mr Editor, once my sons are deemed old enough to enter a hotel then it is up to them how they spend their time there - it will be their

headache. My concern was for the lack of fairness when I believed the contest was decided in such a way and anger because they have yet recei ve their entry fee back !

Lesley-Anne

Walker

EDITOR REPLIES:ltwas reasonable to infer from your first letter, and indeed from your statements above, that you do not want your sons to compete in drinking races, at least before they reach the legal drinking age. We accept that your main concern was with regard to the fairness of deciding the winners of a competition through a drinking race in which your sons could not legally take part. Our inference does not detract from that concern.