CORRESPONDENCE.

Shannon News, 5 July 1929, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —The interesting correspondence re Sunday football appearing in your columns has given opportunity for various expressions of opinion on this subject. May I be permitted to add my contribution to the discussion? I cannot claim to express the convictions of the majority of ratepayers or residents of Shannon, but put forward purely my own personal ideas in this connection —in the hope that same r may be of help in trying to find a solution of the difficulty. The events wliich caused the protest of the ministers, and this correspondence show that there is something .amiss, but the banning of Sunda sports is not the remedy. This is the ,easy way out, but does not cure the evil. From the moral point of view I consider there is no wrong in Sunday sporis, providing they are properly controlled—and this is the crux of the matter. If our Ministers and church people, Mayor and councillors, sports clubs and those who take a lead in civic matters and stand for decency, stand aloof and will not attempt to control matters from inside they mu&t share the blame. It is then useless for them to condemn the men who are responsible. Objection has been made to "organised'' games of football, whereas it has been admitted that unorganised games are not objectionable. It seems to me that the unorganised games, lacking all control, are the main source of trouble. If games are organised they can be controlled, bad language checked and the games run on decent lines.

I submit that the best method is for all these who stand for decent sport to work together and organise Sunday games which can be controlled. This,_. of course, is much more difficult and requires the sacrifice of time and en : The question of using the Borough .Recreation Ground remains, pnd I re> cognise that there arc objections to this, in that its use for football deprives other citizens generally of the pleasure of using it. I would therefore suggest that a ground elsewhere be provided and that a strong sports committee be formed, from those who ■have the true interests of our town at heart, to arrange and control all games played on the recognised ground. At the same time'the players must recognise that there are certain standards of decency which they should observe and they should be the first tc check any tendency to overstep the mark, and to maintain a high standard of sportsmanship. Throwing brickbats serves no good purpose and if, instead of trying to fix the'blame on others or shuffle out of responsibility, the vauous bodies would get together and discuss matters in a reasonable manner, .1 think a means of preventing a of the trouble could be found. Could a round table conference of the bodies concerned, representatives of the churches, Borough Council, Football Club and general public, be called, at which some such arrangement, agreeable to all, could be made? —I am, etc., PERCY W. B\VSS.