Hockey.

Southland Times, Issue 18859, 26 June 1920, Page 9

Hockey.

nude the position in ihe* local coiupcuiu.m particularly interestin': an:! the v.tlory 01 the College teatn over GollegiatA. means that the prc.-cnl hm.iov in the i ley Cup i lit prob.mly h;r.l a meet i.he ('oh,nr ' eleven again in the play -oil. ’rhe conipeii- t tion now ivsts hei\.ecn Collegiate A., U in- j ton and lievt , tor imle.-s something unI'oisten happens the last-named team should I win till the match: ; inquired to complete i the tint rt-und. I tie Winton and Collegiate teams should do the .a,me and the lia.ai i •rume.i eu 10 tig die.:- I-Vee lean IS sooul.i oe , well worth .vhih wat The present j positions ot the teams, nowever. emphasise.* | the delay wide!) might he caused by slack 1 iu'-s on the parr m la, postponement coni- I mittoe early in the .-ca.-on. Two more j map lies nave to he ph>, e i is fore the hr.i j .ound is compieUai. anil loe Gey i t.p mi.iv.ti cannot be played untd three weeus late ■Alien the Winners oi the local competition will have been played. Without any farther delays it will he August Id before the Town and Country match lakes place. In view of ihe proposal to semi a Southland, mam on lour, it would probably be wise for the L.H.A. to con-ider whether a competition match could not be arranged for I,he bench I day at Ilttgby fa:!: on July 7. High School A. surprised Winton on Wednesday and until within a few minutes of ■ dine ’being called it appeared as if Winton i had lo; t their chance;, of winning the pro- I miership. High Senior! thru had the ad- i vantage by one goal to ml and were tin- ! fortunate in having the tables turned before I .he whistle sounded. Although the con- ; ditions were in favour of the home eleven : ihev by no means had the better of the j game —a fact winch says a great deal for j the progra-vi \vh'-eh the High School girls | have made since the season began. j The apoiii: V wit of referees fir ladies’ j matches has t \ ys. been a difficult mailer j on acount of i..c few who have expressed i I heir willingness to assist in this, way. It j is a source of satisfaction to players to feel \ that t Innmat hj is under the control of | an imparl.'.;,! and capable referee, but at the ; least suggestion of fa\ouritLsm tire game J loses interest for eleven players. Generally j speaking the referee? this season have been ( capable” and impartial, but occasionally it j has been necessary to place matches under the charge of men without experience and without a working knowledge of the rules. It is stated that in a recent match the girls commenced to play before the start of a football match on the area adjoining, and j did not finish urdil after the football match was over. The winning side is said to have scored its goals just before the cull of j time and it seems questionable as to whether j it was justly entitled to win. The record of the Collegiate A. team, which, up till Wednesday, had not lost a match since the beginning of last season, has been broken ct Inst. On Wednesday they were defeated by College after tin excellent game in which perhaps tnc losers were a little unfortunate. The College team in the first half of the game were playing better hockey than their opponents ami the passing by the forwards and the long clearing hits of the backs puzzled the Collegiate players. In the second half the Collegiate players brightened up according to custom and the College girls were seldom off the defensive. Nevertheless they put up such a sound defence that the Collegiate girls were given few chances of shooting at goal. Directly Collegiate’s brilliant centre forward reached as far as

the circle she was surounded so closely that the ball seldom found' its way through to the goal-keeper, , Two players in' the College team played exceptionally well. H. Ashley at bully seldom made any mistakes and always passed out to her other forwards at the right time. She is one af the most brilliant players in Southland at present, and it is rather a pity that she should be playing at centre instead of inside right or left. The other player referred to is Miss Burt, who at right full-back, did more to keep the Collegiate A. team’s forwards from scoring than any other member of her team. She cleared beautifully and her hard clearing hits on many occasions turned defence into attack. Up till the present the hockey carnival has been a great success and the Association should be placed in a position to do many things, which for a long time past, have hampered the sport. The secretary of the Association has .been instructed to communicate with several other centres, and in future seasons Southland should have its share of interprovincial matches. The match between Wyndham and Gore ex-High for the premiership of the Eastern District on Wednesday created an unusual amount of interest. The Gore ex-High, who were defeated by Collegiate A, last season for the Dey Cup, were anxious to gain revenge qn the town team, but Wyndham were too much for them and after a good game won by 5 goals to 3. The result of the College and Collegiate - A. match on Wednesday will come as a surprise lo the Eastern District players and the hopes of the Wyndham team will be raised considerably. The results of last Saturday’s matches in the Otago men’s competition were as follow; Gymnastic 10 v College 1; University beat Port Chalmers; Union 4 v Y.M.C.A. nil. Entries for the New Zealand Ladies’ Hockey tournament have been received from Poverty Bay, Wanganui, Manuwatu, Hawke’s Bay and Auckland. The allocution of the tournament will be decided ut a special meeting of the Council to be held on July 7. The first match for the New Zealand Challenge Shield will take place on July 17. SCHOOLS’ .HOCKEY FIXTURES. The fixtures for the first round of the Prfimary Schools’ Competition are as follow ;—• Waihopai v. St. George, Doon Street; North v. Middle, Queen’s Park; South a bye. South v. Waihopai, Queen’s Park; St. George v. North, Doon Street; Middle a bye. Middle v. Waihopai, Queen’s Park; St. George v. South, Doon street; North a bye. North v Waihopai, Queen’s Park; Middle v. South, Doon street; St. George a bye. St. George v. Middle, Doon street; North v. South, Queen’s Park; Waihopai a bye. S.S.A. AND SCHOOL HOCKEY. The little disagreement between the S.S.A. and Circle has advanced a little since last Saturday and competition hockey in the schools is actually beginning to-day! Last Monday the Selection Committee of the 5.5. furnished a response to my brief statement of the previous Saturday I cannot call the association’s letter a reply; but it does little more than disclose that the association is very hazy about a number uf things. By the way of opening the select committee, with a righteous withdrawal of its skirt-, expresses regret that I have found it necessary lo "placard individuals” and adds with dignity that it does not “propose doing mi. considering that no good can come of personal references, when the subject under discussion concerns a bona, hue organisation." What does all tins moan? And what act of mine docs it try to warp into an offence against good ia.-t.e? Meicly that I named two people as the appointed representatives of the L.H.A. on tin* ri.S.Ad Is there then anything discreditable in saying that two people have been appointed to the S.S.A. ? If so. what is wrong with the association? The committee then proceeds with a statement that “the secretary of the S.S.A. has not yet received any notice from the L.H.A.” By way of reply let me first say that according to the secretary of the L.H.A., which was in existence long before tile S.S.A. was thought of, she received her first communication from tile S.S.A. a few days ago I This new body, you will notice, talks glibly about, trying to get into touch with the L.H.A., but we discover now that it never once thought of (lying the mails! Judging by tite casual manner in which the 5.5. officials brought their existence uniter the notice of the L.H.A., I suggest that the S.S.A. when il received no reply tn the letter it had not sent (th; ugh the L.H.A. secretary is po-itive about having sent information regarding Mr Dole's appointment with apologies for this turther “placarding”- to the S.S.A. i it might have made another effort between November 1919 and May, 1920. From its own statements, we gather ‘-hat it did nothing. The reporter of the Southland Times, repeats that he was a<ked. alter th" n eer.i.g o; May it*, m s.t a. th." ;; p: r -ni ati ve o r th • L.H.A. and replied th.: iie could not do so it:.-cause he was not a member of the L.H.A. The -ng; c .ed nomination to the hockey sue•■cnintiri re on June 15. was also declined by the reporter, I may add not by the m-rmln rs mt he a.-sociction. But the mailer is really of .-anail impo lance; it merely suggest-‘ that the s< crel a**y wc.s anxious about Hi•• in: ht"=s and v. a-‘ eager for my (for I wa' the culprit i :;.--i-t ar.ee, without t oubling in .- coni robing body of hockey. Now come we to the con-titution of football tr-.tns ,"n ! cricket teams. The committee's o.h'n 1 ( innate ol ihe number •if players in lon ‘ rr Hat and three football teams was IJO to 150. The larger number is now conveniently dropped and we are invited lo cordrmpL.te the calm assumj'.iirm that boys who [day cricket do nut play football, o- that a bay who plays both is actually two boys ! Will the Select Crinniitter p’et. -e extila’ui how one boy becomes two? Unfonunatciy when we advance another step and come In consider the lateness of the competition in the schools, we find that the Select Committee is ttili deeper in the fog. It states that it has “opined on this point” and its “expression ft ill hold,-which means in plain English that it repeats th.* assertion that the S.S.A. is. not to ti’amc for the delay! But what had the S.S.A, d. ne to get into touch with the 1,11.A. in this matter. Officially, nothin". It had waited on Hie Rugby eontroilmg body end treated the cricket association whit deference; hut it never troubled to write to the hockey uirls or hit ei view tin* association. It h-; been suttee--; ed ’ ;> me bv on? member of the S.S. A. that the hockey body should have approached the School Sports Association; Adopting that coo! suggestion, we conic to the question: When then did the S.S.A. :-t ary time act without being approached at all (ns it says it-Ufi. Mote of that later. Let us on to the que-dion of po-t----pj.iements. The course of ladies’ hockey tit's year was as follows: — May 19- -Wet weather, matches postponed ; but the Saturday was not affected, and it is on Saturdays that tits school matches are played. May 26—Two matches played, schools on vacation. June 2 —Postponement because the holiday on June 3. but this did not affect Saturday. June 5. Juno 9 —All games played. June 16 —Postponement on account of vaccination in one team. I protested asrainst the postponement on May 19, whe-n the players were quite ready to proceed and against the postponement on June 10. The Select Committee can get what comfort it likes out of the fate of senior hockey; but that, will not explain why it had done nothing practical for school hockey up to May 18. This bring? me to the Committee’s wonderful conclusions. 1 quote in full: — To conclude we will quote “Circle,” “If the S.S.A. was under the impression last year that it hail no support from the ladies’ organisation, why did it dally with the matter of school hockey so long this year?” The S.S.A. came into being on November IS, 1919, but exercised no control over school sports till the opening of the cricket season

in February, 1920, so his reference must be to the body officially controlling hockey last year. Let me explain all this ifl simple language. The S.S.A. says that it thought in February 1920, (I take the association's dates) that it was to receive no support from the L.H. A. Why did it then dally over hoclcey in the schools until May 18, when the season was under way? Why didn’t it (1) Write to the L.H.A. at any time after November, 1919. (2) Speak to a member of the L.H.A. on a tram about the matter. (3) Proceed with the ..work of drafting rules for a competition. (4) Do something. Can’t this body understand that its reason for existing, cumbersome though one of its prominent members admits it to be. is to act and not wait for others to do something? It had the progress of hockey in the schools at heart, and why, therefore, didn't it lay down its plans long before May 18. A committee that wouki try to escape my very straight criticism regarding its dilatory ways, by the use of the lumbering remarks quoted above, canuot be expected to answer that question. And it cannot answer it except (o cry: Peccavi. In conclusion let me set out a few of the known facts: The S.S.A. is mooted in the middle of 1919. Its secretary speaks to the secretary of the L.H.A. about it. The L.H.A. appoints a representative for the inaugural meeting and informs the provisional secretary, Mr Cameron, in October, of that fact. (Mr Cameron says he did not get the letter). The S.S.A. is born on November 18, 1920. (Mr Cameron says that there was no representative of the L.H.A. present.). The S.S.A., not having made any official effort to get into touch with the L.H.A., bestirs itself on May 18, when a representative of the L.H.A. is said to have been present, and decides to draft rules for school hockey competitions. Circle, early in June, asks personally when the committee on rules is to get busy and it meets the same night. The comjretitions are set down to commence on June 26, a month late. The S.S.A. declares that it proposes to treat hockey in the same \vay as it did football and edeket (where one boy is two) with Circle’s co-operation or without it. I decide in the interests of hockey to co-operate (but independently) and so I gather will the L.H.A., under whose jurisdiction the S.S.A. committee (according to that body’s constitution) must act, in spite of the fact that the senior association was not approached officially until June of this year. One last line: Let me say that as far as hockey is concerned, I think the S.S.A. is now thoroughly alive, sitting up and keen for nourishment. And that I make no apology for waking it up.

(Notes 5y "Circle.”) live positions of ihe teams in the local ladies’ ccuipetiumi :ui’ as ioilutt Bi> <1. W. L. 1), I' t s. W'iuton . . 5 4 1 s Collegiate A. . . 3 4 1 — s Colievre . . 4 ;; i (j High A. .. 4 2 2 — 4 L nion . . 5 ;> — 4 I’ndenvooil . . .5 i ;i 1 3 High B 4 l 2 Collegiate B. . . 4 — 1! 1 1 Tho results of \V ednesday’s ma tchep have