TENNIS DEADLOCK

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 849, 18 December 1929, Page 7

TENNIS DEADLOCK

DIFFICULTY OVER INTERPRO. MATCHES WELLINGTON’S POSITION Special to THE SON WELLINGTON, Tuesday. A deadlock has arisen over the Wilding Shield and Nunnelley Casket challenges received by the Wellington Lawn Tennis Association, and at present it appears doubtful whether the matches will be played.The Auckland Lawn Tennis Association sought to play Wellington for possession of the Wilding Memorial Shield and South Canterbury for the Nunnelley Casket, the still virgin casket presented to the N.Z.L.T.A. last [ year by Miss Kathleen Nunnelley, 13 i times national champion, for competition among women’s teams. The dates suggested in each case were January 24 and 25 next, just prior to I the New Zealand championships. The j national meeting is fixed to open on January 27 and the double event provided a useful curtain-raiser to the big meeting. DIFFICULTY OVER DATES The difficulty is that Wellington has. fixed its provincial championships to commence on Wellington’s anniversary day, as usual —that is, January 22—and extend to January 25. For both national trophies the date thus proposed invades the period set aside to be devoted to the play for the Wellington meeting. Only one aay elapses between Wellington’s finals and the opening rounds of the New Zealand tournament. Wellington considers it absolutely impossible to play the championships and hold the teams matches, too, for the double reason that the players would not be available and the tourney would have to remain uncompleted. The players who would be needed for Wilding Shield and Nunnelley Casket matches are those who would be engaged in the finals of the provincial events. In addition, under the terms of the arrangements with the N.Z.L.T.A., four courts must be reserved for the finals of the national meeting and not used for the provincial trophy. These reduce the grass courts available at Miramar to 12. If a further four courts were taken for play in the trophy matches, the Wellington tournament, after the second day’s play, would be reduced to using eight courts to put through a record entry. The dates, January 18 and 20, have been suggested by Wellington to Auckland and South Canterbury, for the matches, stated Mr. W. B. Watson, secretary of the Wellington Lawn Tennis Association, today. If these associations cannot see their way to send a team here before the provincial championships begin, it is proposed that the matches should he played after the New Zealand championships finish on February 2. To any invasion of its-own tournament dates, Wellington cannot agree.