FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 March 1922, Page 7

FOOTBALL.

THE RUGBY GAME, THE TARANAKI UNION. ANNUAL MEETING OF DELEGATES. The annual meeting of delegates to the Taranaki Rugby Union was held at. the Foresters’ Hall, Stratford, on Thursday night, when Mr. D. J. Malone (President) occupied the cl rir, and there were also present the following club representatives:—Messrs. J. McLeod and C. Brown (Tukapa), A. L. Humphries, J. Clark and P. Sims (Star), R. J. Brokenshire and R. G. Howell (Old Boys), La uplands, Lealand and P. Chapman (Ing.e--wood), R. F. Harkness and C. Jackson (Stratford), L. G. Beamish and J. Goodwin (Hawera), J. A. McKenna and C. Sheahan (Patea), A. Lees and A. H. Guy (Okaiawa), R. B. Fearon, M. Lynskey and J. Kissick (Kaponga), J. Patterson and J. S. McKay (Waimate), A. F. Neilson (Opunake), J. Garcia (Okato), A. Vbullaire and N. Morgan (Rahotu), W. H. Moyes and F. Bowler (Secondary Schools), A. J. Papps and J. Kiley (Referees), J. H. Dunn and W. H. Anderson (Eltham), F. Ross and H, A. Tancred (Clifton).

The President, in welcoming those present, said it augured well for football to see such a large attendance, and he hoped that a strong management committee would be elected. In moving the adoption of the report and balance sheet (already published), the chairman said that they could congratulate themselves on a very successful year from the point of view of finance and the improvement in the standard of play. For a number of years play in Taranaki had gone back, but last year there had been a decided revival,’and he had every hope that it was going to continue even better in the future. The management committee had a great deal to do in managing the affairs, which had now grown to very large dimensions. A few years ago it was a fairly easy task, but last year there had beqn an increase in the number of teams, while this year there was every prospect of a further increase. He welcomed this increase, for though it might at times cause inconvenience to established clubs, the more players taking part in the game the better for the clubs. BETTER GROUNDS.

He urged the incoming committee to keep in view the very important question of grounds. It was unfortunate that provision had not been made in th© various towns for the playing of outdoor games. He thought the Union should endeavor to establish at least three permanent grounds in Taranaki—one in North Taranaki, one in Central Taranaki, and one in South Taranaki — on which to play big matches. He said this without wishing to be parochial, because, naturally, every one would wish to have a ground in their centre, but he looked forward to the time in the near future when, with the growth of Taranaki, they would require to have grounds to accommodate crowds of from 9000 to 16.000. These cottkl not be accommentated on flat surfaces, and they must enlist the sympathy of the public in those centres and go in for a ground with buildings, etc., where the public could be properly catered for. While the Taranaki team had not been as successful as he would have liked, yet, on the whole, they had been fairly successful, considering that they were seldom at full strength. The convincing point was the magnificent stand made against the Springboks, which he regarded as the turning point in Taranaki football, of which he must admit that during the past few years he had felt very disappointed. In conclusion, he thanked the members of the management committee, the Press and all who had supported the game. Mr. McLeod, in seconding, endorsed the President’s remarks in congratulating the clubs and provincial team on the success achieved from a playing point of view. The standard of play certainly did improve. The management committee had inaugurated the new scheme with some apprehension, but he considered it had proved fairly successful. He, however, wished to point out that under the new scheme, the union had not made any profit out of the clubs. The gates last year had been greater than had been the case in many previous years, totalling over £lOOO, and he made bold to say that under the new scheme clubs received twice- as much money as they had received in previous years. The total takings in club gates amounted to £1320, and they had paid back £llB7, leaving only £133 as a profit from that source, while they had only charged half the secretary’s salary and half the management expenses. If they had charged the whole of that, as they were entitled to, there would have been a loss of £lOO shown on the gates. He thought that the clubs had taken an erroneous view in not analysing the balance sheet in the light of each individual matCh ' AMUSEMENT TAX. He mentioned thia merely to show clubs that all the money went back to them. It was only fair to the incoming committee, when clubs wished them to refund more than they had been doing, to point out that this could not possibly be done. The committee had realised this last year, when they had reduced the proportionate payment from 75 per cent, to 50 per cent. Had they continued paying out 75 per cent., there would have been a loss of £250. They had to face facts, and it was advisable to talk the matter out, but he did not want to put the new committee in a false position. They coiild not pay out what the public did not give. As the gates increased, so did the commission paid for the grounds to the owners, who realised more than ever before the value of their grounds. There wee, moreover, the question of the amusement tax. The meeting would have to decide whether to pay this itself or pass it on. If they had paid amusement tax last year it would have cost £lll, He considered that as the result of experience various expenses could be reduced, and the incoming committee would do this wherever it could. Possibly, also, there would be an increase in gate money. Up to last year, players had always paid their own expenses, whereas last year clubs had half the tra-, veiling expenses of the seniors refunded When the point was raised that the senior players had received a share of their expenses and the juniors had not, that was a matter for the committee of the clubs, who could, if neeessarv utilise the monej- refunded to \help the' juniors, as he felt sure that the seniors did not expect to pay less for their football under the more interesting now per vailing. In other re- _

spects the season had been a success. Al] the representative matches had shown a profit, and he wished to emphasise the fact that it was on that account the union was better off, and lipt because of any profit made from k the clubs, , y ' DISCUSSION Mr. L. Beamish said, in regard to the receipts from representative gates, that the total receipts were £l5lO, whereas in the balance sheet £1286 was shown, and he also questioned other items. The secretary said the New Plymouth matches were difficult to handle, many items having to be remitted to the New Zealand Rugby Union and to other provincial unions. After tracing the accounts the auditor was satisfied that the books were in order.

Mr. McLeod said that some of the items were probably given as net, while the balance sheet in some cases showed gross returns. This • accounted for the fact that the balance sheet did not balance. Mr. Lees said if the balance sheet did not balance it could not be correct. It : was rather a regrettable position, and he thought that some explanation should have been given. The balance sheet should show the correct amount taken from representative matches. If they had full details of expenses from separate clubs a good deal of misapprehension would have been removed. He recognised that the management committee was doing a lot of good work, but the delegates wanted a clear statement, and this was not given in the balance sheet. He thought that a good deal of expenditure could be saved by not sending referees from one end of the country to the other.

Mr. McLeod said the aim of the management committee had been to give as full a balance sheet as possible. • The Taranaki Union gave a very much more detailed statement than any other union in New Zealnd.

The secretary said that- the expenses of the management committee were only £B4 more than the pre-’ious year, and it must be clear that there was much more actual expense attached to the management for the previous year. They were now also paying £lOO per year to the secretary, so that if this were deducted it would leave the expenses protically the same as the year before. Mr. J. Garcia pointed out that the expenses of the Taranaki B v. Wairoa SubUnion match at Waverley may have been omitted from the statement.

Mr. Lees said that they should try to avoid these delays in the future and get a clear statement of affairs. They owed it to the public, from whom the revenue came. The balance sheets, he thought, should be issued before the annual meeting. It was too late in the season to have club matches going after August 1 in a dairying district. Something should be done to get the competitions over at an earlier date. There was also a difficulty last year with some clubs regarding the advertised time for starting matches, and this matter should be looked into for the coming year. THE SECRETARY. In connection with the removal of the secretary to New Plymouth, Mr. Harkness said this looked like camouflage. He had little doubt that where the secretary was there the headquarters would be, although the annual meetings were held in the centre of the province. He hoped there would be no attempt made to move the headquarters from Stratford.

Mr. McLeod absolutely resented the suggestion of camouflage regarding the, removal of the secretary to New Plymouth. His work had taken him there. The secretary had no vote and no influence with the management committee, and there was no intention of moving the headquarters from the centre of the province. In. regard to finishing the season earlier, he did not see how that was possible. Regarding the advertising of matches, the management committee had set down definite times for starting matches, but the clubs themselves had in some cases had the times altered. . Mr. R. F. Harkness said the liabilities were shown in the balance sheet as nil. Did this include unpresented cheques? He thought these should have been shown as liabilities. He thought that the report should be drawn up by the executive and signed by the president. Mr. McLeod said that for years the report had been drawn up by the chairman of the management committee and signed by him. It was not the duty of the president to draw up and sign the report. In regard to criticism of the gate management at New Plymouth, Mr. McLeod said they were run on a complete docket system, and probably better than by any other club in the Union. Mr. Garcia said he thought it would be a good idea for the executive to meetand discuss the report before submit tin» it to the annual meeting. However, in the past they had every confidence in the chairman, and this they still had. 1 Mr. Malone suggested that it wou.d be wise to close the financial year earier, so that a statement could be sent out to the clubs before the annual meeting. As regarded the signing of the Lei ance sheet, he said it was a fact that the president was not in a position to know as much about the affairs of the Union as the chairman. The report and balance sheet were then adopted.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS. Officers were elected as follows: —President, Mr. J. S. McKay; vice-presi-dents, Messrs. A- L - Humphries (north), L. G- Beamish (south); management committee, Messrs Jas. McLeod} Jas. Garcia, R. F. Harkness (north), R. B. Fearon, A. Neilson, W. A. Guy (south), W. H. Moyes (secondary schools), Papps (Referees’’ Association). The primary schools’ representative wil 1 be recommended by the Teachers’ Institute. Mr. A. L. Humphries was appointed treasurer and Mr. H. W. Thompson auditor; vicepresident of N.Z.R.U., Mr. J. S. McKay. GENERAL. Mr. Lees said he had been instructed by* his club to move that the headquarters of the Union and the secretary should be located Stratford. This arrangement had worked well for a number of years, and he thought that it should not be altered. He only honed that Mr. Jago would be able to retain the position. Mr. Chapman moved as an amendment that the secretary remain in New Plymouth, and the annual meetings be held in Stratford. Mr. McLeod, in seconding the amend ment, said that he did not think he conic continue in his present position if Mr Jago were not in office. He did not want to go back to the position he was in before, with a large amount of work to do without the assistance of Mr. Jago, who had a great deal to do, and had done his work well. As for the opinion that Now Plymouth was out to bava th® head-

quarters there, that was only a matter of sentiment. Mr. Lees was only doing his duty by his club by moving as he had done, but they did not want to go and look for a new secretary. Mr. Jago was as capable a secretary as they ever had, and they had had some good ones.

Mr. Malone warned the meeting of the danger of losing a good secretary. If they could find a better man than Mr. Jago it might be advisable to have the secretary in Stratford, but he did not see where they could get a better man. As a Stratford man he had every confidence that Mr. Jago would carry out his duties just as well in New Plymouth. Other delegates agreed with this view, and expressed the opinion that it would be a great advantage to have the secretary and the treasurer living in the same town. The amendment was put to the meeting in the form of a resolution, and was carried unanimously. Mr. Ross said, in regard to the regrading of players, that it was a hardship on a junior player to become a senior when he had played one senior game after being regraded. Mr. Malone said the rule was to prevent players dodging from one grade to another. Mr. McLeod considered there was little difference in making the rule that a player became a senior after playing one or two senior matches. Mr. A. L. Humphries said he had been asked by the Star Club to move -that it be a recommendation to the management committee that the age of third grade players be raised to 21 years. Mr. Clarke moved as an amendment that no restriction be placed on thirdgrade players. Mr. McLeod said if no limit were fixed players of 15-stone weight or more could play and thus endanger young players. There was room for all players in the four grades now being played. It had been suggested to reduce, the ages in the lower grades. Mr. C. Jackson said he thought the limit should be placed on weight and not upon age. Mr. W. H. Moyes was of opinion that it would be a retrograde step to increase the age limit and would force school teams to play in a lower grade. The motion was decisively lost. Mr. C. Brown moved that it be a recommendation to the management committee that a sole selector be appointed. and that clubs nominate representative players. Mr. Garcia supported a suggestion from the Kaponga delegate that one selector should be appointed in the south and one in the north, and further advised that Mr. Malone should be appointed chairman of this committee of selectors. An amendment to the effect that it be a recommendation that there be three selectors appointed who shall receive nominations from club selectors was carried.

A further amendment to this resolution by Mr. McLeod, that club selectors make nominations to three selectors, who will submit 30 names to a sole selector, was carried. This became a motion and was carried.

The question of amusement tax was brought forward by Mr. McLeod, who wished a direction as to whether gthe tax should be passed on to the public. It was pointe<l out that the honorary members’ tickets were subject to the tax. On the motion of Mr. A. L. Humphries, it was decided to pass the tax on to the public so as to impress upon them the unfairness of the tax. Mr. Garcia suggested that the Union should join hands with the A. and P. Societies in protesting against the imposition of the tax. Mr. Malone considered the public would protest sufficiently when they felt the tax|>

Mr. Fearon said that a seven-a-side tournament was being held at Kaponga on April 27, when the shield presented by Mr. A. L. Casey would be competed for.

In reference to the reflection cast upon the management committee regarding the Patea Club in, being admitted to the competition, Mr. McLeod said the committee was told there was a free ground there. The Patea Club had cost the committee a lot of money, and at the end of the season they had been charged a further £2O for grounds. It was said that the secretary of the union had made an arrangement in this matter. The Patea Club had said that the Union had broken their contract with Patea, and he felt he had to protest. The management committee had never made any contract, and had at al] times treated the Patea Chib the same as any other club, and would continue to do so.

Mr. McKenna said the Patea people had recently raised £l9OO, which wouX be devoted to football grounds now being constructed. They had dipped very deeply into their pockets and were prepared to do so again in order to keep in the game in Taranaki, the province to which they belonged. On behalf of the Patea Club he wished to contradict the statements regarding the matter, and agreed that the management committee had treated Patea as it had treated all other clubs.