WAIKATO HOCKEY ASSOCIATION.

Waikato Argus, Volume XXIV, Issue 3752, 8 April 1908, Page 2

WAIKATO HOCKEY ASSOCIATION.

To the Editor. Sir.—l have seen with great pleasure in your advertising columns that it is proposed to form a Hockey Association in Hamilton. Such a movement indicates more than anything else the progressive spirit prevalent in our town. Some years ago a'few enthusiasts commenced to play the game here and formed themselves into a club; but under such circumstances the element of competition necessary to all British games, was not strong and the movement gradually died away. Then Hamilton was merely an ordinary country town; now it is an impotrant centre, and the hockey enthusiasts, realising this, are not trying to form at Hamilton a Hockey Club; but are forming a Waikato Hockey Association, which will encourage the formation and improvement of clubs throughout the district. That Hamilton is the centre of the Waikato is evident in this as in aught else, and those responsible for the institution of the game here realise this and to provide a keen competitive spirit are not banding themselves into one club; but into an association to foster and control the formation of numerous clubs.

The promoters are faced with a difficulty at the outset—one which must be faced in every sporting movement until our townspeople realise their importance in the district, and have the courage to act accordingly. I mean the absurd system by which one half of" the community makes holiday on Wednesday and the other half on Saturday. Might I, in encouragement to the local notaries of the game, suggest that the difficulty be overcome by two rounds, one on Wednesday afternoons, and the other on Saturday afernoon 3, and that the leading teams in the two divisions play oft' for the championship on some public holiday. This is a suggestion merely; but in any case, do not let this difficulty prevent a good purpose. Of the game itself little need be said. It is undoubtedly the best game for young men who still have too much virility to be content with say—golf. It is a strenuous game bringing out all the best in our young men, demanding science and above all, forbidding brutality. Rugby football, whether justly or not, I cannot say, is now-a.days condemned as brutal; hockey cannot be that, as it forbids the handling of men and the game is too open for any deliberate foul play to go undetected, while at the same time the principles involved, and the legitimate tactics used are identical with those in Rugby. It is, if anything, more scientific as the manipulation of the ball by a stick calls for especial skill, not unlike that employed in cricket. This movement, then, is started in ths proper mainer; it gives a clean, healthy, manly and scientific game to our young men, and calls for commendation and support from all, especially from the young men themselves.- -I am, etc., OLD HAND.