SUNDAY GAMES.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LIII, Issue 5530, 20 September 1929, Page 2

SUNDAY GAMES.

The matter of iSunday games has been brought up by the Akaroa Lawn Tennis Club which has asked permission to use the courts on Sunday up to 5 p.m. The Donxiin Tennis Club passed a resolution at its annual meeting that the same request should !bs mads to the Akaroa Borough Council; but their application has not yet been received. The position as regards .Sunday games is anonalous A 'business man who has been presented by stress of work from taking any recreation! during the week can go and play golf and noone- will raise a word of protest; !but if he plays a ■game of tennis he is challenged l at once unless 'he plays on Ms own private courts. Tennis is certainly the most popular game, but only a limited few can awni private courts <ind by another anomaly it is those who own courts who usually have leisure for play during the week. There is no doubt that the Sunday play has popularized golf and that many business people find: a very healthy recreation in the game. It is permissa.ble to go boating on Sunday and what difference there is between this and' a game of tennis is hard to see. Instead of playing a good healthy game of tennis young people might be much worse employed. All the holiday centres cater for Sunday tennis now and in- Dunedin ISunday gaimes are general all the public courts being filled. Sunday play benefits the tourist, the hard woiked business people and the poorer section of the community and for those reasons it is a help and not a hindrance to the community at large. It is understood that tennis should not' be played in church hours and for this reason the courts are closed always at 5 p.m. It seems a curious anomaly if the Municipal Authorities threw open the Public golf links all Sunday and put a ban on tennis. The argument has been ■used that Sunday is a day to spend in the home. Where people have only a small section thsy feel naturally the need' to get some exercise and they go out on to the streets, go boating - or they play golf. The exercise must be better for them than being cooped up in a small cottage. From a owe sense of justice the golf j player must admit that he is privileged over and albove the tennis player unless the latter is allowed his game on Sunday also and has only a part of Saturday afternoon. In Wellington the Sunday play is a feature of the j tennis courts and many young people j find in this their best opportunity of ■ healthy exercise after a week inside j shops and offices. When the matter i was being discussed by one of the j local tennis clubs one member stated j that he found it impossible to play i during the week and 1 he would wel- j come Sunday tennis as giving him an ! opportunity of a few ganvs. This player was much .in support of no ■■ play during church hours and ruled j that play should, be between noon j and 5 p.m. only. When drawing up J the lease of the tennis courts to the ; Akaroa Tennis Club, the Akaroa i Borough Council put in a. clause thatj there should be no Sunday play. A j motion to rescind this clause will I

come before the next meeting of the Akaroa Borough Council and it is to be hoped that Akaroa. will be brought into line with Timaru and all the larger cities of the Dominion. Why should private owners of courts be able to have their game of tennis unmolested on a line Sunday afternoon while the less fortunate a>e barred from a game on the only court they can use, the public one, and 1 the majority of people now agree that Sunday plnv is in tlve best interests of all whether on l public or private courts.