SCHOOL ATHLETES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 114, 16 May 1934, Page 15

SCHOOL ATHLETES.

MELBOURNE CENTENARY.

NEW ZEALAND TEAM TO GO

DECISION OF CONFERENCE.

To consider the hefarty invitation of the Melbourne Centenary Council to send I aXe IZ f a ? and BeC Sis' athletes to A lcto na to compete there on November-Iβ arid 17, a conference of d e ° - gates from the principal centres of the Dominion was held at Wellington College last week. It was attended by-

Wellington: Messrs. J >r tu,ii,,i (headmaster Hutt Vallev Swi, Wl'f] Auckland: Mr. A W ShortCanterbury: 'w v c^ (Tirhani). ' A > Jackson

Otago: Mr. K. W. Glasgow

(1) To ascertain whether the weinht of H was found that the opinion was distinctly in favour of the team goin* across the only opposition coning fr^ a small

(2) To ascertain from the nominations already sent in by the various shoo s concerned whether a sufficiently etrong team c-dlfid be got together to warrant acceptance of the Melbourne invitaNo Interference With Exams. There was not the slightest doubt that such a combination could be raised, and this _ after a certification having been obtained m every case that there would be no interference with the boys' examination work. Ihe centenary council will pay the fares from the port of embarkation and back, and billet the party in Melbourne. Its members will be away for about a month altogether, and will comprise a manager and a dozen athletes to compete in .100, 220, 440 and 880 yards one mile, 120 yards hurdles, long and high jumps, pole vault, shot put, relay (four sprinters). ; (3) To make arrangements for the selection of the team. It was unanimously agreed that each centre should nominate its own member to the selection committee, which is to consist of five members, the fifth to come from an independent athletic body Mr MacCorniick, chairman of the New Zea,land Olympic Council, is to be requested to accept the position and act as referee in the case of an equal division on the part of the four centres. Each centre is to make arrangements for obtaining the . best available athletes from its territory, and to invite suggestions on any matters pertaining to the tour. The nominations of the selectors must reach the secretary in Wellington by June 30. The matter of trials, if such are necessary, to be arranged for by each centre, but care should be exercised lest boys go stale through being kept in training too long. Some money may be. available from the Olympic Council, but if any centre found that it could not defray the expenses of sending a selector to Wellington, it could nominate a substitute in that city. An Important Factor. In view of opposition to the tour expressed in some quarters, the appointment of the manager was considered to be of extreme importance. Accordingly, in the opinion of the meeting, the most satisfactory method of selection was to place it in the hands of the headmasters. Each headmaster, is to be circularised by the secretary and invited to send in his nomination to his own centre. The Headmasters' Association of each centre is then to be asked to send one nomination to Wellington; The final selection will be made by the selection committee already referred to. It will, of course, be necessary for any master nominated to previously obtain permission from his head to make the trip, and naturally the Education Department has also been approached on the matter of leave involved. .

Arrangements re assembly and embarkation are to be left in the hands of the Wellington Centre, for which Mr. Martin Smith will continue to act in a secretarial capacity. Points Emphasised. Ifc "was emphatically emphasised during the course of the meeting:— (1) ' This is- a centenary arid not an annual affair. yalue much enhanced through all sections of sport throughout the Empire being represented. Boys are old enough to profit hy. it. It has been the custom for the last few years to send secondary schools' boys to Australia for educational benefits such as are obtained through travel. In this case the actual sports meeting lasts oniy two days out of the month to be occupied by the trip. ■ . (2)' Many future athletes will come from secondary schools, and it. is possible for them under proper management to '"lead the way" in the matter of tone. Lionising rests with the people who do tlis- lionising, and this is not the fault of the boys. A good athlete will always-receive applause, and he must perforce train himself to rise above the harmful effects that such applause may have. The best type ol athlete does not suffer from swelled head"; they are unassuming and unobtrusive as a' rule, physical and mental training are both necessary, and it IS this type that the • Xew Zealand secondary schools' athletic associations are striving to get our Tioys to follow. ■ . _• (3) Critics must needs be careful that they do not do an injustice to a section of the community, many of whose qualities rightly deserve admiration. A pertinent question was asked as to how much Sydney's opposition to the secondary schools' centenary sports is merely the outcome of rivalry between that city and Melbourne, and so greatly to be discounted as a lead to other Commonwealth States and New Zealand.