Roller Skating

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28793, 14 January 1959, Page 3

Roller Skating

Sir, —As one who waited in a queue for two hours and failed to gain admission to the skating exhibition tonight I would like to congratulate the American skaters for their offer to remain in Christchurch and put on a show on Tuesday. Many will appreciate their generous and sporting gesture. I do not mind not gaining admission but I do think it unfair that gate-crashers who arrive late are allowed to barge ahead of decent citizens who recognise orderly conduct. It is a pity the Americans were not organising the show entirely. I am sure they would have made certain the police did their job as one would expect. The police instead were wandering about aimlessly and had no control of the crowd.— Yours, etc., DISGUSTED. January 11, 1959. [The president of the New Zealand Roller Skating Association (Mr G. S. Bright) said there were no gate-crashers at the skating exhibition. The only persons who did have to queue for tickets were championship competitors, who were not appearing, but had the opportunity to purchase tickets earlier in the day.] [“The police on duty at King Edward Barracks refute the suggestion that they were wandering about aimlessly,’’ said Chief Inspector E. J. Hay, when this letter was referred to him. “A lengthy queue had been formed to gain admittance, when one of the organisers requested the police to bring the rear portion of the queue round to form a queue at another door. There is no evidence that the crowd was other than under proper control.**]