Interesting Itinerary For Basketball Tour

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30154, 11 June 1963, Page 15

Interesting Itinerary For Basketball Tour

The New Zealand basketball team and officials will leave Wellington on Saturday evening by ship for the first international basketball and netball tournament and the second conference to be held in Eastbourne, Sussex. The New Zealand party has five officials and 10 players. Canterbury has seven members of the party,: Mrs R. Lane, and Mrs O. Coatsworth (officials). Miss B. Stone (referee), and four players (P. Edmonds, C. McMaster, J. Blair and J. Martin). They will leave for Wellington tomorrow night. The Canterbury players are all fit and have had plenty of hard games during the last few weeks. They have all had tournament experience and have a good understanding of each other’s play. This should be an advantage and will help them gain a place in the international tournament team. Two referees are used for tournament matches and Miss Stone had a little practice refereeing matches in England two years ago. Recently, she had been given experience of refereeing with another.

The New Zealand team has a strong forward line with the Canterbury players and M, Te Moananui (Rotorua) and R. Faulkner (Rotorua). E. Simpson (Otago), L. Baker (Matamata) and B. McNamara (Auckland) constitute a strong defence by New Zealand standards, but reports from England say that their defence is stronger than that of New Zealand. It is hard th forecast the result of the tournament. In 1960 New Zealand won one test against Australia and narrowly lost the other two. The experience gained in Australia should be helpful to the team. Under the managership of Mrs J. McCann this team could develop to be one of the strongest at the tournament. While in Wellington the team will be given a Parliamentary reception, and will be guests of the Wellington association and the three life members of the New Zealand association (Mesdames S. R Mclnnes. H. D. Muir and B. Armstrong). The team will alro have practices and a game against Wellington. The team will arrive at England on July 14 and will assemble at Eastbourne on August 1. The tournament will be opened on August 2. On August 4, the team will be the guests of the Duke of Norfolk at Arundel Castle and the next day the council meeting begins. The tournament will close on August 14 Before the tournament opens, the New Zealanders will play Cambridge. Suffolk. Essex, Ipswich, Middlesex. Surrey and York. During the stop at Jamaica they will play a Jamaican tearh at

Kingston. After the tourament they will go on a bus tour with the South African team and it is hoped that matches can be arranged at Oxford, Warwick, Chester, Blackpool Windermere, York, Lincoln, Cambridge and London.

Before leaving England the team will have a fortnight in London until they sail on September 3. The team will arrive in Wellington on October 1.