Sportsman’s Notebook Basketball-Rugby Clash May End

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30289, 15 November 1963, Page 5

Sportsman’s Notebook Basketball-Rugby Clash May End

A proposal that the New Zealand Mens Basketball Association should consider i changing its playing season from the winter to the summer has been made by the manager of the national team which toured Southeast Asia in 1962 (Mr N. A. Adams). The suggestion is outlined in his official report of the tour. It is understood that this has been discussed by the association which has decided to investigate the matter more fully. No concrete action has yet been taken" and it is unlikely that any decision will be made in the near future. "The national winter game in New Zealand is Rugby football. It always will be in the foreseeable future. Basketball could be a complimentary game to football but. as each grows, so they must pull against each other. Basketball, from its lowly placing, must inevitably be on the losing end,” Mr Adams said.

Gain Players "If we played in the football off-season we would gain many athletic and natural players from the football fields who would have this as their summer sport. Basketball has much for the footballer, which he is unable to take advantage of in his own season. No summer sport has the distinctive hold that Rugby has and so we would not be so hard put to gain strength. “It has been proved that we are able to play the game in very hot conditions, far hotter than we could expect to encounter on a New Zealand summer’s evening. Given the choice of seeing a match on a cold, wet, or frosty night or on a warm balmy evening, when would we expect spectators to attend our matches?” Mr Adams asked. Indoor Courts If the game was played in summer, there would be many out door courts available, he continued. It was a comparatively cheap project to lay down an outside court and erect boards. Seating was also cheap. Courts could then be used any time during the day for school competitions at no electricity or indoor costs. “Even after all the discussion I have had, I am still in two minds about this. I do urge, however, that it be considered very seriously. We must consider the future of basketball, not our own convenience,” Mr Adams said. ¥ * * Club’s Cricket The Canterbury Cricket Supporters’ Club has arranged three matches against secondary school first elevens this season. It will play Christchurch Bovs’ High School later this month, Christ’s College in February and St. Andrew’s College in March. Mr R. C. Saunders, chairman during the early part of the first annual general meeting in the absence of Mr W. A. Hadlee, said that once under way, there w«s no limit to the activities the club could undertake. He said that it might play Sunday matches in country districts but these should be for older members—“like myself”—while the more active cricketers should play against the school teams. ¥ ¥ ¥ New Surf Boat

With only a few weeks left before the first Canterbury surf carnival, the North

Beach Club is busy putting the finishing touches to its new stirf boat, which has been sponsored by a local manufacturing organisation. When it becomes operational it will bring the number of these craft in Canterbury up* to four and should create more interest in the boat races which in the past have been little more than processions. ¥ ¥ ¥ Davis Cup Round America’s task of winning the Davis Cup challenge round against Australia had been made harder by N. A. Fraser’s decision to come out of retirement, the American team manager <Mr R. Kelleher) said in Sydney on his arrival. "At no stage did I think that Neale was ‘over the hill’ or even that he was getting near the top. No-one had to twist his arm to come back. He is a tennis player who just likes to play tennis,” Mr Kelleher said.