Some Competitors “Messing About”

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30389, 13 March 1964, Page 15

Some Competitors “Messing About”

Inter-dub athletics events at Rugby Park are being delayed by fields being cluttered up with competitors, whose ability is not sufficiently high for some of the events in which they are entered. This was claimed by Mr G. E. Voller at a meeting of the executive of the Canterbury Athletics Centre. • Minimum standards had been set but apparently these had fallen by the wayside, said Mr Voller. In the girls’ under 15 long jump some competitors were not even getting into the pit. They were just messing about. There were primary school .girls getting into the pit, which was only nine feet from the take-off board. This situation applied to other events also. “We want to encourage athletes but not at the expense of keeping officials tied up hour after hour,” said Mr Voller. Other officials agreed the situation was similar in some of the throwing events. Some competitors had no knowledge of the rules or technicalities of the events for which they were entered. Club secretaries were to blame, said Mr E. Lunn. They entered athletes in events to which they were not suited in an attempt to give them competition, when more suitable events were not on the programme. In some cases officials said they had stopped some athletes, who were not up to standard, from competing. The matter will be referred to the next meeting of delegates for discussion. 50-mile Race The Canterbury Road Runners’ Association was granted permission to invite three prominent long distance runners from other centres to

compete in the annual “New Brighton 50” from Hawarden to New Brighton on March 31. On behalf of the association the centre will issue formal invitations to I. Keats, D. Stephenson, last year’s winner, both of Auckland, and C. Trethey (Wellington). The Road Runners’ Association application said the New Brighton Businessmen’s Association would be subsidising the travel of these three athletes. Arrangements were confirmed for a representative team to compete at Buller on March 21. Olympic Manager Mr J. C. Harbutt was nominated as manager for the athletics section of the New Zealand Olympic team for Tokyo. A starter for the Empire Gamees at Auckland in 1950, Mr Harbutt is a life member of the Canterbury centre and the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, and was prominent in his competitive days.