More Sponsored Ski Races Proposed

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31178, 30 September 1966, Page 15

More Sponsored Ski Races Proposed

(By Our Ski ing Reporter.) Such praise has been showered on the Bata Cup ski race meeting, held at Mount Cheeseman three weeks ago, that the New Zealand Ski Council is likely to give serious consideration to the introduction of further sponsored meetings in the immediate future.

The three councillors who| attended the meeting— Messrs S. Blakely (Auckland), A. D. Coberger (Canterbury) and P. H. Willis (Canterbury)—are convinced that more races of this nature should be organised. At the New Zealand skiing championships on Mount Ruapehu 10 days later* Mr Blakely spent much of his time trying to arouse the enthusiasm of both racers and officials for more meetings. He received full support from those at the nationals who had also attended the Bata Cup. ■ For two reasons, spon-

sored races have much to’ offer New Zealand ski-ing. ' Firstly, it is only rarely , that all New Zealand’s top

racers attend the nationals, either because they cannot: afford the expense or because they cannot leave their employment. The Bata Cup provided only a week-end of ski-ing, rather than a week, and so involved little personal sacrifice. The sponsors also made a sizeable contribution towards the costs of travelling to the meeting and so attracted many racers who could not otherwise have gone. Secondly, New Zealand's top racers need as much competition against each other as possible if current standards are to be maintained and improved. While the standard in the men’s races at the nationals was no lower than the Bata Cup, there was less depth of competition for the pleading contenders. New Zealand ski racing numbers are. so small, and situated so far from the mainstream of world competition, that it behoves the council to make every effort to get ■them the best racing possible.

11 The Bata Cup meeting | showed that sponsored racing is perhaps the best way of i doing this. Short Season ■j There is, however, a limit ' to the number of sponsored ' races which can be held. ■ Only for four months, June-September, is there snow ; suited to ski racing on the I fields and if races are to be held in June there will be . too little time for the racers to complete their training. [ Few university students or school pupils attempting school certificate, university . entrance or a scholarship will ’be prepared to give up . several days to ski race in ’ September. Even for the national cham--1 pionships, Miss S. Ryan and > A. Chance (Otago) were not i prepared to give up time to s race when examinations were • looming. The nine week-ends falling ; in the months of July and 1 August might seem enough to - conduct a full racing pro- , gramme. 1 But there will always be

some times when the weather prohibits racing while there

are seasons when the snow falls late, melts early, or is of insufficient depth. Ski race courses cannot be prepared months in advance and if the season is filled with sponsored, regional or national meetings, some of these will have to be cancelled. Nationals Out There is no prospect that the New Zealand, North Island or South Island championships can be used as sponsored meetings as the New Zealand Ski Association must have its premier meetings which it can organise and run.

However, one idea has been brought forward which the council may discuss with any firm wishing to sponsor a meeting. It has been suggested that a group, chosen by the national selectors, have their expenses paid to the New Zealand championships and a special slalom be held for which only these racers would be eligible.

This would serve a double purpose. IJ would lend the firm’s name to what could be-

come the premier race of the season and also ensure that the cream of New Zealand ski racers attended the nationals. There would be no need to associate the firm’s name with the nationals, yet the idea would assist both the firm and the nationals. Mr Blakely said he would like to see at least four sponsored meetings each season. While this is quite feasible there is no guarantee that the racers would see their way clear to attending them all. If they felt they had to chose between the meetings then, eventually, none of the meetings would be able to serve their purpose and none would provide the standard seen at the Bata Cup. Perhaps the idea of a sponsored race at an N.Z.S.A. meeting has the most to offer New Zealand ski-ing. The mana attached to winning a national title will, in the final analysis, transcend all the inducements offered to attend other meetings. The best soluttion is to offer an inducement to attend the nationals.