Games festival will be judged on N.Z.'s sporting achievements

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32385, 26 August 1970, Page 11

Games festival will be judged on N.Z.'s sporting achievements

(By

K. J. McMENAMIN)

Quite properly, the em'c * phasis in regard to the 1974 Commonwealth Games is at present on organisational structure and finance. Even so, the fact should not be lost sight of that in the final analysis the success of the games will be measured largely on what happens in the sporting arenas. Therefore, it is just as essential that New Zealand not only proves itself a worthy host, but also that its representatives win at least, and preferably more than, their fair share of medals. To this end and mindful of New Zealand’s rather disappointing performance at Edinburgh, the national bodies of the nine sports involved should look upon 1974 as a target year in which every effort is made tb produce competitors of the highest possible calibre. New Zealanders who attended the Edinburgh games last month speak warmly of the “terrific atmosphere” which prevailed and also of the “sense of excitement” which could be felt. The spark which ignited the feelings of the usually dour Scots was undoubtedly the success of their own J. L. Stewart in the 10,000

metres final on the first day of competition. Their enthusiusm was brougnt to a renewed peak when another Scotsman, I. Stewart, won the 5000 metres gold medal on the last day. These are both glamour events in the sport which clearly has top billing on the programme of any Commonwealth or Olympic Games. If only for financial considerations it is important that New Zealanders perform creditably in each of the nine sports on the 1974 programme, but specially so in track and field which is by far the major contributor to “gate” money. One New Zealand official at Edinburgh estimates that J. L. Stewart’s success resulted in thousands of pounds more being taken at the gates on the mid-week days. It might be thought that New Zealanders, because of their isolation, will jump at the chance to watch international competition on the scale of the Commonwealth Games, but like any other nationals the spectacle is so much better when they have one ot their country-

men to support. If a black singlet should breast the tape first in a feature track event early on the 1974 programme, there would be an upsurge in public interest which would keep the turnstiles clicking day after day. An example of this was in 1950 when H. Nelson, of New Zealand, got the Auckland Empire Games off to a tremendous start when he took the first track and field gold medal by winning the six miles This was one of the few games festivals to show a profit and many people attribute the high gate receipts in no small way to Nelson’s victory. There can be little doubt that New Zealand’s standing in many of the games events has slipped. There is ample evidence of this in the fact that at Jamaica in 1966 New Zealand finished fourth on the medal list and this year dropped to eleventh. An encouraging sign, perhaps is that with the stimulus of home crowds Scotland jumped . from thirteenth position in 1966 to fourth this year. Nevertheless, it is still up to each individual sport to

ensure that no stone is left unturned in arresting this downward trend and that the competitors put into the field in 1974 will make “God Defend New Zealand” almost as familiar as “Advance Australia Fair” at presentation ceremonies. It is equally important that there should not be too great a delay in getting schemes underway which will transform what is now a promising youngster into a medal winner in 1974. The New Zealand team will start with many advantages that are usually denied it It will, of course, be larger than usual and it will not have to prepare out-of-season. Local knowledge of facilities and conditions will also weigh heavily in the team’s favour. It will be interesting to see if United Kingdom bowlers give the pace of the greens as a reason for any failures. In most cases the national administrators of the sports involved are aware of what they must do and for some it will merely mean an extension of coaching policies which have been formulated in recent years. Swimming, which customarily is second only to ath-

letics in games popularity, is well aware of the value of long-term coaching programmes and there can be few fears here that a policy aimed at achieving the best possible results in 1974 will not be implemented. However, it is track and field which must bear the greatest responsibility in satisfying the public and it would be disappointing if the New Zealaiid Amateur Athletic Association should not adopt a positive attitude on the question. In his report; which will be presented to the association next week, the manager of the New Zealand athletic team to Edinburgh (Mr B. H. Kerr) has included suggestions as to how the standard of athletics in this country can be raised by 1974. It is to be hoped that his suggestions do not fall on deaf ears. The interest aroused in athletics in New Zealand during P. G. Snell’s era is an indication how one man can capture the public’s imagination. A New Zealand runner of comparable talent would be as welcome to the organisers in 1974 as nine days Of beautifully fine weather.