Games cycling problem arisen

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33252, 15 June 1973, Page 22

Games cycling problem arisen

The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee is seldom without at least one major problem. A new one concerns the lighting of the Denton Park cycling track. It has been discovered tha the lighting at present planned for the six evening sessions, while adequate foi competitors and spectators will not be bright enough foi colour television filming oi for events on these nights tc be included in the official Games film, to be made by the National Film Unit. The chairman of the

Games sports committee (Mr . H. C. Blazey) said yesterday that experts had tried to find an easy answer to the problem and all they had been able to recommend was additional lighting. “It would mean the erection of four towers, each costing about $lO,OOO, and . there would be another • $40,000 for the additional flighting,” Mr Blazev said. ;■ “A lot of money would be ■'spent for just a few nights! ■ use and for something which, {had no bearing on the actual •j competition.” 11 For these reasons, Mr: ‘Blazev said, the Games Or-! ■ganising Committee would! !not pay the additional ex-1 ‘pense or ask the Paparua !

■ County Council, which is ' meeting the high cost of re--1 developing the stadium, to ■ do so. 1 This, he said, left two alter- • natives. Either some of the more important evening cyc- ■ ling events might be rei scheduled to the daytime or I the programme remain un- • changed and night filming be I dispensed with. The first choice was com- : plicated by the fact that hundreds of seats had already i been sold for the evening 1! sessions and, for other reaisons as well, the sports com.{mittee did not want to tamiper with the existing pro- [> gramme. •I Naturally, it would be disappointing to many people if

they were denied seeing the important cycling events on television and in the official Games film, but it appeared at present that this was the most practical solution, said Mr Blazey. He will attend the annual meeting of the New Zealand Amateur Cycling Association in Wellington this week-end and discuss the problem further with the association’s officials. Mr Blazey said the difficulty in filming would arise when the riders were in the back straight. All the cameras would capture under the proposed lighting would be silhouettes of the cyclists against a blurred white background.