SELECTORS ADD TWO MORE Mills family reunited by late Games nominations

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33408, 14 December 1973, Page 20

SELECTORS ADD TWO MORE Mills family reunited by late Games nominations

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON.

The noted Auckland field athlete. L. R. Mills, and the only one of his family to miss nomination for the Commonwealth Games last week, will probably represent New Zealand at Queen Elizabeth II Park after all.

The secretary of the Amateur Athletic Association (Mr P. V. O’Brien) said yesterday that Mills had been added to the association’s nominations.

Another Aucklander, K. Faile, has also been made a late nomination with Mills for the shot put.

Mr O’Brien said that the N.Z.A.A.A. had decided to request that they be accepted as late nominations as a result of a strong recommendation by the national selectors. This follows improved performances by both Mills and Faile since the New Zealand championships, Mr O’Brien added. Mills twice beat the Games standard of 53ft 6in with puts of 56ft lOin and 55ft Bin at Queen Elizabeth II Park in a special trial organised by the Canterbury Athletic Centre on Wednesday. Yesterday evening, after. being told of his nomination,

,’in Christchurch, Mills temllpered his natural pleasure! with criticism of the athletics! 1 1 selectors. “I didn’t want to criticise; ! them before, because it would have sounded as if I was: ! pushing my own case, but I > don’t think the selectors kept I 1 faith with the athletes,” Mills said. ■ “Every athlete who beat’ ‘ the standard and was placed, at the national championships! ’should have been nominated. li • Promise broken i “This is what they said■ ; they would do, and although ; the standards were not an : absolute criteria, some were i still left out who should not ; have been.” >• The first reaction from [Mills, in fact, after he had said, “That’s good,” was to! J ask who else had been added.! i Asked if he thought the! • selectors might have felt their! standards had been too leni-| lent. Mills said: “They should .have come out with revisions or let the athletes know.” Of specific events in which athletes were overlooked, he said: “They failed to take into ■‘consideration that the javelin : | throwers failed at the 11 nationals because it was rainring at the time. It was the I same in the shot, the same in the pole vault. “The logic in it eludes me i somehow. These Games; ‘should be the opportunity to foster sport, without in any!

• way feeling that athletes [would not do New Zealand I justice.” , The omission of Mills ; caused some controversy for, even if from a mere sentimental viewpoint, it prevented a unique family feat. The other members of the family who will be competing in the Games are his wife, ’Colleen, who will take part in .the 400 metres, and his teen|age children, Donna (high jump) and Philip (110 metres hurdles). : Mills and Faile join another

[Aucklander, R. D. Tait, in the shot put. The athletic selectors will go before the Commonwealth Games selectors with their nominations on Saturday morning. It would now seem that the athletics list is finally closed, which means that a bid by the 800 metres runner, B. A. Hunter, to gain late nomination might be in vain. Hunter will run in Wellington on Saturday afternoon in in a special race against the Australian champion, W. Hooker. Hunter finished third after being checked in the national championships at Christchurch, and was not nominated. But in Christchurch last week-end he ran Imin 48.6 sec—a better time than that recorded by S. Melville in taking the national title.

“Outside chance”

However, the New Zealand athletics selection convener (Mr B. S. Hunt) yesterday appeared to hold little encouragement for Hunter. He said that Hunter had only a “very outside chance.” “Hunter will not be racing until the afternoon,” he said. “We have already nominated a full team of three for the 800 metres. “How do we know that the three team members would not have done better than Imin 48.6 sec if they had had a special trial last week-end?”