Prominent official to leave N.Z.

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33433, 15 January 1974, Page 24

Prominent official to leave N.Z.

One of Canterbury’s most forceful and outspoken sporting administrators in recent years, Mr T. I. Crossen, has accepted a position as senior lecturer in plant science and horticulture at Roseworthy Agricultural College, near Adelaide.

A key figure in the administration of the Commonwealth Games track and field athletics, as 'well as the international hockey tournament which will follow, he will leave Christchurch on February 18.

“The college would have liked me to go earlier, but I couldn’t leave before the Games and the hockey tournament had been completed,” he said yesterday. “I will be sorry to leave New Zealand again, but at the same time I am looking forward to the challenges ahead.” ATHLETICS POSTS Mr Crossen lived in Australia for six years before he returned in 1964 and took up a position as senior tutor in biological sciences at the Technical Institute. Both athletics and hockey

will find the gap he will leave particularly difficult to fill. He has been an executive member of the Canterbury Athletic Centre for the last eight years, was a Canterbury selector for four years, and is president of the Canterbury Athletiq Coaches’ Association. He is a member of the athletic control committee for the Commonwealth Games, and is the chief coach of the University club.

He has been just as busy in his winter sport. He has been a member of the management committee of the Canterbury Hockey Association since 1966, and its chairman since 1968. He still holds this position. He is also the controller for the forthcoming international tournament.

SPORTS CAREER In his earlier days, Mr Crossen was a prominent sportsman. He was runner-up to W. Baillie (Auckland) in the 1953 New Zealand 880 yd championship before deciding to step down to the sprint distances of 220 and 440yds. While in Australia, he recorded personal best times of 21.8 sec and 47.8 sec for the two events, and was unlucky to miss selection for the 1962 Commonwealth Games.

As a hockey player, he was a Canterbury representative from 1953 until he went to Australia, and played for New Zealand in one test against Pakistan, in 1956. In Australia, he played at interstate level.

The international ranking of hockey in New Zealand had crept up in recent years, but not with the speed he had expected, Mr Crossen said. He indicated that for some official positions, the best man had not always been chosen and this was one of the reasons for the slow progress.

"I think Cyril Walter is

the best hockey coach in the country. He is the Canterbury coach, and the team’s record since 1968 speaks for itself. Anybody who says he wouldn’t have the same success as a New Zealand coach is talking through a hole in his head.” He would like to see more sponsorship in hockey. To a degree, the success of the national team had also been hindered by lack of money. For an amateur sport to succeed. three main things were required —- facilities, finance, and manpower. Without them, the administration suf-i fered. ‘ZEALOUS’ OFFICIALS On athletics, he said that because of the zeal of its officials in Canterbury the sport tended to be over-adminis-tered. The centre was rather top heavy, too, with an executive of more than 20 persons. However, he agreed that the Canterbury centre was close-knit and progressive. There was a good relationship between athletes and officials, simply because a lot of the administrators were still reasonably young.

“They have not lost touch. Canterbury is envied by other associations because of this,” Mr Crossen said that administration at national level had improved in recent years, mainly because of the younger people attending annual meetings. “There has been quite an upsurge in outlook, especially in the field of coaching.”