Australian invitation

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33434, 16 January 1974, Page 18

Australian invitation

(By A. M. MENZIES)

An invitation to a Canterbury secondary schools team to visit Australia has been issued by the New South Wales Combined High Schools Sports Association, and the invitation is being seriously considered by a number of tennis administrators in Christchurch.

The 20 players from New South Wales ended their tennis in New Zealand on Sunday, the last day of the Canterbury junior championships, and will return to Sydney today. With their manager, Mr A. G. Basford, of Hunters Hill High School, Sydney, and their coach, Mr D. C. Colette, of Killara High School, Sydney, they played first in the Auckland championships, then in the national under 19 titles at Hastings, and finally in the Canterbury tournament.

Mr Basford brought a similar but smaller team to New Zealand late in 1971 when swimmers and water polo players were also in the group which visited Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Wellington as well. It is a remarkable organisation which has made these trips possible. The 20 players who eventually came to New Zealand were drawn from 418 high schools with about 400,000 pu;ils. The sports masters of these schools entered their best players for the Combined High Schools championships in June in open and 15 grades. The open section had 190 competitors, the 15 section 140. From this tournament 32 players were selected to try for the New Zealand tour. They were graded into groups

of eight for round-robm selection trials in July; the team was selected; and permission was gained from the State department of education for the trip to be made. Then came the fund raising. A levy was set of $315 for each player for fares and gear, but a great deal of clothing was given by New South Wales firms. Each boy was given 1000 raffle tickets worth $2OO to sell as part of his commitment.

In addition, many of the players received help from clubs, associations and their schools. This organisation has enabled two tennis teams to come to New Zealand in the space of a little more than two years, but Mr Basford does not hide his disappointment that no return visit was made in between. "One of our aims was to kick off a New Zealand

schoolboys versus New South Wales Combined High Schools contest, and we were able to do this in Hastings,” Mr Basford said. It was at the end of the championships on Sunday that he invited the chairman of the Canterbury Junior Tennis Association (Mr R. Hampton) and the Canterbury secondary schools tennis organisation, and one of its leading administrators, Mr D. Wright, was a controller

at the tournament, to send a schoolboys’ side to Australia. The team could play in the New South Walej age titles, against Combined High Schools teams and against country teams. Canterbury’s schoolboy players, led by C. Brading and P. Hampton, showed last week that they are well up to New South Wales standard and such a visit could only be of benefit.