FUN AND GAMES

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33438, 21 January 1974, Page 2

FUN AND GAMES

From staff reporters and N.Z.P.A.)

Bus will be late

The London double-decker bus which women members of the English team planned to use for transport, is unlikely to arrive in Christchurch until the final days of the Games. The bus, which is being sponsored by an international firm, is on a ship due to arrive in Wellington on January 24. and it is not expected in Christchurch until about February 4. The intention is to sell'the bus in New Zealand after the Games.

Pole vault

The most serious accident involving a Games vehicle occurred at the weekend, when one of the cars struck a power pole. There were no injuries. It is not known when the car will be back on the road. Gear, but no rar

Some of the volunteer drivers assisting with the Games transport plan have been a little critical of being left cooling their heels when the V.I.P. to whom they have been rostered did not require their services — in some cases he may not even have arrived in this country — but there was a driver with a different problem at Ham on Saturday morning. There he was. in full uniform, and

eager to help the smooth running of the Games, but he had no car. The driver rostered to the car the previous evening had taken it home with him, and had been lax in returning it.

Many go by jet

Jet boating is proving by far the most popular away-from-it-all activity with residents of the Gaines village. The Jaycees recreation committee estimates that already several hundred competitors have taken up the offer of a ride on the Waimakiriri River as guests of the Canterbury Jet Boat Club. Golf is the next most popular pastime, and in the village table tennis and darts are played almost continuously.

Sprinters held back

The outstanding Jamaican sprinters, Lennox Miller and Don Quarri, will probably not arrive in Christchurch until tomorrow. Several of Jamaica’s leading athletes have been involved with examinations at their United States universities. The first group of Jamaicans moved into the Games village on Friday after experiencing transport difficulty which almost left them stranded in Los Angeles.

Window dressers

Soon after their arrival at the Games village the Australian women competitors had clearly made their mark. “Let ’er rip,” and “beware of maneating ’roos,” were some of the signs scrawled in white shoe polish over their bedroom windows. “The Aussies live here, so watch out, man,” they proclaimed, even though it is unlikely any man will be able to pass through the strict security cordon around the women’s sleeping quarters.

Back to work

An early-morning worker at Christchurch Airport thought he was having an hallucination when he saw a dark-skinned figure, resplendent in brightly-coloured track suit and hood, running backwards down Memorial Avenue at a time when most people had not even begun to contemplate breakfast. The employee even turned his car around, and drove some distance back the way he had come to check that his eyes were not playing tricks on him. He was relieved when his work-mates also reported sightings of the early riser — between them they were able to trace the athlete’s path from the; Games village to the airport (running frontwards) and re-1 tum (in reverse).

Press conference

The British athlete, David Bedford, who holds the world record for the 10,000 metres, will hold his one and only Christchurch press conference this morning. Bedford, who is noted for his Cassius Clay style of predictions, has so far declined to give interviews or make predictions about his Games chances. His team manager has announced that Bedford will meet the press just once — at 10.30 a.m. today. Wrong division

A news-reader on a Christchurch radio station [ “split” one of the visiting [ Commonwealth Games con-' tingents into two during the) week-end. He said that three teams had arrived at the Games village, and named; them as Jamaica, Trinidad,; and Tobago. The script writer was obviously unaware that; Trinidad and Tobago com-; pete as one squad. Shooter's mark

It is just as well the New Zealand Games team members were issued with two shirts each — otherwise one shooter would be marching in the opening ceremony with bright red and blue stains on his shirt. To distinguish the three meals, the competitors’ meal tickets are coloured bright red, bright blue, and white, and within three days of arrival, one shooter had put a shirt through the wash, with tickets in the pocket.