Urgent N.Z. review of sport?

Press, 3 August 1976, Page 36

Urgent N.Z. review of sport?

NZPA staff corres. Montreal

New Zealand’s participation at future Olympic Games needs to be urgently reviewed, the manager of the New Zealand team in Montreal (Mr Bill Holley) said yesterday. Tn a summing-up of New Zealand’s performance at the Games, he said a joint committee of all sports should be formed to study how best the country can be represented at future Olympics. “It’s a matter of some urgency,” he said. “Regardless of the question of money and the efforts of unpaid officials, we’re unlikely to continue at our present rate in many sports.

“We’re still a long way behind developments in the East European countries including Russia, although there is some consolation that we did exceedingly well among Commonwealth countries,” Mr Holley said. New Zealand finished second—behind Britain.

The combined sports committee should be set up as a matter of urgency and see what positive steps can be taken to raise New Zealand standards, he said. In some sports at Montreal, New Zealanders were simply outclassed, he added.

Yachtsmen, wrestlers, weight-lifters, canoeists and swimmers were all singled out by Mr Holley as competitors who need the best international competition. “The team as a whole performed creditably and some showed substantial improvements on their personal bests, but some were extreme disappointments,” Mr Holley said.

Marathon.—The New Zealand 10,000 m track champion, Paul Ballinger (New Plymouth), enhanced his reputation as a crosscountry runner by comfortably winning the West Coast, North Island centre, cros«-cnunt •

championship* at Hawera on Saturday.