Late sport N.Z. sport 'must make more noise'

Press, 20 September 1978, Page 6

Late sport N.Z. sport 'must make more noise'

PA Wellington If New Zealand is to continue to keep pace with rising standards at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, much more money must be poured into sport by the Government and big business. That was the message that emerged at last night’s meeting of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association executive, when an informal inquest was held into this country’s showing at Edmonton. Mr R. Wilson, assistant manager of the New Zealand team said: “I think we have got to continue sending teams away early to these major games. •‘The name of the game is winning and it is no good pretending we like to be good losers. The way other countries such as Canada’ Britain and Australia support sport, we have got to do something in New Zealand.

“At the moment amateur coaches are doing the best they can and no-one kicks them in the guts, because they are doing it for love. We have got to start paying them so that if they don’t perform well then out the door they go.

“Apd it’s not just a question of winning—we have got to get our competitors into the worldrecord class,” he said.

The team manager. Mr Jack Prestney. who is still waiting for five section managers’ reports before he can deliver his official

Commonwealth Games report said that if money was to be spent on athletes going oversea? for competition, they had to b« dedicated. Mr lan Boyd, representing the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association said the money the Government was putting intc sport had fallen In purchasing power. A 60 per cent increase was needed to put the total back to where it was three or four years ago. “The association has to be more vocal in getting support from the Government and business community if it wants a team that will perform creditably at Olympic and Commonwealth Games.” he said. The association’s chairman, Mr Lance Cross, said individual sports associations must push harder. “When the Government made a cut in the recreation and sport grant, not a single murmur was heard from a sports association in New Zealand—though the arts peoole raised hell and they were listened to,” he said. “It is up to the sports associations themselves to make a noise about this and make the Government aware of the tremendous disadvantage New Zealand is suffering because of the lack of finance.” Mr Cross had earlier said that a sub-committee would be set up to explore means of raising finance to help send a learn to the Moscow Olympics in 1980.