World Veteran Games a big task

Press, 9 May 1979, Page 19

World Veteran Games a big task

As a result of the spread of running among older men and women the

numbers attending the World Veteran Athletic Championships held every two years is almost doubling each time. This is because many veteran athletes have taken up the sport after ther families are off their hands. Now that they have more money to spend, they make the world veteran games their two-yearly overseas holiday. When the championships were he'd in Toronto in 1975 there were almost 2000 competitors. At Gothenburg in 1977 there were between 3000 and 4000. And, as was the case at Gothenburg, most of the visitors had an extended tour of the host country as well as competing. This is obviously good for the economy of the country.

It is possible that the 1931 World Veteran Games will come to New Zealand. If Sir Ronald Scott succeeds in getting these games for Christchurch the community will be faced with a more complex job of organisation than in 1974. Not only will the meeting be much bigger but the control and management of the events will be more demanding because they are divided into five or six age-groups, the results from which have to be computed and recorded to assign the world titles in etch category.

The veteran marathon championships at Gothenberg attracted a field of about 1500 runners. And considering the growing popularity of this 26.2 mile event — there were more than 2000 entries in the recent Fletcher marathon at Rotorua — there would be a record number

of marathoners at a World Veteran Games here.

And as a proportion of one official to every 10 runners is considered necessary to control a big

marathon properly this aspect will make large demands.

Since there is a possibility that athletic identities of such world renown as the New Zealand double Olympic gold medal winner, Peter Snell, and Dr Roger Bannister, the first sub-four-minute

miler, will come here there will be spectator appeal making a bigger job for the ticketing side of the organisation.

The job of catering for nationalities will be greater as well. Whereas only Commonwealth countries were represented here in 1974, the Games at Gothenburg attracted dozens of different nationalities, compounding, with language difficulties, the job of the organisers.

In a a world veteran championship one of the largest national groups outside the Commonwealth is from the United States where the veteran section (or, as the Americans call ii, the masters category) forms a large part of the 20M or so runners in the United States. And this figure is growing.

However, not many New Zealand veteran athletes (and these represent about one-third of the;

total running community in New Zealand) are likely to take part.

This is because their services will be in demand to act as officials. There is already a notable shortage of officials to control athletic events (both open and veteran) in New Zealand because so many men and women of 40 and over who used to serve as officials before the present running ‘ explosion” began to spread to New Zealand are now regular competitors themselves. This will be to the benefit of visiting veteran athletes, who will be assured of being well looked after by officials who are runners.

And any determination by the present City Council to go ahead with the construction of a dormitory block for athletes at Queen Elizabeth II Park will be shown to be well justified since visitors for a world veteran meeting

are likely to fill most of the available hotel and motel space as well. If all this materialises the business community here may have cause to be appreciative of the foresig’. t of the Christchurch City Council in funding the construction at Queen Elizabeth II Park. Meantime don’t forget the big City-to-Sumner community fun run starting from Sydenham Park at 9.30 a.m. on Sunday, May 20. It should prove a good preparatory outing for the big annual Sedley Wells "half marathon” which, with the full marathon, will start and finish at Queen Elizabeth II Park on June 4.