Many choices for summer sport

Press, 10 December 1982, Page 3 (Supplement)

Many choices for summer sport

Anyone keen to watch some’ summer sport as well as soaking up the sun this Christmas holiday period will have plenty of options in and around Canterbury. National and provincial representatives from several codes will be in action here as well as visiting international softballers, athletes and speedway contestants. The New Zealand fast bowler, Richard Hadlee, will be playing for Canterbury in its early Shell Series cricket matches before heading to Australia with the national team. New Zealand will be playing England and Australia in the World Cup Series limited-over competition in January. The coach, Dayle Hadlee, meanwhile, will be aiming to guide Canterbury to greater ’ heights than it reached in last year’s interprovincial competition, when it was fourth in the series and runner-up in the Shell (oneday) Cup. . Canterbury’s first series match will be against Central Districts at Lancaster Park on December 27, 28 and 29, and it will be followed by a cup match between the two teams on December 30, at Rangiora. Canterbury plays Auckland in Auckland, in the series and cup from January 1 to 4 and after a day’s break meets Northern Districts in Hamilton. The side returns to Lancaster Park to play Wellington from January 13 to 16, and three days later it comes up against Otago at the same venue. Canterbury’s return games against Otago begin at Invercargill on January 28. Perhaps the highlight of the softball season will be the men's mini-World Series tournament at Porritt. Park on January 28, 29 and 30. The competition, which continues in the Hutt Valley from January 4 to 6, will feature teams from the United States, Canada, Japan and New Zealand. This season’s 'men’s and women's Rothmans interprovincial championships will be held in Dunedin and Auckland respectively, in late December and early January. Canterbury will be defending its national women's title. The expected 5000 m clash between the former world mile record-holder, John Walker, and the present world 5000 m record-holder, Dave Moorcroft, of England, should provide the highlight of the international track and field meeting scheduled for Queen Elizabeth II Park on January 15. At the Lucas Ruapuna Park Speedway, the top-line Auckland Midget Car drivers, Ted Tracey and Barry Butterworth, will be lining up for the New Zea-

land Grand Prix on January 22. The following week a visit from the legendary American driver. Sleepy Tripp, has been pencilled in. The Scottish league solo motor-cycle rider, Kenny McKinna, will continue to ride regularly at the Templeton track. The New Zealand bowls championships will be held in Wellington this season but Christchurch enthusiasts will still be well catered for. The Christmas fours, between December 26 to 30, and the New Year triples, between January 3 to 7, traditionally - attract about 100 teams from the centre. The Christchurch open Singles will be held on January 15 and 16, with finals interspersed with the open pairs tournament on the week-ends of January 22 to 23 and January 29 to 30. Tennis has often been dubbed a sport for young and old; this will be amply illustrated at the game’s headquarters in Christchurch, Wilding Park, during January. On one hand there will be the New Zealand championships for 14-year-old players; on the other seasoned racket wielders in their forties, fifties and sixties will contest the Australasian veterans’ championships. This will be the second occasion the championship tourney has been held in Christchurch. -It was last here in 1979, and a big contingent of Aussies crossed the Tasman to chase the prizes. Big entries are again expected, and Christchurch players should perform particularly well. Three Cashmere club players, Jake Reader, Tom Tyler and Jean Bunt — who, as Jean Mac Gibbon, won the New Zealand women’s singles title — will be to the fore, and Bob Pattinson and Lindsay Blackwell have been consistent winners in the more advanced age groups. Canterbury also has a reputation as a nursery for youthful talent, and the latest crop will be on display at the provincial age championships, from January 13 to 17. The national 14-year title events will follow, from January 18 to 22, overlapping with the Australasian veterans, which extend from January 17 to 27, with a much-needed rest day on January 22. These two contests will fully tax the park's 40-plus grass and hard courts. For those in the city in the period between Christmas and New Year, the Canterbury open championships will hold major appeal. This event traditionally attracts a percentage of interesting overseas entrants, and the calibre of the visi-

tors should be even higher this year because the Canterbury event is part of the national Grand Prix circuit. Five national yachting events are to be held in the estuary and harbour waters near Christchurch during January. The sequence will start with the New Zealand Flying Ant contest, to be sailed from the Charteris Bay club between January 4 and 8. That will also be the venue of the last- of the championships, for the Flying Fifteen class, from January 15 to 21. The Estuary is* to be the scene of a national series for the first time for many summers When the Zephyr title is decided over five days from January 6. Particular interest will centre on the Finn and 470 class championships at Lyttelton (January 9 to 14). Both are Olympic divisions, and are to double as trials — a Finn squad is tb travel to the world championships in the United States, and the top 470 crews will earn selection for the world event in Britain. The main event for Canterbury golfers will be the Waitikiri New Year Open, on December 26.. The Canterbury swimming championships will be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Park pool from January 2125. and four days later the South Island carnival will be held at Timaru. Canterbury surf lifesaving championship carnivals will be held at New Brighton on January 16 and a fortnight later at Waimairi.