Urgent call to investigate L.A. problems

Press, 25 May 1984, Page 26

Urgent call to investigate L.A. problems

The chef de mission of the New Zealand team for the Los Angeles Olympic Games, Sir Ronald Scott, flew from Auckland Airport last evening to Los Angeles to tidy up some loose ends.

It was believed that the New Zealand consul in Los Angeles had, on the recommendation of the attache to the New Zealand team at the games, Mr M. Portanova, sent an S.O.S. to have Sir Ronald spend a week in Los Angeles investigating problems which had arisen. Shortly before boarding a plane for Los Angeles last evening, Sir Ronald told “The Press” that his visit was not because of any emergency which had suddenly occurred. "Simply, it is to sort out the precise details as regards to such matters as accommodation, communication and transport. Most participating countries have had members of the Olym-

pic associations in Los Angeles to help in the planning of these arrangements. Most countries have had between 10 and 15 people present.” Sir Ronald said that the main purpose of his visit was to minimise the anxiety factor for New Zealand athletes when they arrive in Los Angeles. He quoted transportation for example. “This will be the most disrupted New Zealand team to go to any Olympic Games. There will be four elements living outside the village, rowing, canoeing, yachting and shooting. “The distance factor becomes important. Take the hockey teams; where it is

training it will take one hour and 20 minutes for the team to get there. We want to know the traffic flow, the time it takes to get from A to B at certain hours. We don’t want our athletes sitting there in a traffic jam biting their finger nails.” Sir Ronald said. “There are no alarm bells ringing at present, but there are a lot of questions for which we can’t get answers. Communication has been difficult.” Sir Ronald said that he was hoping to make it that much easier for the New Zealand team when it arrived by making his factfinding trip. “I want to make sure that there are no hidden problems.”