Surf clubs fear cuts

Press, 13 March 1987, Page 1

Surf clubs fear cuts

PA New Plymouth The New Zealand Lifesaving Association hopes its threat to impose life bans on lifeguards who compete in South Africa will protect it from Government action. Ten surf life-savers left Auckland on Wednesday to compete in South Africa in defiance of Government and association policy and a risk of total exclusion from the sport. The association’s chief superintendent, Mr John Honnor, said considerable funding for life-sav-ing work came from the Government and he hoped this would not suffer because of the rebel tour.

“We are bitterly disapointed at the decision to go to South Africa, especially after our position on the trip was spelt out clearly at the national championships at Oakura last week,” he said.

“When we were told by Hart and the Government about the tour we held a managers’ meeting to explain our stance on the issue. This message was passed on to the competitors concerned — that was all we could do.” To compete overseas, lifeguards must obtain permission from their clubs and the national body. However, the 10 now on their way to South Africa resigned from their clubs before their departure. Mr Honnor said there were right and wrong ways of doing things, and the 10 lifeguards had not gone about the tour the right way. “I just hope life-saving in general won’t suffer from their actions and that the Government is satisfied we did all we could to stop them,” he said.

The Minister of Recreation and Sport, Mr Moore, expressed annoyance yesterday with the life-savers who have gone to South Africa.

He warned that the tour could have repercussions, and said he would personally make it quite clear that the team did not represent New Zealand.

Speaking against the backdrop of concerns that such tours risk a boycott of the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games by African States, Mr Moore labelled the life-savers “renegades.”