ATHLETIC VISIT

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 50, 22 November 1932, Page 11

ATHLETIC VISIT

None to N.Z. This Season CYCLING PROBLEMS N.Z.A.A.A. Annual Meeting No overseas athletic teams are to be invited to visit New Zealand Ulis, coming season, according to a decision arrived at at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Amateur' Athletic Association held last evening. An offer was received at the meeting from the Victorian Amateur Athletic Association to permit a team of American athletes, which will visit Australia this year, to visit New Zealand on the way back to the United States. The terms for a limited number of meetings would be a guarantee of £2OO, or 10 per cent, of the gross takings, whichever would be the greater. The New Zealand Association would not be put to the expense of any transportation from Australia, but would be required to undertake the maintenance of the team during its stay in* New Zealand. The chairman, Mr. R. W. McVilly, said that he did not think it possible, considering the present conditions under which the country was labouring, to finance a visit of overseas athletes this season. He thought, that the possibility of making a loss was .very much greater than, making a profit. Furthermore, he thought the terms offered by the Victorian association too high. They were out of all question. Mr. A- O. Kitto said that while he would like to see the athletes visit New Zealand, he thought that the- Victorian association was a little unreasonable. Mr. H. I. Austad suggested that the Victorian .association be written to, saying that the terms were beyond New Zealand’s means, to see if the terms could be reduced. : The Chairman: I do not think it worth while considering. ... I think the far wiser course is to dismiss it from our minds, husband’bur resources, get in early next year, and try .to get, a good overseas team to tour the Dominion. | .A- motion was then passed accordingly. The Olympic Team’s Visit. In moving the adoption of the annual report and balance-sheet, Mr. McVilly said that this year a very large, team was, sent to represent New Zealand at the Olympic Games. He thought that all would agree that, notwithstanding the fact that the athletes did not return champions,- still as a whole the team did very well, and certainly did not let the country down that it represented. It was quite apparent from the report of the manager and Mr. T. W, Leslie, who accompanied the team as starter, that the arrangements were very excellent, that the hospitality extended to the team was something that the members would remember for' the rest of their lives, and that the Americans did their best to keep New Zealand to the forefront of the nations gathered at Los Angeles. Mr. McVilly' said that the council had recognised for a long time that athletes going from a country where’ only grass tracks were used to a country where cinder tracks prevailed were competing under a handicap. Funds were not available at the present time to provide cinder tracks and other appurtenances which would enable contestants from New Zealand when going overseas to compete on a better footing with those who were used to runinng on cinder tracks. Notwith-, standing this, fact, Mr. McVilly said, the association had' to congratulate itself on the success that was achieved by those who represented New Zealand at Los Angeles, and also- that in Savidan they, had the champion long-distance runner of the British Empire. A Difficult Year. The past;year,. Mr. McVilly continued, was a difficult one, but they had to appreciate the fact that the country, and indeed the whole world, had been passing through difficult times, and it would be too much to expect that in the conditions that had obtained athletic sport could have flourished as it did in prosperous times. . ' . ■ : , Many_ interesting discussions over a long period had been held with those who represented the cycling section of the sport. Now ah amicable arrangement had been arrived at in regard to the control of cycling in Wellington.. A certain organisation was set up, and in this respect he paid tribute to the work done by Mr. H. D. Bennett, whom he had asked to be present at the meeting. It was very gratifying to note that athletics were making considerable headway in the schools of the Dominion. During the last few days wonderful records had, been put up in various secondary schools, and keen interest was also being taken in the primary schools. That was the position which they had long in their minds/ because they recognised that athletes of the future must come from the schoolboysi of to-day. They had to concentrate their efforts on keeping amateur sport alive in the schools, both primary and secondary. “If we do that, I think we need have no fear as .to the future..of athletic sport in New Zealand,” Mr, McVilly added. Cycling Matters. The meeting was addressed by Mr. 11. D, Bennett, who spoke on cycling matters generally. .Mr. Bennett staid that the greatest danger facing the sport was the attempts, to undermine amateurism. Attempts were being made to get the boys , from the -cradle; He felt-, that they should not stand by and see youthful amateurs taken away before they had reached the age of mature thinking. He thought that the trouble -was that the boys had been badly advised. “We should not take offence so quickly, and I would strongly recommend that we stand by a little longer, and see what the real position was.” A series of ’’resolutions was passed, goodwill of the N.Z.A.A.A. to the N.Z, Cycling Federation, and setting up a committee, Mr. H. I. Austad, Mr. H. D. Bennett, Mr. R. W. McVilly,. Mr. A. C. Kitto, and Mr. L. A. Tracy, to act. on the association’s behalf to any extent it might think expedient. The following reinstatements were recommended Basil .-Patrick Reid, Na-' pier; Harold William Rogers, Riverton; Cyril Thomas George. Invercargill; Alan Gowan Clark, Maheno; and Joseph Pennington, Rotorua. Track and field championships for the 1933-34 season were allocated, and accepted by the Wellington Centre, and the New Zealand cross-country championships, 1933, to the West Coast (N. 1. Centre. New Season’s Officers. Officers for the ensuing season were elected as follow:— Patron, his Excellency the GovernorGeneral, Lord Bledisloe; president, Mr. R. W. McVilly, M.V.0.; vice-presidents, Messrs. J. P. Kalaugher (Auckland), F. W. Aisher (West Coast. N. 1.), A. C. Kitto (Wellington), C. El. Cross (Canterbury), and E. L. Macassey (Otago);, chairman, Mr. H. I. Austad; honorary treasurer. Mr. L. A. Tracy; bon. auditor, Mr. G. T. Kellaway; administration committee, Messrs. R. W. McVilly, 11. J. Austad, L. A. Tracy, and V. Hugo; reinstatement committee, Messrs. V. Hugo, F. M. Reid, and J. O'Sullivan; finance committee, Messrs. R. W. McVilly, ET. I. Austad, and V. Hugo: delegates to N.Z. Olympic and British Games Association, Messrs. 11. I. Austad, F. and V. Hugo; overseas representatives: England. Dr. A. E. Porritt; Canada, M. M. Robinson; South Africa, Ira G. Emery; Australia, E. S. Marks; and U.S.A., C. G. Krogness, senr. and junr.