ASSOCIATION

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 99, 23 October 1913, Page 4

ASSOCIATION

END OF SEASON "SMOKER" PRESENTATION OF CUPS. There were about fifty persons present at the smoke concert promoted by the Wellington Football Association last evening. Mr. J. Paton presided. In proposing the toast of " The Winning Teams," Mr. Duncan congratulated the Thistle Club upon its victory, which, by its consistent training, it well deserved. Ho' hoped that next year there would be an improvement in the method of allocating referees. Men who were not properly qualified were sent out to referee in first division matches, and generally the allocation was "rotten." If a man was nod found able, he should be sent down to other grades to learn. While they had incompetent men acting good men were standing on the bank. That was the kind of thing that was going to kill the Association game. The various cups and trophies won during the season were then presented, as follow: First Division, Thistle; Charity Cup, Hospital; Second Division, Diamond ; Challenge Cup, Kaiwarra ; Third Division, V.M.C.A. ; Hudson Memorial Cup, Marist School ; Fourth Division, Marist School; Fourth Challenge Cup, V.M.C.A.; Fifth Division, (A) Marist School, (B) Karori ; Sixth Division, South Wellington ; Thistle ,Cup (schools), Technical; six-a-side, (A) medals, Technical; (B) medals, Karori; Scouts' Banner, Kelburne. Replies to the toast of "The Winners were made by the captains of the various teams who received tho cups. Mr. 'T. Shields proposed "The New Zealand Football Association." The New Zealand governing body) he said, was likely to have a great deal of work before it in tho next few years. There were signs that a great change was about to be made in all sports governing organisations. He was glad to see that it was proposed to Follow the lines of the reorganisation in swimming circles. It was absurd that any system should obtain whereby the. government of the various bodies connected with Association should be in the hands of the same few men. He hoped that by the beginning of next year any little friction there might be would have disappeared, and that the affairs of the, New Zealand Football Association would be in the hands of an independent tribunal, representative of all departments of the game, and able to give just decisions on all matters. Mr. M'Keowen said there was no other body which endeavoured, as the New Zealand Football Association did, to foster the game in the schools. They recognised that ifc was from the schools that they obtained tho future players. He predicted that by and by Association would be played in all the schools. When they first proposed to introduce the game to the schools they received little encouragement, but now they had more school teams playing "soccer" in Wellington than Rugby. That was be-, cause of the men they had at the head of the game, and because of the esprit de corps which it was recognised was fostered in " soccer." He concluded by stating that he would give Messrs. Williams and Duncan his hearty support in legislating for the good of Association in the direction of guarding against the spirit of parochialism which was , now feared. ' A number of other toasts were honoured. Musical and elocutionary items were contributed.