On the Courts

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 61, 15 March 1924, Page 18

On the Courts

TOWN v- COUNTRY

ARE COUNTRY CLUBS HELPED?

BETTER LATE THAN KFjVER,

COMING EVENTS. Otago Championships, at Dunedin—Easter. Canterbury Championships, at Christchurch— .Easter. Wjiikiito Championships, at Hamilton—Easter! UuwkdSi Bay Club Championships, at Napier— Easter. Wellington Hard-court ChampionEhips, at Wellington-Easter. Birkenhuad and Northcote Handicap Tournament—Easter. (By " Huka.") Off and on, for many years., town and country clubs have had mutches and return matches in the one season with one another, but so far the association has never made any endeavour to arrange a match, Town v. Country. The old trouble of no courts to spare mayhave beon the reason, and possibly nothing very great Will be done until the Miramar grounds are an established fact, but if teams cannot be invited to come to the city from .the country, why not send teams to Manawatu and to Wairarapa? The clubs in those districts are affiliated to the Wellington Association, and deserve consideration, as far as matches are concerned, before sending teams further afield. Matches could be played at Masterton and also at Palmerstou North, which' would do a groat deal of good to tennis in the Wellington district. It appears to be absolutely certain that the Palmerston North Club and the Masterton Club would be prepared to accept a match against the best team that .Wellington could send. These matches would ere- , ate considerable interest at those towns, and would help tennis generally. Besides, it would help the association in seeing how country tennis stands as far as standard is concerned as compared with the city. Perhaps if the authorities in Palmerston North and Masterton wrote asking for a match, and suggesting how many players should be .in the teams, also if teams were to be composed of both sexes, then something might be done. The lion, secretary of the Wellington Association would "soon put the matter before his committee, and matches could easily be played before the end of the month. Wellington will have to arrange for a visit of country members to the city in the near future, but it would be wise to send teams up country first, and then invite the country players to take part in the hard-court tournament at Easter, that is, if there is to be such a tournament this year, though so far nothing has been said about it. The association could give the visitors a real good time here at Eastor if the local clubs were asked to combine and, with a joint committee, carry out the entertainment. Tile country people do know how to make visitors enjoy themselves when attending country tournaments, and it is up to the town tennis players to show that they can do the same. If anything is to be done regarding these matches, as well as the return visit at Easter, quick action is required. It is really worth while for all concerned, even 'late as the season now is. When the association has courts of its own, bigger tilings in the way of town and country matches could be brought into existence, but for the present the first-named plan could bo carried out with very little trouble. In fact, a wire to Palmerston North and another to Masterton would soon start the ball rolling in earnest. The country teams would, of course, be drawn from clubs in the Manawatu and from "clubs in the Wairarapa, from which good teams could be picked to gitfe our best players a real good run. So far nothing has been done to assist country clubs, and no great endeavour has been made to get players from the country to attend the hard-court tournament. Many years ago, when the Wellington championships were played in the city, the players from the country attended regularly, but they have been allowed to drift away, and one would think that we had no tennis courts at all in Wellington. The time to repair the damage done is right now, and it is to be hoped that the management committee of the Wellington Association will try and jut the city on the map again this year so far as its country members are concerned. It would even be possible to play a Town v. Combined Country team at Easter in Wellington, after the hard-court championships have been decided. If the association does not wish to manage it, why not delegate its powers to one of the city clubs? But the association • should do the job if it expects its country clubs to stick to it. FAILURE—AND THE REMEDY. Many questions have been asked why the Wellington team fared so badly this year against Canterbury, and many reasons have been put forward. Some contend th;it Wellington tennis is at the stage of a change-over between the playors who have held the fort for years and the younger ones who, by thoir vigour, have forced their claims, but are not vet experienced enough to win in ■ big matches. In some cases our men are proclaimed as being quite satisfactory, and the blame is placed upon the ladies. Again it is voiced that the "ladder" matches., are not run strictly enough, or that not enough matches are played. Want of inter-club matches is given as another reason. Then, a^ain, some say that the failure is due to the rule that forces selectors to pick the teams from the "ladder." Certainly Canterbury has no such rule, but for all that all tho players selected to represent Canterbury are "ladder" players. In_ fact, any player in Canterbury "who thinks he or she has oven the most remote chance of getting into the team goes on the "ladder." There are many other reasons quoted for Wellington's failure, such as want of experience in combined events and lack of practice together in doubles. Even lack of experience in singles has been mentioned. .Some, or for that matter all, of the reasons may have assisted in tho downfall, but on looking a little deeper one is compelled to admit that there is a greater reason, and until that is overcome any great improvement cannot be expected. Well! What is the trouble? is the cry that is asked from all quarters. Before replying, it is well to point out that all the members of clubs in and around Wellington are naturally interested, or ought to be, in the doings, or undoings, of their representative teams. The time may come when any of- the clubs (it does not matter how small tho olub may bej may have a, represent*.

tive in the association's team, and the writer says point blank that it rests entirely with the members of tho clubs to rectify the matter. The whole trouble is that the association has not a ground of its own whereon the game can be properly conducted. All the minor troubles could be overcome quite easily if the proposed seventy-five courts at Miramar were in going order and if club members, who are at present quite satisfied with their lot, would only look ahead and think What their children's, their friends', or their own position might be as far as tennis is concerned in ten years time, then they would at once endeavour to raise the necessary funds to complete the courts and clubhouse at Miramar. It. may be contended that our teams held their own in the past. Admittedly so, but if we take the last ten years or so it will be found that we depended greatly upon players who had been well grounded in the game before they came here. Such players were really the backbone of our teams and they could always be relied upon when called to play in team matches^ They also assisted tho other players in Wellington to improve their game before the courts became as congested as they are now. Then, again, the ladies in the past were given singles by many of tho leading men players. It could bo done then, as clubs were not so overcrowded with members as at present. The whole thing boils down to the fact that our tennis will not be on a satisfactory basis until those grounds are established, and well-wishers of the sport should get busy at once. Some of the clubs are rallying most loyally—one city club has collected over £100, and two of its members have taken up life memberships at £100 each. The amounts collected by each club will be published in the near future, and the association expects to make a start shortly in preparing sixteen grass courts so that they can be played upon next season. The hard courts can be quickly laid down, and all that is necessary now is quick action by the tennis players themselves in raising the required amount of money. TENNIS IN RUSSIA. According to an article in "American Lawn Tennis," sport in general, and games like boxing and football, are encouraged and fostered by the Government in Russia, who even go as far as to make a twp-year course in sports training compulsory for' every young Russian at the age of sixteen. Tennis has now also come into favour, and the Chnstofsky Club in Petrograd, which was a private organisation, has been reopened under the auspices of the Government, and is now part of the Red International Sporting Organisation, the vast sporting body which controls sport in Russia from the Polish border to the Ural Mountans. So far there is as yet no official tournament for the championship of Russia, but annual contests have been going on between Moscow and Petrograd since 1920. When' the team from Moscow visited Petrograd in 1920 it carried its own food, as Moscow, being the seat of .government, had plenty of food, whereas Petrograd was without anything. A description of the trip' made by the Petrograd team to play Moscow in 1922 is more than interesting. Tho railway journey was made in a fast train with sleeping cars attached. At the Moscow station the team -was welcomed, driven in motor-cars to the best hotel, and then taken out to the courts for the match. After the contest was decided a big dinner was given to the members o.f both teams, followed by a dance, and tho visiting team then took the night sleeper train back to Petrograd. Now, that sounds about as normal as a match between the Kelburn and Masterton Clubs, and should convey to th o average person more about the actual conditions in Russia to-day than do reams of statistics and statements about tra.de, business, and economics. All the Russian courts are dirt ones, and are declared to be better than those seen in any part of -trance. The latest match between Mos°°r ?£ Petv °S;ra<i was played in August, 1923, and lasted two days. Several thousand people atteridod to see the eight singles and three doubles matches. J-ne teams were composed of four a-side, and Moscow Won by eight matches to three. Pravadin is the best player in Russia to-day, and he is a member of the Yacht Tennis Club in Moscow. Vladimer Landau, secretary of the Russian Lawn Tennis Association, has been Playing on the courts of the Riviera in .trance, and won a- singles contest, at Monte Carlo.