COMPETITION IN SPORT

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 33, 8 August 1934, Page 8

COMPETITION IN SPORT

While we can heartily endorse most of the reasons given by the Wellington Headmasters' Association for not awarding championships in interschool games, we think there is another side of the case which should be staled., The games cannot be made truly non-competitive while they are played on the present basis. There will always be .competition when a learn from one school meets a team from another. Only if in cricket, for example, elevens were

chosen from various schools for what would be described as "scratch" games would the representative element be eliminated. We arc not sure that it is desirable to eliminate this clement, though admittedly it should be kept in check. "School spirit" is a desirable aid lo good citizenship,, and it is fostered by pride in athletic prowess. Of course, there is a risk that the desire to win a championship may lead to the sacrifice of some of the essentials of true sportsmanship. v But this is what boys should be taught to avoid. They learn tliat the game means more than mere winning, and we do not doubt that they can learn also that a championship is worth while only if it is won or lost in the proper spirit.