VARSITY ATHLETES

Evening Star, Issue 18534, 17 January 1924, Page 2

VARSITY ATHLETES

SHOULD THEY RUN FOR OUTSIDE CLUBS? At last night’s meeting of tho Otago Centre of the; New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, the • question again cropped up as' to whether it was right for athletes to represent tho University In sports meetings in the summer, and run for outside harrier clubs in the winter. Mr F. J. D. Rolfe said that at a previous meeting a motion had been carried that an athlete could belong to only one club; but no objection would be raised to a member of one club competing at another club’s meeting. He said that when there was no University Harrier Club -most of the students interested in harriers joined other clubs, and about half tho members of the Anglican Club were University students. To which club were they to belong ? Wore they to turn down them old club, or were they not to conform to University ideals? He added that a student’s membership in the University Club terminated on his leaving the University, and therefore was of only a few years’ duration. After that ha would become a member of an outside club. Mr Rolfe moved that the original motion be rescinded.

Mr J. A. C. M’Kenzio seconded tho motion.

Mr J. H. List held that the centre should have been notified, when the University Club was formed, of any arrangement with the Anglican Club. Mr MTvenzie said that if a University athlete ran for another club during the summer he could not represent the University Club. This did not apply during the harrier season. That accounted for the position which had resulted in the original motion—that athletes had one Saturday run for University and another Saturday for Anglican. They ran for University in the summer and for the outside club in the harrier (winter) season.

Mr R. Bennell said that he did not think that it was right for members to belong to two clubs, but ho thought that members should have been given some notice, even if only six months. Mr Eolfe remarked that some of the members of the University Club had been track-running before becoming interested in harriers. When they had decided to join a harrier club, and there was no University Club, they had joined other clubs. Their support had therefore been divided, and that was how the nosition had arisen. He suggested that the difficulty could be overcome if those members who in the past had belonged to both the University team and an outside club were entitled to run for the outside club during the winter season. Those who joined the Univers'ty In the future would then have to decide to which club they would belong. He then withdrew his first motion, and moved the addition of the proviso suggested to the original motion.

Mr MTndoe said that present members of both the University team and other clubs should be asked to decide to which they would in future belong. Eventually an amendment by Mr R, Swinney that the original motion be operative from April 1, thus allowing the runners some notice, was carried.