OLYMPIC GAMES

Evening Star, Issue 19326, 12 August 1926, Page 12

OLYMPIC GAMES

HEW ZEALAND REPSESEMTATIVES PRIME MINISTER'S .ADVISE [Pm United JL'jibss Association.] WELLINGTON, August IL “ The great ideal of international friendship as a result of the mingling of the peoples of the world in competition at games has a long way to go yet; but notwithstanding that there have been outbursts of feeling at games on more than one occasion, there is every evidence that towards this end the games have achieved much.” in these words the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. J, G. Coates, accepted the presidency of the New Zealand Olympic Games Association, when a deputation from that body waited on hnn to-day to solicit his support. “ From tho fact that little disputes of the past have taken place in the world arena,” ho went on, “more attention has been focussed on them than on parochial disputes, and disproportionate importance has been attached to them; but one has only to look, for instance, at the great sporting friendship to-day between the British Empire and the United States (of which we have had two vivid experiences here in New Zealand since the war through the visits of the American athletes), and the fact that in almost every case the first sign of the resumption of friendly relations between combatants in the Great. War to their meeting in sport, to realise that tho OJympia movement has achieved something real, if not yet great, in promoting international friendship. “As to New Zealand’s part in the Olympia movement, originally the British Empire was regarded as one nation; then certain parts of it were recognised as separate nations, and at the 1908 and 1912 games Australia and New Zealand combined were treated as a nation. Since the war New Zealand has competed as a separate nation. ‘ ‘ These remarks of mine only refer to the world of sport, and our active participation so far has been on a small scale, but we should aim to increase it. Already our competitors have invariably shown themselves to be up to a very high standard, and the talent available to-day is such that if funds are available wo can, in 1923, in proportion to our population, of course, be a strong opponent for the other nations. ‘ ‘ For all my interest in sport, I am strongly against undue attention being paid to it, but 1 have no fear that the Olympic Games will result in our giving to sport that undue .attention. On the other hand, by offering at reasonable intervals of tour years every opportunity for our exponents on the Olympic programmes to test their mettle against the best in tho world, they will tend to discourage too much touring, and 1 have been pleased to find that the International Olympic Committee itself is strongly opposed to indiscriminate and too frequent sporting tours. *‘ From another point of view it is a good thing, in my opinion, that Now Zealand should be adequately represented by our best talent—that is, talent up to Olympic standard. To go abroad, to see the world, and to mingle with other peoples oven with no particular object in view is an education; to go abroad as representative of one’s country on a definite mission', to mingle on common ground with a largo number of representatives of a Largo number of other nations, to struggle to the best of one’s ability not only to. carry out one’s mission, but to carry it out successfully only if success can be achieved without departure from a definite, standard of honor, or to lose becomingly; to observe and to appreciate other people’s point of view where they differ from one’s own, and to work with them towards arriving at a common point of view, is surely a most liberal education, and tbe fact that it is gained through sport does not detract from its value. These groat international competitions will afford that education to a number of our New Zealand citizens w T ho otherwise might have no opportunity of securing it. It is a good thing to aim high in sport when the aim is directed not merely by the will to excel, but also by the desire to play sportingly ; and the Olympic .movement from its never-ceasing insistence of sportsmanship has achieved much and must achieve more.”