WRESTLING Matmen May Be Bigger This Year

Grey River Argus, 22 March 1947, Page 6

WRESTLING Matmen May Be Bigger This Year

The first wrestling match of the 1947 season in Wellington is to be held on Thursday, April 10, subject to the men in this year's contingent arriving by the Marine Phoenix in time. Advance reports indicate that the men will be bigger than usual and that the standard will be well up to what has been seen in the past. Earl McCready, British Empire champion, and Lofty Blomfield, New Zealand champion, will not be seen in action at the start of the season. However, the controllers of wrestling in New Zealand are so satisfied with advance reports concerning the visiting wrestlers that they feel the season will go off with a good start even without Blomfield and McCready. The return of Blomfield. after the season has gone about a month and, j later the arrival of McCready and I an additional wrestler from time to time, should mean that the season will not experience the dull periods sometimes experienced in pre-war years. Popular matman due to arrive in New Zealand next month is Paul Boesch, who will be making his third visit to New Zealand. Another likely to attract a big following is Kay Bell, who has been called “The Body Beautiful.” Tom Rice, a long-legged individual, is said to be the best “leg wrestler” since the days of Joe Stcher, from whom he received his instruction, but Bell, as with most footballer-wrestlers, specializes on tackles and drop-kicks. Although there is nothing definite about Jack Claybourne, Negro wrestler, coming this season, it is understood that this popular matman will be seen later. Cliff Thiede, who was voted one of the most popular and successful wrestlers in Australia last season, is named as one to come before the season ends. AMATEURS NEED MORE ENCOURAGEMENT In the midst of the advance publicity, which surrounds the coming of a team of American wrestlers for the Dominion, the status of the amateur is often forgotten and the tendency is for him to be regarded as the poor relation of the sport. However, it cannot be stressed too strongly that the amateur contrinutes a great deal to the sport and he therefore deserves every encouragement and perhaps a little more consideration from the wrestling associations than he has received. Naturally the professionals, through greater latitude, and through greater experience, are able to put on more spectacular displays, and the public who was becoming less and less ac-

quainted with the fundamentals of wrestling, arc concerned mainly with the extras, by-play, and showmanship, which is the stock-in-trade of the professional. The task of educating the fan to the worth and entertainment value of amateur wrestling is a difficult one. But it is not hopeless. More allamateur shows 1 , inter-provincial matches, more publicity and encouragement for youngsters to take up the sport would work wonders. Indeed, to the student of wrestling, or to the onlooker particularly acquainted with the Olympic yules, a bout between two accomplished and evenly matched amateurs is absorbingly interesting. Such a bout was one last year between Godfrey, many times New Zealand champion, and Jack Patterson, the present New Zealand middleweight title holder. Godfrey used all his matchcraft and experience against a more powerful exponent, and the result was a very entertaining battle of tactics with the younger man taking the honours eventually. Certainly the showmanship of a professional is entertaining to those concerned, and it has come to stay But, on the other hand, when a sport comes to rely on its embellishment for its popularity instead of on its fundamentals then there is need for a thorough stocktaking.