TENNIS

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 19 December 1925, Page 12

TENNIS

COMING EVENTS. Hawera Club Tournament, December 26, 28, 29. , . , New Zealand Championships, at Christchurch. —December 2b, ov 3 31 North Otago Championships, atOainaru —December 25, 26, 28, 2u. Southland invercaigil. —December .25, 26, 28. Rotorua Championships, at Rotorua December 25, 26 , 28. Wanganui Tournament. —January 1, 4. South Canterbury Championships, at Timaru. —January 1,2 4. Canterbury Open Tournament, at Christchurch. —January 1,2, 4. Otago Open Tournament, at Dunedin. Taranaki Championships, at New Plymouth. —January 5 to- 8. Palmerston North Championships, at Palmerston North. —January 12, 13. 14. Rotorua Junior Tournament, at Rotorua. —January 14, 15. . . Waipukurau Championships, at Watpukurau.—January 18, 19, 20. Wairarapa Championships, at Master-ton.-—January 21, 22, 23, 25. Wellington Championships, at Wellington.—January 22, 23, 25. Hastings l Championships, at Hastings. January 23, 25, 26. Auckland Championships, at Auck l and —January 27 to 30. Hawke’s Bay Championships, at Dannevirke. —January 27 to February 2. West Coast Championships,, at January 27 to- February 2. Canterbury Championships, at Christchurch. —Easter. Otago Championships, at Dunedin. — Easter.' North Auckland Championships, at Whangarei.—Easter. Waikato Championships, at Hamilton. —Easter.

The activities of the newlv-formed North Auckland Association will interest players generally. Both the president, Mr R. S. Smith, and the secretary, Mr L. C. Piekmere, are well known in Auckland tennis circles as enthusiasts in the interests of the game. With a view to stimulating in : terest in. inter-club matches, it is suggested that the association, should- be divided into divisions. The headquarters of the association will -be at Whagarei, where 14 new courts have been laid down. An area of six and a-half acres has been secured, and this will give the Whangarei Club ample room for extension. Probablv chip courts will be laid down for winter play. A commodious pavilion has been built. The association’s championship and handicap tournaments will be played on the courts at Easter.

THE HAWERA TOURNAMENT. The chief topic of conversation among tennis players and their friends at present is the Hawera Club tournament and the various entertainments being arranged in connection with it. A tournament of this description is most enjoyable and sociable, and is excellent practice for the medium, player and especially for the beginner. All grades of players should enter, as the handicaps give an equal opportunity for all to come through to the finals, and if those who have not arranged for partners for the doubles and combineds will indicate! their desire to play in these events the -committee will be only too pleased 1 -to find them suitable ones. This- has- already been done in quite a number of eases. The Flannel Dance Committee, the Misses Nutting, Pease, Robertson and Wills, have made excellent arrangements to hold this function at the Savoy Rooms on- Monday, 28th, from 8 till 12 p.m., and are now busily engaged in selling the tickets, and making their final adjustments for decorating and catering. They have decided that all visiting players will be admitted to the dance free of charge, and that they may purchase tickets at 2/6 each for any friends they care to bring with them. The excursion to the Dawson Falls Mountain House on the 27th promises to be very popular. At first it was thought that only visiting players from other -districts would make up the party, but there have been so many Taranaki players and non-players expressing a wish to link: up that it IS evident that a. special committee will have to be appointed to provide for the day’s enjoyment.

STRONG POSITION IN VICTORIA. (The Referee.) Victoria’s superiority in lawn tennis was clearly demonstrated recently, when it put six teams into the field at the same time, and did not suffer defeat in any one of the matches.. In one match, that between the ladies of Victoria and South Australia, there was an unprecedented result, an exact tie, and in another match, that between the ladies of Victoria and Tasmania, the rubbers and sets were even, but Victoria led by only seven games. In the most important match of all, tnaT between the men of Victoria and NewSouth Wales, there was a win that is almost a record, for the home team only lost tw,o rubbers out of twentj-one. Only once has the severity of this defeat been exceeded. That was m 1912, when Victoria won by twenty rubbers to one, which was lost by R. W. Lycett to R. M. Kindston. FOOT-FAULTING. THE RULE STATED. AND THE OFFENCE CONSIDERED. The server shall, before mencing to serve, stand with. £?th. feet at rest on the ground, behind (that is, further from the net than) the base-line, and within the limits of the imaginary continuation or the centre mark and the side-lines, and thereafter the server shall not run, walk, hop or jump before the service has been delivered, but the server mav raise one foot from (and, if desired, replace it on) the ground, provided that both feet are kept behind the base-line until the service has been delivered.- • • • • The service shall he deemed to have been delivered at the moment of •the impact of the racket and the ball.

There it stands in the rule book. A most important rule, a rule to .ponder over, and yet the rule which is. most neglected of all rules (writes “Quiz” in the Christchurch Sun). One hears a great deal about the foot-fault rule, hut it is doubtful if one player in 10 knows the rule properly, and it is certain that not one in 20

carries it out. That remark even applies to prominent players, who,- surely, ought to be examples for good to youngsters who are just “coming on.” A review of the position is especially interesting at this time, with, the New Zealand championshsips almost upon us. Ignorance that is Bliss.

Non-observance of the rule is due either to' ignorance or to carelessness and neglect. Breaches due to ignorance are less heinous than those from the other cause. The beginner footfaults because he doesn’t know any better. If the foot just touches the line it is a foot-fault. Lots of players start off their service with one foot just touching, or on, or occasionally, right over the line. This type of offence is easy to detect, and can, without difficulty, be eradicated. Ignorance is the only cause. Serving in such a position is” of no advantage to the player. Another type of fault easy to detect occurs when a player jumps right off the ground. The rule is positive that one foot, at least, should be on mother earth.

The most glaring foot-fault of all is one that is perpetrated most often by experienced players. It is done to gain an advantage, and very often the offender is quite aware that the rule forbids it. The fault consists in swinging the foot over the line before the impact of the ball with the racket. The rule requires that the right foot should not pass over the line until the ball has been struck. But, by timing it,for just a second or two before, the player can gain an extra yard in his race up to the net to block the return. The comparatively recent tightening-up of the foot-fault rule was aimed at. eradicating this type of fault. It is the only type by which the server gains an undue”advantage over his opponent. Slackness In Administration. Very little attempt is made to prevent the occurrence of foot-faulting. The blame must be laid chiefly at the door of coaches and umpires. Little notice is taken of foot-faults in the great majority of club and inter-club matches. Very often the cold fact is that the umpii'e is pretty hazy about the rule, and so, even where cases are observed, .he shuts his eyes to them. Even in big tournaments, foot-faulting is not checked as it should he. The base-line umpires are very diffident about giving a ruling on such a delicate point. In very big international and championship tournaments, the practice is to have a competent footfault umpire. He is an expert at that particular job, and each time the serve is changed he goes to the opposite end. 1 Mr T. W. Lewis, one of the bestknown umpires in New Zealand, is strongly of opinion that, for sueh tournaments as the New Zealand championships, there should be an expert service-umpire appointed.. He must be an expert as. competent in his particular work a 6 a first-class umpire, for there might arise the danger that a player would be 1 penalised wrongly. The point may be so fine in the case of some players thai only a photograph could prove whether or not there has been, a foot-fault. Therefore, the serveumpire must have a finely-trained eye, and must give the player the benefit of any doubt. Mr Lewis, does not know of any specialist in New Zealand —it seems that it is high time there was one. Of recent years, at all events, there has not been, a foot-fault umpire appointed. Whose Job? It is hardly a fair thing to expect the umpire to detect any except very glaring cases of foot-faulting. From the umpire’s seat it is very difficult to judge fairly and accurately the delivery of a service. Moreover, the umpire’s attention is fully taken up. v The competent umpire must have his eyes glued on the player and the delivery of the ball. His eyes must not be taken off the ball for a second, otherwise he will lose sight of . the ball’s flight. Even with a full set of linesmen the umpire must watch the, ball. So that, though he may detect glaring cases of foot-faulting out of the corner of his eye, as it were, he cannot see the finer points. First-class players swing or drag their , feet over the line on purpose, but usually not soon enough for the action to constitute a foot-fault. They specialise in this type of service so that they may get a start in travelling up to the net. Therefore, they go to within a fine fraction of the law, and it is only very occasionally that they transgress. So it is almost impossible for an umpire to control perfectly such a player’s serve. The average lineumpire—generally one picked up among the spectators—either does not know the foot-fault rule, dr prefers not to penalise, except when there is not a shadow of doubt that the rale has been infringed. The habit of. swinging, or dragging the foot over, is caused by anxietv to get in to the net. The rule only became of great importance since the modern volleying game was widely adopted. There was a proposal some time ago to make it compulsory to replace both feet behind the line after the service. That has not found favour, especially among players, because it will tend to slow up tbeir game. On the whole, players and officials are well satisfied with the present rule, but the officials are concerned that it is not better observed.. If both feet had to be replaced behind the line, the average .player would never get up to the net in time. He would be caught half-' wav, and therefore would prefer to remain at back-court. Only the fleetfooted could get. to the net in time. As the rule stands now, both players can be in to the net by the time the service is returned. And the Moral is— The moral of all this is: Cultivate a service which will eliminate footfaulting. Otherwise, there will be sure to be. trouble in bigger matches. If a man is pulled np continually for footfaulting in an important match, he will become “rattled.” and will be almost sure to go off his game. The danger of. foot-faulting is one that should be impressed on all beginners in lawn tennis.. Faults of this kind come in during the early stages of learning the game, and later, if they are allowed to develon, they become very difficult to eradicate. If your service cannot be used without foot-faulting, alter the service. It will pay in the long run. . But, for heaven’s sake, don’t criticise the umpire or the line-umoire who nulls you up for a breach of the rules. He is right, and you are wrong. Read that rule carefully, and learn to obey it.