HOCKEY ITEMS

Manawatu Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 2642, 10 May 1923, Page 9

HOCKEY ITEMS

( By " BULLY." ) Bad weather prevented the opening of the season on Saturday, but this Saturday, weather permitting, will see the sticks in action on the field in the local competitions. The " Dominion " says: It has been decided to enter a challenge for the New Zealand Hockey Association's challenge shield, and the Zanol Cup, and if possible the. first challenge match will be arranged with Manawatu, the present holders.

, A suggestion was made at the annual meeting of the New Zealand Ladies' Hockey Association that the executive committee consist of women only. When the motion was put to *lj|e meeting, however, it only met with the support of the two ladies who had proposed and seconded the suggestion.

A word of advice: " Play the whistle *! is a policy which is always sound, yet some players fail to realise the importance of doing so. Why do some players frequently appeal ? Because it is a .common vice, just as it is a common vice for some players to talk all the time. A player does not often appeal because he thinks that the referee may' be weak, but usually because the man controlling the game is rather slow in blowing the whistle. The, old maxim of playing to the whistle is not as general as it "was in prewar times. Frequently, when the whistle is not blown, in spite of an obvious infringement of the rules, players stop and look expectantly at the referee, instead of playing on. It f&ould always be remombered that no matter-how, when, where, or why an appeal is lodged, play shold not stop until the whistle is heard. In this manner, goals are often lost through the absurd pulling up of a team which ha* claimed an " off-side " that, although particularly glaring to the opposing players, may not be a breach in the eyes of the referee.

Even when you do appeal, play on, and never stop until the whistle is distinctly heard. Then, and only then, should you pull up. Descending from the sublime to the ridiculous, the obverse side is the referee who blows for everything, regardless of the fact that in so doing he aids rather than penalises the offenders. The less the referee stops play the better for tho game. One other vital point should b" as a second religious principle; and that is, never question a referee's decision or " look daggers " at. him, when he has penalised you for some infringe ment. Bear the cuffs and kicks of the hockey field in the same stoical manner you expect others to bear them. The less you appeal, the better for the game, and the player who persistently "squeals" is the bugbear of hockey. He cries " wolf " for even the most minor detail, and should not be surprised if the referee becomes convinced that he is trying to amuse himself, and ignores him accordingly.