SENIOR CADET SPORTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19805, 28 November 1927, Page 8

SENIOR CADET SPORTS

So excellent a venture as that made by the Military Sports Asso ciation at Carlaw Park on Saturday deserved a greater share of public support than it got. Several fea tures of these athletic contests for senior cadets present a strong ap peal. They are widely varied in their encouragements of physical fitness. thus inducing all-round average excellence rather than special prowess in any one direction. They are guided by regard for the limitations of lads in adolescence, so reducing the risk of injury by over-strain. Their arrangement of entries according to companies, and of awards according to these instead of individual winners, fosters the team spirit. There is nothing of militarism in the methods adopted, the aim of healthful recreation being kept exclusively prominent. It was abundantly evident that sheer zest of athletic activity dominated the gathering, gay enjoyment being as prominent as wholesome rivalry. The association should not be discouraged by the comparatively meagre attendance of the public, for this revival of the "tabloid competitions" was so successful in itself that it will go far to ensure greater public interest next year. No doubt a great deal of labour is entailed in organising the contests, but how possible it is to meet this demand had abundant proof in this instance. Unstinted praise is the due of everyone taking a share of responsibility. There is no good reason why this venture should not become the annual success that it well deserves to be.