Control Of Boxing

NZ Truth, Issue 935, 27 October 1923, Page 8

Control Of Boxing

COUNCIL'S CURIOUS CON-

CLUSIONS.

Piivpricking a Patron.

From one end of New Zealand to the other people interested m boxing are asking how much longer the Minister of Internal Affairs is going to sit back and 1 watch a little 1 3elf- appointed Chrlstchurch coterie trade upon its ar.tedeluvian right of controlling the sport. In the early days of New Zealand boxing practically supreme power of boxing control was vested m me New Zealand Boxing Council, but the stipulation regarding the constitution of that ''body left much to be desired. Since that time boxing has "caught on," and, under proper jurisdiction, this country would probably be abie to-day to produce material capable of holding its own m a, fairly wide fistic firmament. But the great fly^in the ointment and the heaviest millstone round the neck of the sport at present is undoubtedly the body supposed to control the game. Until recently the Boxing Council acquitted itself with merit, and all credit is due to its members for their administration over a certain period of their existence. .But, as. in all other branches of sport, champions must cutlive their usefulness, even thougrh it may be hard for some to recognise the fact. For years past the New Zealand Boxing Council- has had pretty well its own way m laying down the rights and wrongs and. setting a policy for the various clubs m the Dominion to follow. But m the meantime those clubs have grown .out of their knickerfcocker stage and are now m a position to, quite capably question the teachings of .their teacher, whilst the teacher, m what might be termed its pension-age, refuses to . view democratic commonsense and progressive proposals m a common-sense and , progressive manner.^ :

Behind the bygone and ,moth- eaten Statute under which it was originally constituted, the New Zealand Boxing Council which apparently v . has no registered address; which seems to held its meetings where and when it likes, and which presumably elects whoever it UKes to fill vacancies through resignations or death, still endeavors to dictate the lines on which present-day boxing should be run.

As "Truth" has already pointed 6ut, the sport of boxing has broadened and expanded to such an extent that if the New Zealand Boxing Council hopes to function as the controlling body it is essential that the personnel of the council should try to harmonise the various opinions of affiliated bodies who possess more progressive ideas than the worked- out imaginations of th© council coterie evidently permit them to understand.

The germ of the recent clash beiween affiliated bodies and council was the McQuarrie-McCleary incident at Punedin, when the council took the high-handed and arbitrary step of. declaring^ the contest void and m subsequently disqualifying the Otago officials, m the no doubt honest belief that such action was backed by the dog-eared constitution of the council. But the big trouble, which' brotlght things to an issue has been the blustering, and it might be said, discourteous manner m which the governing body set about constituting boxing centres. Under certain suggested rules at the Auckland conference of 1922 it was proposed to create a number of centres throughout the Dominion, which were ostensibly to represent the council upon a more or less provincial basis, and these centres tv-pre to perform the function of a link between the chief administrative body and the affiliated clubs, which latter were to be directly represented on the ctntres.- The idea m itself may have been good, but the way the council went about setting up these centres v/as decidedly bad.

In the first place, none of , the eluba to be grouped tog-ether was consulted as to the personnel of the centres. Another point under the "suggested rules" which were to govern this departure m the control of boxing, was that m future all conferences were to consist of delegates from the New Zealand Boxing Council and the centres, thus permanently eliminating affiliated clubs from any representation whatever at conferences where the rules to govern the sport are made.

It transpired that the associated clubs were not going to stand for such intolerance, and tho summoned conference at Dunedin a month or two later lost its constitutional status and was ruled out, the Boxing Council having to admit its failure so far this year to hold a conference, although another will shortly be held at Wei' lington. But on top of all. this came another bundle of bother, this time m connection with the New Zealand championships, and. out of argumont, tbo governing body has again for the spotlight to" be directed upon it and is methods.

While the matter of championships was being disputed, the New Zealand Boxing Council received a telegram from Mr. McVllly, prescribing a certain course of action. The council decided that the telegram was dictatorial arid that Mr. McVllly be asked for an explanation. The explanation of the patron of the council was not forthcoming, however, and at a meeting m Christchurch last week this sensitive and arbitrary governing body of New Zealand boxing passed the following resolution concerning Its chief officer: ; That Mr. McVilly having Ignored the council's request for an explanation of his dictatorial te«lgram of August 10 to tho council, this council it compelled to express its want of confidence m Mr. MoVilly at Its patron, find to request him to shoW otuse why he should not b« aaked to resign his position. It will be remembered ttiat at the same meeting to which Mr. McVllly sent his "dictatorial" telegram messages were also received from several North I«---lund boxing associations, as a result of which the council asked for explanations from tho Wellington. Napier and Hawkos Bay Associations and an apology from tho secretary of the Napier Association for telegrams sent by him to the Otago Association.

The. next move m the gnmo will be anticipated with interest, as also will be the deliberations at tho forthcoming Wellington conference. In the meantime it seemn that the ruling of the council nt lt« meeting last week has. if anything, accentuated the urgent necessity of tho Minister of Internal Affairs exercising sufficient interest to set up n commission to go into the whole matter of rules and amend the law po that boxing- m New Zealand will bo placed on a more democratic nnd less autocratic basis than Is at present the case.