OTAGO RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11675, 7 March 1900, Page 7

OTAGO RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION.

The report of the Committee of Management to be presented at the .annual meeting of delegates to be held on March 24- is as follows:— The committee submits to delegates the nineteenth annual report of the union, which covers one of the busiest seasons that have been known in Otago. . In many respects the events of the season of 1839 present'features that call for congratulatory reference. The'devotion .of players to the gome was riot less marked than in previous years, aud the interest manifested' by the pilblic was never keener: ; As. • a consequence of these circumstances, the , game flourished to a gratifying extent. Tlie foreign engagements of the union were exceptionally heavy. The usual two matches with Southland were played, and of these that at Dunediri was won by Otago by 12 points to 5, and that at Invercargill was drawn, neither side scoring. Visits were paid,to Otngo by teaius representing Auckland. Taranaki, Wellington, and Canterbury. .. .The .matches against the northern representatives :were all favoured with splendid weather.but the ground on the occasion of the Wellington match showed the effects of a previous spell of rain and snow. In tliis last-riieiitioiied"'niatcK the Otago representatives were beaten by-6 points to 3, and a severe defeat 'was. inflicted on theiri by the Auckland team, whovgeore'd 13 points to 3. On the other hand, the anniial match, against Canterbury was won by Otago by 12 points to 6, while that against Taranaki resulted iii a draw, each side scoring 3 points. Ih connection with the visit of the Taranaki team application was made by the visiting team for monetary assist-1 ance towards the expenses of the trip, and, having regard to the fact that the'Taranaki Union has few sources of revenue, and that the district over which it has jurisdiction is exceedingly scattered, the committee agreed to grant. it one-third of the net proceeds of the match.

It is ivith the deepest regret that the committee has to chronicle the fact, that in the match between Taranaki and Otago ah accident occurred to A. M. 'Armit, a member of the Otago team, which terminated fatally.- This sad event naturally cast a gloom over the. entire football community, especially as by Arniit's death Olago lost a player who for many years stood out prominently as one of the best threequarter backs in New Zealand^ and' one who played a prominent part in bringing this province to the excellent position it holds in foothall. The committee placed oil record its deep sympathy with the deceased player's relatives in their crushing loss, and decided to hand the entire proceeds of the match between Auckland and Otago to his mother. Generous assistance, which it is the duty of the committee ti. acknowledge, in making the Armit fund a substantial one, was received from all parts of tlie colohy, and the Wellington Rugby Union, the Canterbury Rugby T7ni'on-,the Southland Rugby Union, and the Auckland representative player's are especially to be thanked for the aid giveii by them. The result of the effort was that. .. sum of _£557 12s lOd was raised, which, without any deduction, was devoted to the object the committee had in view.

In accordance with the resolution of the' lest annual meeting of the union, flag matches .were re-instituted in Dunedin last season. These excited a considerable amount of interest, and the matches were well contested. The Senior Flag ivas won by the Kaikorai Club, with the Alhambra as ruimers-up, and the Junior contest was won by the Alhambra. . The Kaikorai Club was requested by the committee to deliver up to the union the Senior banner, whicli It had held,since 1895, in order that it mi°ht be re-presented to the club; but, to the committee s surprise, the club maintained that the banner m its possession was its' absolute property, and, applied for another.banner in virtue of its having won the flag contest for 1899 The committee decided that as the Kaikorai Cliib refused to hand over the banner won in 1895 no. flag be awarded to it for 1839, and that the matter be referred to the delegates. The committee desires to express its appreciation of the zealous manner in which the flag subcommittee performed its .duties. A proposal was made by the committee to organise flag matches in North Otago, and the country districts, but us the clubs that would be affected were unwilling to fall in with'- the proposal, the idea was abandoned. ' ,

A duty ivhich iiiifortunalely devolved upon the committee was the holding of an inquiry into charges which were publicly made against the members of the First Fifteen of the Kaikorai Club of hai-ing been guilty of misconduct ; on thp occasion of tlieir returning by train from i a 1 1SJ. 't?. Christchurch.;.. The committee held several sittings to investigate, the charges and received a large amount of oral and written evidence, as a result of which the committee was regretfully forced to the eoncaisibri that the cnarges were substantiated against the team ih e evidence did not, however, identify particular individuals ivith particular acts of misconduct, and the committee re»rets th..< ocrtain of tie witnesses, who might have identitied the offenders, saw fit to adopt a eou-«e which rendered the conviction of the giiiltv impossible, and, in consequence, left in daub! the conduct of the unoffending members of the team, lhe evidence which was given before ir has convinced the committee of the rieces^'tv for lhe additions to the by-laws of a provision that m future no team shall be allowed to travel without baying first obtained the permission of .the committee, and also that all travelling teams, should be in charge of some responsible person approved of by the union. ' of lit ■?° m,mitt><y regarding its-It as a trustee of the funds of the union, for use only for purposes connected with the game of fbotball/'declined, without express sanction from the delegates, to grant applications that were made to triwJ fi Jye mJ or a°"at>°"s towards charitable objects. The occasion of the organisation and equipment by public subscription of a •Sh^.r 1 ?- half °- f Otog»-.ana Southland •Rough R.ders for service in the war in South Atriea was, however, of so entirely an exceptional character that the committee', in the full have h t "'i S ? n]y-inticipating what would tfcL of the delegates, and,that they will heartily endorse its action, voted £25 from the funds of the union for the purchase bf a horse for a member of the fourth contingent. I'rom the balance sheet it will be seen that : whereas the last season was started with a bank overdraft of fsl 4s .2d, the union hasnow a net £lfo"l7 c -V °reclifc "' the N:ltionKl »<»* of

The Referees' Association liad a very busy year and its members deserve the thank's of all footballers for their excellent work. The committee is g ad to report that no serious cases bf misconduct were brought under its notice by the association, and is disposed to ascribe this fact to the efforts of the captains of the various teams who so willingly, and the committee thmks successfully, co-operated t6 'suppress rough play among their members. The committee wishes to impress on players. the fact' that its disciplinary functions must be nu«atory unless it is cordially srippbrted by the captains and older players. During the last season the committee found it necessary to: instruct referees through the association that the jririscliction of a referee over a player. does riot cease immediately the game is over. ■A representative Second Fifteen was sent to Oomaru during tlie year to play North Otago, the game resulting in a win for the. northern players. It was also proposed to send a junior representative to Milton to play South Ota»o but owing to the death ot A. M. Armit the p?o----posal was abandoned. The committee, in pursuance of its policy of encouragmg football, donated the sum of £20 to the Central Otago Clubs to enable them to play the niter-country match. Mr S. E Sleigh still represents the Otago Union on the English Rugby Uriiori, ahd manilests the keenest interest in the doings of this province. The committee alsowishes to return thanks to Messrs J. M. Hume, J. S. Macarthur, W. Morley, f. B . Murray, and R: D. Maedonald, the Otogo delegates to the' New Zealand Union, for. their efforts on behalf of Otngo. lhe work of the committee during thß year was very Arduous, hut the members feel that it was lightened to soliie extent by the hearty cooperation and support given to them by "bolli players and- delegates. The committee ' trusts that both players and the public will do their utmost to preserve the integrity of the cnni" and so repress with a firm hand practices that would in any way tend to bring the game iuto disrepute.