Keenness Evident In Tennis Competition

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27211, 14 October 1949, Page 4

Keenness Evident In Tennis Competition

. Although conditions for the opening rounds of the Otago Lawn Tennis Association’s grade competitions were not pleasant, there, was an obvious spirit of keenness among the players, writes the Daily Times special contributor. In the first round teams are usually judged upon the previous year’s standard. The surprise of the day, therefore, was the defeat of last year’s premiers, University, by Balmacewen in the Senior Men’s section.

Balmacewen fielded a strong and evenly-balanced side rather than a brilliant one. J. C. Robertson, the hill team’s first man, had to accept defeat at the hands of J. E. Robson, the Dominion champion, but his play was such that against any other Dunedin player he would have finished with a much more favourable score. Robson produced spurts of brilliant play at the critical moments, bul the general run of his game was marked by a full share of an opening day’s errors.

O. Ellis, making his debut in the University team, showed that he has not altered his game to any extent since his occasional appearances with the Roslyn team a few seasons ago. Ellis has all the strokes necessary to produce good tennis, but still lacks judgment and control. The second double in the Balmac-ewen-University match was won by G. Shaw and C. Colbert. The match was. perhaps more interesting than notable for good play. At this stage of the season players should endeavour to correct fundamental errors. Every member of this four was guilty of foot-faulting, but G. Shaw and C. Bayley were persistent offenders. Shaw’s second service was a footfault seven times-out of ten, and Bayley’s at least five out of ten. Though the server gains.an unfair advantage, footfaulting can' be just as expensive to him under a good umpire. Intensive Course In Physical Training An intensive physical education training course began this week for more than 200 senior students at the Dunedin Teachers’ Training College. The course will last a fortnight and will be under the control of the organiser of athletics for the physical education branch of the Education Department, Mr P. F. Sharpley Mr Sharpley is also an honorary coach for the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association.

The objective of the course is not advanced work. It is a special session for the teaching of the fundamentals of athletic events suitable for school children, with the emphasis on secondary school children. The Dunedin Training College students will each receive about six hours’ instruction from Mr Sharpley. They normally do three hours’ physical training each week. Mr Sharpley’s visit to Dunedin is part of a Dominion-wide t6ur. He has been coaching training college students, high school pupils and physical training specialists all over New Zealand. Mr Sharpley was a member of the New Zealand track and field team at the 1938 Empire Games at Sydney, and during the war he represented the 2nd NZEF at athletic meetings. Subsequently he was a prisoner of war. In the pre-war years he had a . most outstanding record as a sprinter and hurdler In one memorable day at Napier he won three New Zealand titles within a space of about 35 minutes —•the 100 Yards in 10.2 sec, the 120 Yards Hurdles in 15sec, and the 220 Yards Low Hurdles in 25.25ec. That wa s in the 1938-39 season. Sharpley also won the 120 Yards Hurdles on two other occasions (1935-36 and 1939-40) in 15.2 sec and 15.8 sec respectively, and the 220 Yards Low Hurdles on three other occasions (1933-34, 1935-36 and 1939-40), his best time being 25sec, in 1939-40. After being repatriated, Mr Sharpley .qualified in Physical education at Loughborough College, England and returned to New Zealand as coach for the Hawke's Bay Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association. Some time ago he received his present appointment with the Education Department.

Auckland Rugby Standard The standard of Auckland Rugby was criticised and a report on coaching methods called for by the management committee of the Auckland Rugby Union last week. The Auckland representative team had been “ flogged to death ” in being asked to play 15 major matches this year, Mr T. H. Pearce said. Lack of public interest was evidenced by the fact that the gate for the match against Hawke’s Bay was only £l5B. “Selectors are now going cap in hand to ask players if they will deign to wear an Auckland jersey,” he said. “ The time has come for the Auckland style of play to be overhauled. This can be done by lectures and the holding of coaching and training nights.” Mr W. Williams said that he was not surprised at the result of the Hawke’s Bay match. The players were jaded. They had travelled from one end of New Zealand to the other and had encountered extremes in weather . Mr C. J. Williams said that Otago had played almost as many games. Most of these had been Ranfury Shield matches. The game in Auckland had lost its basic soundness, said Mr Pearce. He was casting no aspersions on anyone connected with the representative team. He was, for instance, disgusted with the All Black training session two days before the second test match against Australia. The New Zealand union would have to be taken to task. Before Auckland could do so, however, it would have to set its own house in order. ‘ The question of coaching methods and the standard of football generally was referred to a sub-committee for a report. District Sports Meeting

An unusual sports meeting was held at Pine Hill on Saturday when a triangular contest was held between Pine Hill, Liberton and Dalmore, and an athletic shield bearing the names of these areas was competed for. Both track and field events were contested and in spite of the heavy state of the track, some creditable performances were recorded. The 24 events drew some 375 entries. The shield was won by the Pine Hill team, which had undergone a solid preparation for the meeting. One competitor, Ann Rogers, who is only 14, won the Ladies’ Shot Putt (61b) with an, effort of 39ft Sin, a performance indicative of her promise. A 141 b shot was used for the men’s event, which, was won by W. Morris, also of Pine Hill, with a distance of 41ft Bin. H. Nixon (Pine Hill) won the Men’s High Jump at 4ft lOin, a fair performance considering the heavy nature of the ground. Inga Qvam, also a 14year old, won the Ladies’ High Jump at 3ft llin. The meeting was organised by the Pine Hill School Parents and Householders’ Association and the proceeds are to be devoted to the school’s annual picnic., During the afternoon the Dunedin Highland Pipe Band, accompanied by the Dunedin Ladies’ Highland Pipe Band, gave a programme of selections and a Drum Major’s display. From the interest aroused and the outstanding success achieved,' it is likely that the rheeting will be the forerunner of many others. Charge For Yacht Entries Wellington yachtsmen have given their approval in principle to a proposal by the Wellington Yacht and Motor Boat Association that a levy of 10s a head should be made on the crews of yachts which,engage in competitive trials for national events such as the Sanders Cup and Idlealong contests The measure was considered necessary so that the activities connected with the national competition should be made self-supporting.

Charge For Standi Seats At Bowls A radical departure from past procedure at organised bowling championships has been authorised by the New Zealand Bowling Association at the request of the Organising Committee of the Empire Games. It is intended that a charge shall be made for season tickets in the grandstand which will be erected, as for Dominion championships, on the No 1 green at Carlton. There will be no charge for admission to the club’s ground.

To the total accommodation cost (running into several hundreds of pounds) must be added the cost of hiring and erecting the stand, approximately £IOO. This sum would have been a dead loss to the company financing the Games if no financial return had been possible, particularly as the stand could have been on loan to at least two other sports from which a decidedly handsome return could be expected.

It is therefore with the desire that bowls, as with all other sports associated with the festival in February, should carry its share of the financial burden necessary to finance the Games—£6B,oo0 — that the New Zealand Bowling Association has .authorised this unprecedented departure.

The price per seat has not yet been fixed for season tickets, but the charge will be the responsibility of the Organising Committee of the Games. If four nations <?nly are represented, there will be six sessions—three morning and three afternoon—and the price will undoubtedly be a reasonable one, considering the importance of the occasion. Present intentions are that the bowling section of the Games shall be played on February 6, 7 and 8. Softball Player’s Dream

All softball players dream of the day when they will hit a home run, but for many it never materializes. In the Training College-North East Valley match at Opoho on Saturday, H. R. Harvey, who is the regular pitcher for the Valley team, fulfilled this dream, with compound interest added, when, with all bases loaded, he hit a home run for his team, thus scoring four runs with one hit. Youthful Golfers

A feature of the Australia womens golf team which will play against New Zealand in the Tasman Cup match at Invercargill during the Dominion women's championships next month is its youth. The average age is about 22. Miss Pat Borthwick, who won the Australian championship, is only 22 and the runner-up, Miss Bishop, is the same age.

In beating Mrs E. J. Gowery 4 and 2 in the semi-final of the Australian women’s championship at Sydney last month, Miss Bortliwick sank 20-footers at the ninthtwelfth and fifteenth holes, and a 15-footer at the second. The match for the Tasman Cup, which is held by New Zealand, will be played at Invercargill on November 9 New Zealand took ■ the cup by beating Australia on the Kensington course. Sydney, in August, 1938, by four games to two.