The Patea County Press With which is incorporated The Patea Mail. FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 1913. A Sportsmanlike Body.

Patea Mail, Volume XXXVII, 13 June 1913, Page 2

The Patea County Press With which is incorporated The Patea Mail.

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 1913. A Sportsmanlike Body.

“ Inherent Justiceis Eternal Right."

The ncicn of tho Waboa Sub-union in ordering tho Putoa v, Alton and tho Waitotcra v, Fa tea matches to be replayed will meet with the approval of all true sportsmen throughout the disiii'jt. It would have been i-otnoibing moro than a pity had tho Union ii flictnd on tho offending toam = the full penally that was m their power and diffjualidsd them for tho season. Footballers in Southern Taranaki h?.vo had an extremely hard row !o lioo during the past fow years in having hud so great a d stanco to travel to their cuteido matches - .distances which were practically prohibitive to all but tho wealthiest player.-. Now that tho Sub union has been formed alter no small amount ol labour ou tho part of thoso who had the wt Ifaro of tho national game ut heart i; would ho a thousand pities it the efforts of these sportsmen wore to bs xrubili J ana the trams disorganised ut tho cutset of their careers through any infraction of the laws governing tire game. Tho members of the Sub-union have done their duty and have done it well. Too much credit, in fact cannot to given them for Z 'alously safeguarding tho interests ol the game. There are u few who may think tout even u 3 it is tho Sub*union has erred on the severe sido. Such an assertion is as ridiculous as it is unf .ir for tho Sub.union have done nothing but administer tho law ol footrj-tlt as they liud it, and without im iiua being upheld no game worthy of the name could bo expected to exist let alono prosper. It should b« remembered- and wo would liko al thoso taking part iu the game of football under tho Union to boar this fact in mind—that lire teams go on to the field for recreative purposes—to take part in a game for their mutual pleaeuio and recroation --not for the purpose of si .sing which tram can bsal tho other, win, lio or wrangle. Tho Cup ” (which us often as not is nonexistent, and when it is constitutes no souico of real gain to any team or player) is moiciy au honour and nothing else to ho claimed by the team that has piond itself the bslter one during tho season in tho friendly games that have boon The idea of playing piiruatily to wia any priza iaigo or email should jb° scouted by all worthy of the name of

sportsmen. A game is a game or should bo so nil the world over, and should tend to elevate every member taking part in it and should be of value to tho nation as well as I teaching her eons endurance and true j sportsmanlike conduct. But Heaven \ help tho countiy whose sons make a business and a living of sport and play to win at all costs eyeiy time If the game is not worth playing for the game’s sako as a game then it is not worth playing at all. It is this spirit of playing the gams for the game’s sako that the old iron Duke had in mind when he declared that tho majority of England’s battles wore won on the pkiyiug Golds of Eton. It is this spirit, this sense of honour oven in our recreations that has contributed largely towards building up the Empire in tho past. It is this ohavre’erietic that has made tho Britisher the envy of all foreigners and has made them respect us as a nation such as no nation was ever respected hi fire, Wo hope that footbailers in this district will realise this fact and abide loyally by the recognised rules of the national game and sot their faces Qrmly against any proposal to depart from them. If rules press harshly or do net appear to be in the interests of tho game there is always a constitutional way to have them remedied. To suggest departing frora the recognised authority or j lining some unauthorised body would be to court disaster and drug tho fair name that this province possesses for true sportsmanlike spirit in tho mire. However we think there is not the slightest possibility of such a course being followed at the present juncture and ell footballers in.tho district will applaud the Wairoa Sot-union for tho eportsmanliko attitude they have adopted in the present juncture and will stand loyally by them in tho future.