Opening Of Basketball Competition

Southland Times, Issue 24114, 1 May 1940, Page 10

Opening Of Basketball Competition

By

r ATTACK

Frequent showers of rain and a gusty wind made conditions very unpleasant for the opening of the 1940 Invercargill basketball competition at the Duke street courts on Saturday afternoon. The surface was slippery for play—it could hardly have been otherwise with the amount of water lying on the courts —and the ball was difficult to handle with any degree of skill. Consistently accurate shooting was out of the question because of the wet state of the ball and the wind. In the circumstances it is hardly surprising that most of the matches were scrappy exhibitions of basketball. The girls were unable to secure a firm foothold and combination suffered in consequence. Many of the teams resorted to longer passing than usual as a more effective method of transferring the ball to the goal circle.

Had the Basketball Union decided to hold Saturday’s matches in the Drill Hall the third and fourth grade games would have been postponed as there are only two courts available in the Drill Hall. In the morning it appeared that the weather might improve. There were no surprise results in the senior grade. Comfortable wins were secured by Rata A. St. Mary’s and MakarewS, while High School and Technical played a drawn game. The greater experience of the Rata players was a big factor in the team’s success against Stuarts. Had L. Mehaffey, the consistent Rata attack, been playing on Saturday the team would probably have had an even more decisive win. This player suffered a knee injury in the opening tournament, but she may be available again on Saturday. The St. Mary’s senior team has played, con-

sistent basketball so far this season and should develop into a strong combination.

St. Mary’s and Rata A will meet this Saturday and this encounter should be a most interesting one. Taken all round, Rata is probably the stronger team. About seven of the nine players are provincial representatives and in this respect the team has a distinct advantage over St. Mary’s. However, the latter team has shown very promising form and should thoroughly extend Rata. The St. Mary’s attack third is a strong one and the shoots have been most consistent.

Good entries have been received for the town competitions this year, and it is thought that some difficulty may be experienced later in the season in getting sufficient referees. For this reason girls who have ceased to take an active part in the sport are' asked to seriously consider becoming referees. There is probably quite a number of former players available and it seems unfortunate if their experience is not made available to the present-day players. Players should remember that when they are throwing-off they must toe the line until they have actually passed the ball. Some players are inclined to

move away from the line before transferring the ball. When a free throw has been ordered by the referee it has to be taken from the spot indicated and not just thereabouts. After an unsuccessful attempt at goal the defences should make no attempt to catch the ball. If they- do so they are required to throw the ball in from a point on the line opposite the place where they touched it, whereas if they leave the ball they can throw in from any part of the line.