CYCLING BREAKAWAY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 887, 3 February 1930, Page 7

CYCLING BREAKAWAY

MOVEMENT SUPPORTED IN WELLINGTON GRIEVANCES IN SOUTH Special to THE SL'X V\ ELLINGTOX. Saturday. A meeting of cyclists and athletic authorities was held at Wellington during the present week, when the matter of the cyclist dispute which is at present disturbing the serenity of athletic circles was discussed at some length and, at times, with some bitterness. The final decision of the meeting, carried by 14 votes to 12— that the meeting approves the New Zealand Cyclists’ Union’s application for affiliation with the International Union of Cyclists—leaves the matter in a very complicated position so far as Wellington is concerned, though carried by the partisanship of a number of youthful cyclists present. Here, the athletic authorities state that they are determined to retain the contro'l of cycling, and it certainly seems somewhat, difficult to understand how the cyclists are going to benefit themselves by breaking away. The chief argument put forward by the cyclists at the meeting was that bigger trophies were required, and that at the present time the various atheltic centres were far too niggardly in their treatment of cyclists, who provided the biggest draw at most athletic meetings. Those contending this, however, were unable to show how the trophies could be raised in va.lue by secession, and judging by genei-al arguments the disaffection is more opposition to the present personnel of the Xew Zealand Council and the local centres.

A prominent follower of the sport stated after the meeting that he considered the time had come when tho controlling authority in athletics should not be centralised, but should be changed periodically to each of the four centres. He said that much of the present disaffection was really tho result of the old antagonism between Wellington and Auckland, and if the latter city was given occasional control of the sport, it would be all the better for athletics, and would show Auckland that the task is not nearly so easy as it imagines it to be. NOT ENOUGH MEETINGS In Wellington one of the grievances of cyclists is that sufficient meetings are not held, which had been further reduced by the decision of the Wellington Centre to do away with electric light meetings, which for soine years had provided a number of events outside the regular championship and Saturday-* afternoon meetings. This decision, however, has been forced on the Wellington Centre by the ever-increas-ing popularity of dirt track racing. The centre’s experience has been that their electric light meetings have fallen away to nothing so far as the attendance of the pubic is concerned as a result of the competition of broadsiding tracks, and it had faced serious loss on several occasions. It is probable that a similar experience has befallen the other centres. This being the case, it does not seem that cyclists will be in any better position bv controlling their own destinies, and it will simply mean that the expenses will be increased by dual control, and then the trophies for all branches of sport will bo less in value than they have been in the past. Another complication is the fact that at the present time there are not many properly constructed cycle tracks in the Dominion, and this being the case, it would hardly be possible to run many meetings where the whole of the items on the programme would be cycle events. This is certainly the case in Wellington, where there is no track in the city, though there is some talk of building one at the Winter Show grounds. Under existing conditions, with the X.Z.A.A.A. in control, athletic meetings are varied so far as the programme is concerned, and this seems to be the best from a public point of view. A further point has been made by several followers of the sport in "Wellington, and that is that this cry for an increase in the value of trophies is merely the pall of the “pot-hunter” who races for what he can get out of the sport and not for love of the spoi't itself. They also contend that if the break-away becomes an accomplished fact it will be the first nail in the coffin of amateur cycling and that before long the cyclists of New Zealand, instead of racing for trophies will be riding for straight-out money prizes. They will become professionals and the spirit of amateurism, so far as cycling is correecned at any rate, will be dead.