LIFE-SAVING DISCUSSION

Taranaki Daily News, 4 February 1930, Page 11

LIFE-SAVING DISCUSSION

OPUNAKE TEAM AT GREYMOUTH DID NOT REPRESENT TARANAKI. A letter from the Opunake Surf Life Saving Club received by, the secretary of the Taranaki Life Saving head centre when the Opunake life saving team was to leave for the national championships at Greymouth was the cause of discussion at a meeting; of the centre at New Plymouth last night. Mr. F. J. Eggleton presided. The letter stated .that the: Opunake. Club would not require the • financial assistance, of the centre in sending an eight-man team to Greymouth. x Explaining the reason for the letter,, the Opunake delegate, Mr. J. N. Stephenson, said after the meeting of the centre its proposal was placed before the Opunake public and, to put it bluntly, they preferred to find the necessary finance themselves. This was done and the team went as a club team. He questioned ■ the advisability of making further comment at this stage of the meeting. “A lot of us have a lot to say, but don’t want to say it,” said Mr. P. J. Flannagan. He thought it was an honour to be asked to represent Taranaki, and that it was a slight on the centre to go as a club. The centre had given all the assistance possible. ; In answer to a question from Mr. W. Ainsworth the chairman said the 'team was selected as a Taranaki team, and at the last minute before leaving for Greymouth the letter was received. He thought it an unwise move on the part of Opunake. The last-minute letter was a slight on the centre. His own opinion was that Opunake took a very parochial viewpoint. There might have been some reason for Opunake making the move. After all, it did not effect them greatly, for if they had won they and not the centre would have received all the praise, and the centre would have been' the first to give it to them. . Had the West Coast Centre at Greymouth known the matter could have been rectified, said Mr. R. Howell. The affiliation should have gone from the; Taranaki centre. He pointed out that if there had been too many teams in the competitions centre teams would have taken preference. Mr. Flannagan: Who controls these teams 1 ‘ The chairman: , They are controlled through the centre. Mr. Flannagan said that when he. was in Australia the Opunake Club wrote direct to the New South Wales centre for a competition reel. “We must govern them,” he said. . SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. They should be encouraged, said Mr. Howell, if they were ambitious to improve their equipment. The chairman pointed out that the letter should be considered first. If the Taranaki Head Centre had had sufficient finance it would have sent a team, but as it did not, Opunake should be encouraged in its efforts. _ .■ The trend of the discussion had : come as a shock; to him, said Mr. Stephenson/ He was not aware of any opposition to. the centre in Opunake. There was complaint that ..the letter- had come at"the last moment,, but ; the reason; was his club did not know if it was to finance the tour until the last moment. The position as they understood it was that if the centre assisted them to the ektent of £l5 they wouhi go as a Taranaki team." If, on the other hand, they-ar-ranged the matter with their own finance they would be entitled to travel as a plub team. They did not require the grant. Previous to this he had been pleased that.feeling had not been strained and he .assured them there was no antagonism in regard to the centre at Opunake. ,His club had been under the ijnpression it was acting in order. Mr. H. W. ferown: Who nominated the team ?; Mr. L. Freethcy: Opunake. Mr.,. Brown: In that case they were entitled to enter what team they required.: Mr.! (Stephenson: Opunake would not have taken up the attitude it did if Taranaki had been sending a team. The chairman: At the last centre meeting a motion was passed requesting Opunake to represent Taranaki. Mr. Brown: That altera the case, They had no! right to move-as-they did; Mr. J Stephensoni t jn^i^tained'; that as

all the financing was arranged in the club’s own district it was rather a hard', ship ;to. have to be the Taranaki team.' Mr. W. H. Haggett, the other Opunake. representative, poncurred. : ; • . The chairman said that if the Opxi-s hake team had represented Taranaki they could also have gone as the Opu-; nake team. .It was a very fine point, and he did not want to see' any “foolish friction.” The whole matter was not worth talking about. It was pointed out by Mr. Stephenson that if they had gone as a Taranaki ,tsam they would not have obtained financial support in their district. Owing . to distance and transport difficulties it , would have been practically impossible ’ to send a fully representative team. There was no ill-feeling over the matt : ter, said the chairman. Miss E. Dowling » agreed and pointed out that it should be regarded as a test .case to define the jurisdiction of the centre. Mr. Stephenson asked for the attitude of the centre to the suggestion that the southern clubs should form a southern centre. The revival of life-saving in the south seemed almost to warrant such a. move. He emphasised the fact that the. suggestion was only his personal opinion. - . • ■ .

“If we can control the whole thing • from one centre why have two?” said;\ the chairman. He' hoped the whole matter W’ould end with the explanation.;