LADIES' HOCKEY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11029, 18 March 1914, Page 6

LADIES' HOCKEY.

ENGLISH TEAM FOR DOMINION. TO'TOUR AUSTRALIA FIRST. It is understood that an English ladies' hockey team will tour New Zealand during the comiug season, but so far nothing definite has been arranged.' The All-England Women's Hockey Association are the movers in this direction, and;probably the team will visit Australia first and the dominion afterwards. A hockey writer in England, speaking of the abandonment of the proposed men's tour of New Zealand because of the impossibility of making it a financial success, says The Hockey Association were told that gates in New Zealand would easily reach £IO,OOO. The Association were told that an ordinary match attracted as many as four or five thousand spectators, but on further inquiry this was proved to be a most exaggerated estimate. It was, therefore, obvious that such a tour would have been a financial failure, and that the guarantors would have had to find a considerable amount of money. Many players did not feel that tbey oould find extra money if this tour failed, nor did they wish to find themselves forced to take the money of guarantors." Then the same writer went on to say that the question of " gates" would applv to the suggested visit of a.ll English ladies' team. _ " Have they made? further inquiries since the Hockey Associated abandoned their tour? They ought to do so."

AH EXPERIMENT. In conversation with a " Star" reporter this morning, Miss M. Day, who is the secretary of the Canterbury Ladies' Hockey Association, and also delegate to .the New Zealand Ladies' Hockey Association, said that the English ladies' team was coming to New Zealand. " They will tour Australia first," she said, "and T have heard, though not officially, that the team will arrive about August, when they would play the first match at Wellington on the first Saturday of that month. So far the Canterbury Association has not received any word of the visit or of any arrangements, but the team will go'through New Zealand under the i\*ew Zealand Association." Referring to the financial aspect of the visit, Miss Day said that she thought that the members of the team were paying their expenses out, and the New Zealand Association would only be responsible for the expenses here. "Of course." Miss Day added, naturally enough, '' ladies' hockey is more popular than men's hockey, and the visit of an English team will be an experiment. AVo <lo not know even what the strength is."