BASKETBALL TOURS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 246, 16 October 1937, Page 4

BASKETBALL TOURS

AUSTRALIA AND N.Z. INTERNATIONAL CONTESTS THE PROSPECTS BRIGHT “There is every prospect of establishing regular international basketball matches between Australia and New Zealand,” said Miss Edith Hull, president of the Australian Women’s Basketball Association, when she arrived from New Zealand. Miss Hull spent three weeks in New Zealand discussing the uniformity of rules with the officials, and as a result of her visit a Dominion team will come to Australia next year for the inter-state carnival (says a Sydney writer).

Every endeavour is being made by the two countries to establish interDominion basketball. At the moment the difficulty lies in the fact that New Zealand plays the nine-a-side game, whereas Australia follows the seven-a-side rules. As the inter-state basketball carnival in Australia was abandoned this year on account of the outbreak of infantile paralysis in Melbourne, which was the venue of the carnival, the Australian Association decided to ask Miss Hull to visit New Zealand. Miss’Hull feels that the enterprise of the Australian body was justified. “New Zealand will definitely send a team to Australia next year to compete in the inter-state carnival,” Miss Hull said. “They received the suggestions that they should alter their rules in good spirit but decided not to make any definite changes until a team had come to Australia. That team will play the seven-a-side game, and no doubt their reactions to it will help to shape the policy of the New Zealand game.”

Miss Hull criticised the New Zealand game for the retention of the old net-ball rule of “guarding," which allows opposing defence players to jump to prevent the ball reaching the goal. As a result of this rule players throwing for goal developed a peculiar method of throwing, holding the ball almost at the back of their heads In order to avoid their opponents and to get the ball higher in the air. Australian goal shooting, in Miss Hull's opinion, was much more accurate, and she is eager to see how this method of handling the ball will compare with the Australians’ next August in Melbourne.

“There was only one point in the Australian rules of which the Dominion council did not approve,” she said, “and that was the centre bounce. Officials thought that centre bouncing would lead to rough play and consequent accidents. I pointed out that accidents did not occur in Australia, and that the umpire in charge of the game could prevent rough tactics.” In New Zealand, instead of using the centre bounce the teams toss to decide who has the first throw, and then the team losing the goal throughout the match had the right to throw. Miss Hull was of opinion that this would give an unfair advantage to a team which had the throw if scores were level in a game and time was limited. “All positions on the basketball court are specialised," Miss Hull pointed out, “and it seems only fair that the centre position should require a highly-specialised technique as in the Australian game.”