THE DECADENCE OF SPORT.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11231, 14 April 1904, Page 4

THE DECADENCE OF SPORT.

We claim 'to be as great admirers of true sport as any Britishers, and fully realise* the many and immense advantage's which have accrued to our race- by its lpve of and' indulgence therein. We are forced, however, to the • conclusion that far too many x>f our young men nowadays make sport the be-all and end-all of "their existence instead of only' the means to an end, i.e., the improvement of the body so that the mind may be better fitted to carry out I the more serious duties of life. Thoughtful people must acknowledge that' much of the so-called sport of the present day is not sport in the true sense of the word. With many it is purely and simply a business. It is not a healthy sign, for instance, when we find so many people — 'hot only men but also women— following up the largely increasing number of race meetings. If it were only the pure love of sport and pleasure that attracted them, 'there would not be so much' to complain about, but is it? There is no need to ask the question, as it is beyond doubt" that the love of gambling- has got hold of these people in a firm grip. It is a serious feature of national ' life that this evil is spreading among women. The viceß of women have a more serious effect on national character than those of men, because they so much' more deeply injure the horne — which is the nursery of civic virtu.c. An English journal recently put it that "good men and noble women may Ke reared in' a home where . the father's faults give the more room for the mother's virtue^, but very rarely do they come from. r one jfch»t- has Keen, degraded' or de*stroyed by. the vices of a mother." But apart altogether from horse racing, take any branch of sport, and what do we find? That the one wherein there is the

greater opportunity for gambling, is the most successful. For instance, would cycling flourish as it has done in Australia were it not for the amount of gambling that is associated with, it? And how many abiiees nave crept into \ the &po«t as a consequence of the big sums that can be won by betting on. the results? 1 The .cables informed us last. week. that- the League of New South Wales Wheelmen had inflicted terms of disqualification, ranging from three years to six months, on several of the- most prominent riders of the day, including a couple of Americans. From the particulars to hand it is evident that the League were satisfiedtha,t the riders in question were guilty of collusion, inasmuch as they had agreed among themselves that one of their number was to be allowed to win. The others no doubt were. to back the chosen .one and ride in his interests, in a^l 'probability do-, ing all they could by fair or foul, means to prevent anyone outside of the clique from winning.- Yet some would call*this sport! It is to be hoped that the wholesome lesson taught these; conspirators will have a beneficial effect in purifying the pastime of such-like " abuses. 'Much the same sort of thing is all too common in pedestrianism all over the colonies. Scarcely a meeting is* held in New Zealand without one or other of the pompetitors being guilty of mean and contemptible , trickery, . hoping thereby- to' gain an advantage over bis more honest opponents. And the Press of the colony has to admit and bewail the fact' that gambling is entering into every branch of sport. It is . a well-known > fact that at many of the, athletic sports, meetings the results are "cut and dried" before tlie »t»rt, ana there is no wonder that the general public^ are , Very suspicious of the genuineness of the running at many places. There is top imiclx professionalism . altogether in' ath- , letics. We do not see any particular harm j in young men running occasionally for j cash prizes instead of silver medals; etc. t ; but there ' is a very great danger of the sport being abused when it is made a'sole means of livelihood, and where competitors follow up the meetings week after .weekend monsh after month. This practice is only prostituting what should be a noble and invigorating pastime into abasp and undesirable mode of living, and creating a ciass of loafers and swindlers. For, instead, of athletics assisting in the development of the physical side of a man's nature, and fitting him for Wo*k, which a % reasonable indulgence in outdoor exercise should do, the so-called "sport" of today absolutely deters men from earning an honest livelihood. . Whichever way we look at the matter, the signs of the times^ point- to the fact that there is i. very strong tendency to devote an undue proportion of our working hours to, play. Men and women are becoming over intent on amusements, are forgetting the proper relations -of recreation and work;, and are inclined to" take pastimes for serious business.