SPORTS

Te Ao Hou, July 1955, Page 54

SPORTS by Paul Potiki The National, Tennis. Tournament was completed in Wellington in early January. Again Miss R. Morrison played her way into the quarter finals of the Women's Singles but was eliminated by the experienced Mrs Robson. On the day Mrs Robson played above herself and Miss Morrison was not at her best. Last year Misses Morrison and Dewes, both school-girls at the time, showed splendid promise for the future by reaching the quarter-finals. Miss Dewes, now at Wellington Teachers' College did not enter this year. Miss Morrison in reaching the quarter finals again has shown that she still has the potential. It seems, however, that she has shown little improvement during the year. This may be a disappointment to her supporters but as she is still a school girl it may be that they are expecting too much. For my part, I have no burning desire to see Maoris reaching the highest pinnacles of sporting success if it means their having to devote more than a reasonable proportion of their lives and their interest to the sport of their choice. I am afraid that a single purposed fanaticism is an inescapable ingredient of success in modern sport. The day of the accomplished all-rounder winning National or international honours is a thing of the past—except in team games perhaps where the individual lapse in concentration can be recovered by a team mate. The tennis star must be a martyr to tennis, the swimming champion must forever be swimming; the olympic stars of track and field must begin their training preparations for the next Games ere the crowds have found their way home and the shouting died from the last. Miss Morrison is New Zealand's outstanding Junior. She won 3 titles at the junior championships. She obviously can go a long way in the game.