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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 21. 5th September 1973

Sports Handbook Sells Racism

Sports Handbook Sells Racism

A trend has recently arisen among sporting administrators to lie about involvement with apartheid sport and South Africa. The trick is to fob off accusations while keeping their real plans and activities secret until it is too late for any campaign to do anything about it.

A recent case was the New Zealand Women's Hockey lour to Europe. There were strong denials by officials that the team would at any stage of their tour be anywhere near South Africa. That was before the side left New Zealand Once they were well away from here, however, the plans were changed and South African games were on.

A similar situation arose with the appearance of a full page advertisement extolling the virtues of the South British Insurance Company in the recent Winter Tournament handbook. Ian Staples, tournament controller and recently failed candidate for the Canterbury Student's Presidency claimed after distribution of the handbook, that it was impossible to have any control over the advertising that appeared in the handbook. He said that the publishing of it had been farmed out to an organisation called REM Publications who were to include whatever they liked. REM thus were gaining advertising revenue while in return the Tournament was provided with a handbook and with $100 from REM.

Thus despite current intensive campaigns by NZUSA against the activities and interest interests of South British and New Zealand Insurance Companies in South Africa an ad for the former appeared in a student handbook. Incidentally there were 92 other pages of ads in a total of about 130 pages. Estimates put the advertising revenue for REM at up to $7000.

A solution to the problem suggested by Stephen Chan would have been to remove the South British Advertisement from the book but such was not the intention of Mr Staples. No action had been taken in the five weeks before tournament even though he had been advised that Victoria certainly did not want such advertising. Contacted from NZUSA August Council, in Dunedin three days before the tournament was due to begin by VUWSA officer Don Carson, Staples replied that the offending ad was not in. Staples may not have known but nevertheless the ad did appear and the handbook was quickly distributed before the Universities Sports Union Meeting.

The effect of this was that the only action that could be taken was a resolution that future handbooks be produced by the universities themselves. Fait accomplish for South British and Staples.

By Don Carson