The “Reinstated” Athlete Problem.

The problem of the reinstated athlete is one full of bother for the administrators of amateur sport in New Zealand. For some reason or another the rules of the British Empire Games Association provide for an absolute ban on athletes who have formerly competed for cash prizes and in a country such as New Zealand, where amateur clubs were few and far between until recent years, the rules inflict an unnecessary hardship. Steps have been taken to have the case of the “reinstated” men presented at the conference to be held during the progress of the Empire Games in Sydney next year but, at the time of writing, no finality had been reached. A large percentage of New Zealand's track and field champions for the present year had previously competed for cash and in every instance the page 61 competitors resided, at the time of earlier competition, in a district in which amateur athletic clubs were conspicuous by their absence. These men will not be eligible to compete at the great Empire gathering in 1938 but it is their earnest desire that the rules be amended to obviate any undue hardship on “reinstated” men in future years.