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SPORT
Time for businesses, spectators to throw weight behind other codes
COMMENT
By QEOFF THOMSON
Why is it that some of the "lesser
lights" in team sports in the sporting
world fail to attract the support or
following that other codes take for
granted?
No matter how successful some of
these teams seem to be they cannot
attract the financial support or fol
lowing enjoyed by codes like rugby
league or Australian football.
Already Canberra has endured the
celebration of teams like the Raiders
and Cannons winning national
championships while cricket and
hockey teams have not gained the
same recognition for their successes
at a similar level.
Hockey, with one of the most con
sistently successful teams at Olympic
level, suffers badly from the lack of
spectator support that it thoroughly
deserves.
For the first time, the sport has
received major sponsorship through
the support of Macro Vitamins this
season and although it is geared to
wards helping the build-up of a Na
tional League, that does not help the
individual clubs, which have to find
their own sponsors.
Already this season the Brisbane
Blades looked like sinking after win
ning last year's inaugural premier
ship and the same fate could await
the Canberra Lakers if some substan
tial financial support is not forth
coming.
With this season's competition ex
panded to eight teams and four other
teams interested in coming into the
competition next season, Canberra's
hold on a place in the competition
could be tenuous unless it can engen
der both sponsorship and spectator
support.
Maybe the time is right for some of
the Federal support that was afford
ed the Raiders on the move to Bruce
Stadium to assist in ensuring the
Lakers maintain a spot in the Na
tional League.
Hockey has been progressing
steadily in Canberra in recent years
and has proved that it can produce
world-class players, having had An
drew Deane and Michael York as
Australian representatives in recent
years.
Plenty of hard work has gone into
building up hockey in the Canberra
region in recent years and it would be
a shame to see all that hard work
wasted because of the lack of support
from important areas.
If teams from the Northern Terri
tory, South Island of New Zealand,
North Queensland and a team from
the Albury-Wodonga area can get
enough support to enter, why is it
that Canberra has to struggle?
Administration support is one
area that needs to be addressed
strongly as well as engendering sup
port from the local business commu
nity if the Canberra Lakers arc to
continue at the top level of competi
tion.
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