Good on you the Christchurch City Council for passing legislation that if not deters, shames people into not smoking in public parks and sports fields.
It's an awful sight seeing people surrounding a childrens sporting event smoking. Sporting events show fitness and healthy well being, smoking on the other hand is an advertisement for serious illness like cancer and a reminder to many of how relatives may have died. Not really befitting with sporting events or childrens playgrounds.
Not too long ago I attended the Oranga Healthy Lifestyles Maori Netball Championships in Hamilton. The teams ranged from under 13s to premier womens. The event was advertised as a smokefree event and the big smokefree banners were everywhere. Still there were parents and watchers on the sidelines smoking, wandering around with ciggerettes hanging out of their mouths. What is wrong with these people. Do you have no respect for such events. Is a ciggerette addiction that bad that you can't walk a couple of hundred meters to the outside of the event to have your little moment of death inhalation.
The CCC's decision to publicly frown upon smoking in parks and at CCC run events is a welcome initiative that should be taken up by all councils and even passed by parliment as an enforceble law. I know that it would be very hard to police this as a fineable offence but just knowing that it is a fineable offence may help in detering the smoking at events such as the above mentioned.
To be perfectly honest, I would like to see smoking outlawed all together, and yes, I am a reformed smoker who smoked for 20 years. Unfortunately that would only bring it's own share of problems such as tobacco escalating on the black market, just another substance perhaps for some gangs and criminals to profit from. And of course less money going into the governments coffers.
In this society pressure on people is harsh enough without adding to it with health issues that were caused by people's own foolish choice's to smoke what they know is on of the most lethal substances to mankind. I mean 'come on', we all want what is best for our children,and, smoking at their playgrounds at their sports matches at public events where there are children is not giving them the message that this smelly, unsociable people killing habit is not cool. It used to be cool but now its just not.
So to all you smokers out there that have a total disregard for anybody elses health the noose is tightening. Yes the majority of smokers are respectful these days but to the few who just dont care be prepared to be shamed by people who have just had enough of being forced to breath in your dirty second hand smoke.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Political selection and direction ruining rugby
The All Blacks have once again pulled off a not so convincing win this time over Italy at AMI Stadium in Christchurch as they build up to the Tri Nations series.
It would seem that the AB's teams that played in the second test against France and the game against Italy truly are a fill in side and definitely not a team that remotely looks capable of winning a series against the other two best teams in the world Australia and South Africa. The problem now however is will the returning injured AB's be match hardened enough for this series.
After seeing the woeful performances by the AB's lately the other two sides must be fancing their chances this year. Knowing that some of our best players will return for the series shouldn't take anything away from that confidence as they will be aware that alot of them havn't played a test at all this season.
Could the reason behind these not so typical All Black performances be due to selection decisions or that New Zealand rugby is experiencing, dare I say it, a lack of depth. It used to be that if one AB was out due to injury another with as much ability would easily slot into his place.
Personally I think the selection process must revert to days of old when the selectors would select about fourty or so players from form over a season and then make them play in the All Black trials as the Possibles and the Probables. New Zealand will never have a real lack of depth when it comes to rugby it never has and it never will. The problem lies with those selecting and the coaches. Far too much politics and personal feelings between the hierachy and the players exist today.
We should not be losing players of Jerry Collins's ability for example to overseas teams because of differences between players and coaches. Players and staff just need to get over themselves and get on with the job at hand which is to win test matches and to win test matches you need the very best players that are available to you at the time not drive them away, Buck Shelford another that comes to mind.
I really dont like to say this but Graham Henry is our George W of New Zealand rugby. His reign is crumbling around him and it seems he's just bumbling his way through game to game. If the NZRFU is a real democratic organisation I dont think Henry would be there right now instead I think we would see a more Robbie Deans style of coaching with the AB's.
Yes they say their in a rebuilding phase but that rebuilding has been going on since the world cup bungling. Players that reach international rugby honours are supposed to be players of that particular caliber befor they pull on their countries jersey not during the test season. You are either an All Black or your just not. If you have potential to be an All Black then that is exactly what the Junior All Blacks team is for, promising potential AB's. The New Zealand Maori squad was also a very good breeding ground for upcoming AB's. The NZRFU has shut that possible feeder team down aswell. Cutting down the number of teams in our provincial first grade competition is another grand decision of the NZRFU, was that sarcasim I'll let you be the judge.
But back to this years Tri Nations, is President Henry and his loyal Secretaries of State going into the series with a determination to win it outright or is it just being used as a stepping stone to the Holy Grail better known as the 2011 world cup, which seems to be at the forefront of both the NZRFU and our coaching staffs decisions.
Good luck to the players for the remainder of the test season. I personally hope we can win the Tri Nations and the Bledisloe but think with the coaching direction at this time they will not both be attainable the Bledisloe maybe but not both.
It would seem that the AB's teams that played in the second test against France and the game against Italy truly are a fill in side and definitely not a team that remotely looks capable of winning a series against the other two best teams in the world Australia and South Africa. The problem now however is will the returning injured AB's be match hardened enough for this series.
After seeing the woeful performances by the AB's lately the other two sides must be fancing their chances this year. Knowing that some of our best players will return for the series shouldn't take anything away from that confidence as they will be aware that alot of them havn't played a test at all this season.
Could the reason behind these not so typical All Black performances be due to selection decisions or that New Zealand rugby is experiencing, dare I say it, a lack of depth. It used to be that if one AB was out due to injury another with as much ability would easily slot into his place.
Personally I think the selection process must revert to days of old when the selectors would select about fourty or so players from form over a season and then make them play in the All Black trials as the Possibles and the Probables. New Zealand will never have a real lack of depth when it comes to rugby it never has and it never will. The problem lies with those selecting and the coaches. Far too much politics and personal feelings between the hierachy and the players exist today.
We should not be losing players of Jerry Collins's ability for example to overseas teams because of differences between players and coaches. Players and staff just need to get over themselves and get on with the job at hand which is to win test matches and to win test matches you need the very best players that are available to you at the time not drive them away, Buck Shelford another that comes to mind.
I really dont like to say this but Graham Henry is our George W of New Zealand rugby. His reign is crumbling around him and it seems he's just bumbling his way through game to game. If the NZRFU is a real democratic organisation I dont think Henry would be there right now instead I think we would see a more Robbie Deans style of coaching with the AB's.
Yes they say their in a rebuilding phase but that rebuilding has been going on since the world cup bungling. Players that reach international rugby honours are supposed to be players of that particular caliber befor they pull on their countries jersey not during the test season. You are either an All Black or your just not. If you have potential to be an All Black then that is exactly what the Junior All Blacks team is for, promising potential AB's. The New Zealand Maori squad was also a very good breeding ground for upcoming AB's. The NZRFU has shut that possible feeder team down aswell. Cutting down the number of teams in our provincial first grade competition is another grand decision of the NZRFU, was that sarcasim I'll let you be the judge.
But back to this years Tri Nations, is President Henry and his loyal Secretaries of State going into the series with a determination to win it outright or is it just being used as a stepping stone to the Holy Grail better known as the 2011 world cup, which seems to be at the forefront of both the NZRFU and our coaching staffs decisions.
Good luck to the players for the remainder of the test season. I personally hope we can win the Tri Nations and the Bledisloe but think with the coaching direction at this time they will not both be attainable the Bledisloe maybe but not both.
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