Testing times for Riverina sport

All the sporting codes, associations, clubs etc must defy the odds, insurmountable as they are, to survive and prosper.

Not all will, of course, with some falling by the wayside or teetering further to the brink.

Sound alarmist or, worse, stupid - well think again.

As much as the ridiculously over-paid administrators in Sydney, Melbourne or wherever will say otherwise, many sports are not booming or blossoming in this region.

This is definitely the case with a couple of the football brands in particular.

Without singling out, say, soccer or rugby union, there are serious problems for some of the footy codes.

Participation numbers are falling or remaining virtually static, which in the current climate are about the same thing.

When a sport can't attract new blood in decent figures, it is in trouble.

Not wanting to point the finger at rugby union or soccer again, these two football brands are more or less marking time.

And this means it only really takes one false step to go backwards.

As usual, soccer can always attract young kids to play in the juniors, but struggles to hold onto them.

The Notebook believes this is also true for rugby union, but is always howled down when the subject is mentioned.

Administrators from the various football codes invariably have a set of numbers that paint a pretty picture, highlighting the "growth" or "stability" of the sport.

At times the NRL will trot out these type of figures to show how rugby league is going bangbusters anywhere and everywhere.

From memory, however, I have never seen or heard the numbers most relevant to the Riverina - exactly how many players are actually playing the game in the bush.

From The Notebook's standpoint, this is what counts the most - not the puerile fact that an extra couple of hundred school pupils across Australia have signed up for some airy-fairy competition that gets them out of class for a few hours.

Ask any kid in primary school whether they would rather sit in a classroom or spend the day at a footy carnival and the answer isn't hard to guess.

This is classically true for boys and girls - and also for all sports.

Like the NRL, the AFL is also great at spruiking spectacular participation figures about this carnival or that carnival, but in the end they are just about meaningless.

Apply this rule to soccer and rugby union and the result is exactly the same - heaps of kids play the various footy codes in school competitions, but that is usually as far as it goes.

Now, before some self-important development person from the AFL, NRL, ARU or Football Australia calls to say The Notebook is missing the point, let's clarify the situation.

Naturally, the aim of these carnivals is to encourage kids to play a sport, which is obviously an admirable goal.

The problem is that the various codes then use these patently unrealistic figures to try to score points off a rival.

The NRL loves this sort of thing, mainly because it always lags behind the AFL behemoth in this regard.

Still, don't believe every kid in Australia wants to play Australian football or drag their family along to AFL games.

It's the old story about how figures can be made to make even the most miserable situation seem rosy.

The good people at netball are champions at this little device - this sport just gets bigger and bigger and will soon take over the world.

Well, that's the impression netball administrators would like to put out there, but The Notebook thinks the reality is slightly different.

Netball participation numbers are always impressive - and so they should be as the sport is in a special position.

Unlike the football brands, netball has no real rivals - it has an open field and will always remain viable.

The tricky part is that netball numbers stay more or less passive - or dip a bit at times.

Across the board, there are other sports that wouldn't mind being in the same situation.

Look to basketball as a prime example.

As much as great people like John Norman are doing marvellous work in Wagga to expand basketball's horizons, the truth is it is on struggle street.

At national level, basketball can't compete and there is precious little money to help out in the bush.

It is only the admirable work of John Norman and company that gives basketball any hope around these parts.

Ditto for cricket and its fabulous band of merry men that try their darndest to ignite interest and keep kids coming through.

Sadly, the well is drying up and there is a danger that cricket will go the way of basketball.

Likewise, other sports are in a similar state - not quite dire but getting there.

No better or worse cases are lawn bowls and golf.

For so long, they were in an invincible position - people couldn't get enough of them.

Nowadays, lawn bowls is in dreadful strife, with clubs closing and player numbers falling dramatically.

Golf, too, has lost its lustre - the boom days are gone forever.

Courses are being shut down and the land sold to developers. Already there are a couple of small golf clubs in the Riverina that are on their last legs, and it is the same for their lawn bowls counterparts.

It's a sorry state of affairs, but these are dark times.

As much as The Notebook acknowledges the wonderful work of all volunteers, there is a real sense that even they can't save some sports, clubs or associations from turning up their toes.

It is absolutely imperative that these unpaid and overworked officials are given assistance from above to try to help solve the situation.

Left to their own devises, and without a steady cash flow, some sports in the Riverina might as well be skating on thin ice in the tropics.

******

MOTORSPORT takes in everything from kids racing small bikes at Yarragundry Park to F1 at Monaco.

It definitely does not include the weird, and more often than not crude, world of Summernats in Canberra.

The Notebook twice endured this horrendous event last weekend, albeit from a distance.

The simple fact is that Summernats involves cars, but should never be confused with motorsport.

Summernats is little more than a festival for fools with more money for petrol and tyres then sense.

It is also completely inconceivable, and irrational, that 103,000 people attended this event - and that it has lasted for 27 editions.

Honestly, the vast majority of those 103K should take a long, hard look at their lives.

When someone can actually enjoy watching cars burn rubber for no possible reason or take part in other distasteful and downright moronic endeavours, there is something really, really wrong.