Men's World Softball Championships Official Opening
Thursday 29 January 2004
Good afternoon, I'm Garry Moore, Mayor of Christchurch. Some older guests may well remember the great quest years ago for runners to break the 3 minute mile. The 3 minute barrier is back for this opening, except now the target is politicians such as myself.
So, within this tight limit I shall greet you all and make acknowledgement of some of the guests here today.
Firstly, my greetings to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark.
Yesterday it was my pleasure to officially greet many of the dignitaries from the world of softball and sport.
The one exception to yesterday’s greeting is Dale Eagar, the Chairman of New Zealand Softball. I know for Dale, as for many of the other members of the softball world here today, that this event must be a great moment in the making.
I said yesterday that this event is another stepping stone on the way to Christchurch getting a much higher profile as a
sporting venue for major international events. What I did not say yesterday was that this also reflects the maturing and diversification of our sporting world.
Christchurch, like the rest of New Zealand, is a much more diverse, multi-cultural, multi-racial society than it was back in the days of the quest for the three minute mile.
We have just had a flurry of events marking the 30 years since the Commonwealth Games were held in Christchurch. The change has been that many of the races and cultures who were novel guests then are now part of our day to day life as a city and society.
Sport too has become more diverse and global in its range of choice. We are all the richer for this series of changes in how we live our lives and play our sport, and who we engage with in these activities.
The fact that we are holding the world championships here in Christchurch is another step on our journey toward maturity as good world citizens.
On behalf of Christchurch, I wish you all a great championship and an equally great time off the sporting field.
Thank you.
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