24 Thursday <strong>December</strong> <strong>27</strong> <strong>2018</strong> Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi 2 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> A EVENT CITY2SURF with Les Mills Sunday 24 March #Areyouupforit? 14km, 6km Community Fun Run Event It’s our 45th Anniversary Year! ENTER NOW www.city2surf.co.nz City 2 Surf 2019_Entries Available
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Thursday <strong>December</strong> <strong>27</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 25 Sport local sport Proudly brought to you by... Tower JuncTion Phone: 348 6020 Open 7 days 11am to late www.speightstowerjunction.co.nz FIGHTING IRISH: Notre Dame are the third ranked team coming into the college football playoffs. Helping top US college athletes go professional • By Gordon Findlater THE UNITED States college football season is about to reach its climax. On <strong>December</strong> 30, undefeated Notre Dame play Clemson for a spot in the championship final. And surprisingly Notre Dame have a Christchurch connection. In August, James Biddick started his role as student athlete career development program manager at the University of Notre Dame. <strong>The</strong> former Canterbury hockey and age group cricket rep decided he wanted to help people and work in sports after he lost interest in working as a lawyer at Russell McVeagh in Auckland. <strong>The</strong> 36-year-old’s day-to-day activities now involve managing 720 student athletes across about 20 sports. Biddick’s job is to guide high profile athletes who have the end goal of playing professionally in the NBA, NFL, NHL or MLB. “I think the Kiwi attitude comes in handy there. One, because I don’t know a lot of these guys. People are very passionate about these players, but they’re 18, 19, 20-yearold kids in my eyes. Before I got there, I couldn’t name one football player, which is probably a good thing because I’m there to help them and see them as a person,” said Biddick. While he has rubbed shoulders with many famous professional athletes in the US, Biddick still hasn’t crossed paths with one he would be star struck by. “<strong>The</strong> only person I think I’d get excited or nervous to meet would be Steven Adams.” He says meeting Adams would complete his list of the big three names he has wanted to meet since moving to the US. While studying for a Master of Sports Administration degree at Ohio University, Biddick was able to meet Leigh Steinberg, the inspiration behind the film Jerry Maguire, and Maurice Clarett, RUBBING SHOULDERS: James Biddick met former Ohio State star running back Maurice Clarett. a former college football star who spent time in prison before becoming a public speaker. Biddick is currently in Christchurch visiting family. When he heads back to Notre Dame later this week, he will return for one of the biggest days on the college football calendar. About 80,000 people will cram into AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to watch Notre Dame clash with Clemson in the Cutton Classic. Notre Dame are undefeated in 12 games this year. <strong>The</strong>ir home games attract about 80,000 fans to each match. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen . . . I’ve been to the Rugby World Cup final in 2011, but it kind of dwarfs that because of everything going on outside the game. <strong>The</strong>re’s obviously a football game going on, which everyone is passionate about, but there’s the band, there’s the cheerleaders and the tailgating,” said Biddick. Tailgating is a social event held around the open tailgate of a vehicle. Tailgate parties usually involve drinking and grilled food and are held in the parking lots at stadiums before games. “Someone estimated they sometimes have around 200,000-300,000 people tailgating outside the ground,” said Biddick. “<strong>The</strong>re’s such a passion towards the college you went to. We don’t have that in New Zealand, maybe your high school you feel an attachment to but definitely not university, it’s so passionate.” HAYDEN Paddon’s frustrating situation with Hyundai which has seen him snubbed in 2019 in favour of the return of former multiple time world champion Sebastian Loeb should come with a silver lining for the sport in New Zealand. Paddon’s situation is the latest kick in the teeth for rally fans. It only adds insult to injury over the fact we haven’t had an event on the WRC calendar since 2012. However, there is one positive for the sport despite these two big blows. <strong>The</strong> New Zealand Rally Championship appears to be as strong as it has been in a long time with even Australia’s top talents heading across the ditch to fine tune their craft. Long gone are the days of the 1990s and early 2000s when the likes of Possum Bourne would go to Australia or compete in the Asia Pacific series to push forward their names – both competitions appear to be dead in the water when you look at the number of entrants in recent years. Most events in the Australian Rally Championship this year Talented Russian to join Wildcats next season THE CANTERBURY Wildcats have acquired the services of Russian forward Marita Davydova (right) for next year’s national women’s basketball championship. Davydova is expected to arrive in Christchurch in March ahead of the season which starts in May. She has represented her country on numerous occasions. In 2010, she played at the FIBA under-17 world championship in France and then represented Russia at the under-18 and under-20 European championships. <strong>The</strong> 196cm forward went to Moscow State Agriculture Academy, then transferred to Florida International University for her final two years of college. She played 61 games over two seasons with FIU, averaging 10.8 points and 9.2 rebounds a game. Since graduating in 2015, Davydova has played One-eyed Cantab Gordon Findlater gordon.findlater@starmedia.kiwi Paddon’s axing silver lining for New Zealand had just 30 to 50 entrants. Compare that to the NZ championship which had 61 entrants at its least popular event in the Coromandel and 150 at the most popular event in Otago. With Paddon set to compete in at least a healthy chunk of the 2019 season, the time to let the world know that the NZ championship is the best in the Southern Hemisphere is now. How do we go about it? <strong>The</strong> simple answer with motorsport is usually money. <strong>The</strong>re needs to be a visible pathway in the championship for those wanting to go onto the world stage. We’ve had it in the past with the Pirelli <strong>Star</strong> Driver programme which helped open the door for Paddon.With the best drivers in not just New Zealand but Australasia competing here there’s every reason teams in Europe should be taking notice of our championship. Paddon may be off the world stage for now in spite of a limited <strong>2018</strong> campaign, but let’s make the most of what he’s done for the sport as a whole on home shores. professionally in several countries including Spain, Russia and Ecuador. <strong>The</strong> Wildcats will play three games over the opening weekend of the competition from May 10-12 in Christchurch. <strong>The</strong>n the six teams will play a minimum of three home games in the 10-game regular season. <strong>The</strong> competition will reach its climax with a finals weekend in Auckland from July 4-6.
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