The Star: December 27, 2018

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday December 27 2018 25
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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 December 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.
The 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.
The 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.
“The 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. Their 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. There’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.
“There’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. The 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.
The 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?
The simple answer with motorsport
is usually money.
There 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 Star 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 2018 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.
The Wildcats will play
three games over the
opening weekend of the
competition from May 10-12
in Christchurch. Then the six
teams will play a minimum
of three home games in the
10-game regular season. The
competition will reach its
climax with a finals weekend in
Auckland from July 4-6.