<I>

  <&>Wellington Corpus of Spoken New Zealand English Version One</&>
  <&>Copyright 1998 School of Linguistics & Applied Language Studies</&>
  <&>Victoria University of Wellington</&>

  <&>side one</&>
  <&>0:17</&>
  

  <WSC#DGI155:0005:IT>
      <theme music>known as the best male high jumper to come out of
      new zealand a young maori by the name of roger te puni has
      elevated the sport of high jumping to great heights in aotearoa

  <WSC#DGI155:0010:IT>
      i first asked roger how old he was when he first took up
      athletics</theme music> <&>theme music continues for seven
      seconds</&>

  <WSC#DGI155:0015:RT>
      i was doing athletics <.>and</.> and playing rugby when i was
      <drawls>a</drawls> a little youngster about six years old um did
      athletics in the summer time and er competed for the porirua
      club er there was no tawa club at that stage and er was playing
      rugby as well so didn't really get serious until er oh about the
      sixth form at school really <{><[>where i</[> started to get
      full into athletics

  <WSC#DGI155:0020:IT>
      <[><?>did you</?></[></{>

  <WSC#DGI155:0025:IT>
      and when did you realise you had an ability to jump to take up
      the actual discipline of high jumping

  <WSC#DGI155:0030:RT>
      er it was when i didn't have the ability to <drawls>er</drawls>
      sprint fast enough or hurdle fast <{><[>enough er</[>

  <WSC#DGI155:0035:RT>
      i i did sprinting and won a lot of regional championships for my
      age and er started to get beaten er when i was about i think
      about oh thirteen and that so i wasn't the best in wellington so
      i thought i <?>well i don't</?> want to do this so i took up
      hurdles and dominated there for a couple of years and took up
      high jump er when i was about sixteen years old

  <WSC#DGI155:0040:IT>
      <[><O>laughs</O></[></{>

  <WSC#DGI155:0045:IT>
      <?>is that</?> right <latch>

  <WSC#DGI155:0050:RT>
      so <drawls>er</drawls> yeah the speed and the er er sort of
      jumping ability went together pretty well so i was a bit of a
      late starter as far as er sort of getting into the the
      specialist sort of stuff <{1><[1>er</[1> in that event <{2><[2>but
      um</[2> been doing it since that <latch>

  <WSC#DGI155:0055:IT>
      <[1>yeah</[1></{1>

  <WSC#DGI155:0060:IT>
      <[2><O>exhales</O></[2></{2>

  <WSC#DGI155:0065:IT>
      that's the trouble with our athletes our specially our maori
      ones who got that versatility eh

  <WSC#DGI155:0070:RT>
      yeah plenty of versatility there

  <WSC#DGI155:0075:RT>
      um <with creaky voice>they</with creaky voice> tend to er i
      think <with creaky voice>um</with creaky voice> <&>3:00</&> the
      structure of the school sort of set up <.>and</.> and er team
      sports and things like that

  <WSC#DGI155:0080:RT>
      i mean athletics is is sort of a team sport at school <drawls>um
      but</drawls> you know i think maybe the direction is is lost a
      little bit when they leave school and er they sort of tend to
      gravitate more towards the rugby and the league and er netball
      but they've got a lot to offer in track and field and er other
      commonwealth sports and olympic sports as well i think

  <WSC#DGI155:0085:IT>
      okay

  <WSC#DGI155:0090:IT>
      who were the people that supported you in your early stage of
      your um athletics career

  <WSC#DGI155:0095:RT>
      <O>tut</O> um oh my family's always been behind me <{1><[1>um</[1>
      <drawls>er</drawls>

  <WSC#DGI155:0100:RT>
      they're pretty proud to sort of er have my name in <laughs>lights
      so to speak</laughs> but um you know i i got sort of hand picked
      out by <with creaky       voice>a</with creaky       voice> a
      coach mike <?>beeble</?> who's <drawls>a</drawls> <?>you know</?>
      the other half of barbara <?>beeble</?> sort of er fraternity
      and er mike's been coaching quite a few of champion athletes and
      er he sort of hand picked me when i was about sixteen and said
      er you know concentrate on it and you'll er you'll <loudly>do
      good</loudly> er so yeah i still sort of er tend to him for
      advice over the last couple <&>3:00</&> of years even though
      he's been sort of more er tending towards a career sort of path
      but um yeah you know you all have your er your idols that you
      sort of er look at <{2><[2>and er</[2> there's a couple of
      athletes that er i follow the progress in so <{3><[3>yeah</[3>

  <WSC#DGI155:0105:IT>
      <[1>yeah</[1></{1>

  <WSC#DGI155:0110:IT>
      <[2>mhm</[2></{2>

  <WSC#DGI155:0115:IT>
      <[3>tell us</[3></{3> roger about how you felt when you first
      put on that silver fern and went to your first game

  <WSC#DGI155:0120:RT>
      er it was pretty scary actually

  <WSC#DGI155:0125:RT>
      um nineteen eighty two er i'd made a new zealand SECondary
      schools team which was with athletes my own age but er that was
      in eighty one

  <WSC#DGI155:0130:RT>
      in nineteen eighty two i got named in the er <O>voc</O> the new
      zealand team for brisbane commonwealth games and er i got there
      and <drawls>er</drawls> it was pretty scary er competing against
      a guy named <?>mild otty</?> who was ranked number one in the
      WORLD at that stage <{1><[1>er</[1> and i you know people like
      greg joy who was olympic silver medallist and there were these
      big names who you used to read about and watch on t v and um
      here i was on the er on the same sort of er <&>4:00</&> track as
      them and <O>voc</O> on the day there was about sixty thousand
      people it was a capacity crowd and er when the aussies er missed
      and i beat the aussies the er crowd got in behind me like i was
      a sort of a second cousin sort of thing <{2><[2>so <?>the</?>
      <unclear>word</unclear></[2> no it was er it worked well

  <WSC#DGI155:0135:RT>
      i jumped a new zealand junior record on the day and jumped a lot
      higher than my new zealand ranking and um you know it went
      really well um so no i was pretty happy with it but yeah it
      really sort of brought out the best in me

  <WSC#DGI155:0140:IT>
      <[1>oh right</[1></{1>

  <WSC#DGI155:0145:IT>
      <[2>right</[2></{2>

  <WSC#DGI155:0150:IT>
      the march past at the start of the games would've been an
      awesome feeling

  <WSC#DGI155:0155:RT>
      yeah it was it was um

  <WSC#DGI155:0160:RT>
      you know it was the first time i'd been involved with that so
      <drawls>er</drawls> yeah it was pretty mind blowing with the er
      crowds and stuff

  <WSC#DGI155:0165:RT>
      the one thing with er australia was that er the athletes um
      didn't march past until right near the end so we missed <&>pronounced
      as wished</&> missed most of the show um but in in new zealand
      in nineteen ninety it was a different kettle of fish

  <WSC#DGI155:0170:RT>
      the athletes came in er earlier so we got to see a lot of the
      show and er er the only thing that was better than the march
      past in australia was the one in er nineteen ninety in auckland
      <{><[>when er</[> you know obviously our home crowd

  <WSC#DGI155:0175:IT>
      <[>right</[></{>

  <WSC#DGI155:0180:IT>
      how many games have you actually competed in <&>5:00</&> roger

  <WSC#DGI155:0185:RT>
      um skipped a couple

  <WSC#DGI155:0190:RT>
      i went to nineteen eighty two commonwealths um didn't get picked
      for eighty six for reasons unknown <{1><[1>um</[1>

  <WSC#DGI155:0195:RT>
      <.>it's</.> i jumped two metres eighteen and er got told i
      wasn't good enough and then two metres fourteen won the bronze
      medal so i was sitting at home watching it on t v and i jumped a
      lot higher than the bronze medallist so um these things sort of
      happen so i missed there and then i went to nineteen ninety um
      <O>voc</O> did qualify for ninety four and er <?>you know</?>
      i'm not getting on the plane for that one for another you know
      political reasons probably <{2><[2>i don't know but</[2> you
      know i've done major championships in between

  <WSC#DGI155:0200:RT>
      world championships in ninety one in tokyo was probably one of
      you know the THE biggest meet i'd been in

  <WSC#DGI155:0205:IT>
      <[1>mm</[1></{1>

  <WSC#DGI155:0210:IT>
      <[2>yeah mm</[2></{2>

  <WSC#DGI155:0215:IT>
      how important is the coach in the <drawls>er</drawls> discipline
      of high jumping roger

  <WSC#DGI155:0220:RT>
      er well yeah <.>y</.> you can't really do without them

  <WSC#DGI155:0225:RT>
      um you need someone there to er specially watch your technique
      sessions because you may be doing something wrong you don't know
      that you're doing it wrong and er unless it gets pointed out
      you'll continue to do it wrong so <&>6:00</&> but um over the
      years i've learnt how to sort of work my body and condition it
      and work on the weights and <?>apply metrics</?> and running
      sort of side of things but you really do need someone there to
      watch your technique work

  <WSC#DGI155:0230:IT>
      mm <latch>

  <WSC#DGI155:0235:RT>
      um you know in the last er couple of years i've really haven't
      put as much time in to concentrating on on full on athletics but
      i've picked and sort of chosen my meets and my coach um has
      still been there when i've asked him to turn out to er watch a
      few of my technique sessions

  <WSC#DGI155:0240:IT>
      roger is there a strong contingent of promising high jumpers
      coming through in new zealand

  <WSC#DGI155:0245:RT>
      um <O>exhales</O> <O>tut</O> <drawls>there</drawls> <O>voc</O>
      there is one who is who's phenomenal at the moment a guy glen
      howard from er christchurch um

  <WSC#DGI155:0250:RT>
      over the years i've seen about six or seven guys who have come
      up um to challenge me and it's been a bit disappointing because
      i've taken a couple of beatings and a <with creaky voice>you
      know</with creaky voice> with me when i was getting beaten i was
      i was nastier and hungrier to to come out there and <&>7:00</&>
      do the job so these guys have have quit at quite an early age
      but um glen howard's is coming through and he's qualified for
      the world junior championships and he'll be going there to
      portugal in er july they'll be competing and um i would have
      thought <.>th</.> <O>voc</O> like both myself because i qualify
      for ninety four games um and also glen would have been given a
      chance to er get into the commonwealth games on the way home
      from portugal <{1><[1>um</[1> just for experience

  <WSC#DGI155:0255:RT>
      um these athletes you know when they're showing some er
      potential have got to be given the chances otherwise you know
      we're going to lose them somewhere else

  <WSC#DGI155:0260:RT>
      <{2><[2>they're</[2> obviously got some ability so they'll
      they'll go and show that ability in another sport if we don't
      look after them so <{3><[3>um <O>tut</O></[3> you know there is
      a bit of a nucleus there but glen's the leading leading light
      there <{4><[4>and</[4> er is doing the job

  <WSC#DGI155:0265:IT>
      <[1>mm</[1></{1>

  <WSC#DGI155:0270:IT>
      <[2><?>right</?></[2></{2>

  <WSC#DGI155:0275:IT>
      <[3>right</[3></{3>

  <WSC#DGI155:0280:IT>
      <[4><.>i</.></[4></{4>

  <WSC#DGI155:0285:IT>
      are there other maori competing in this discipline also

  <WSC#DGI155:0290:RT>
      in the high jump?

  <WSC#DGI155:0295:IT>
      mm

  <WSC#DGI155:0300:RT>
      not a lot

  <WSC#DGI155:0305:RT>
      <{><[>there's a</[> couple of young guys who <drawls>er</drawls>
      i've seen out and about in <&>8:00</&> the regional
      championships

  <WSC#DGI155:0310:RT>
      er er the last er high jumper in new zealand i think of any note
      was a of maori descent was a guy peter ranginui from er wanganui

  <WSC#DGI155:0315:RT>
      he um he apparently is a very good touch rugby player now

  <WSC#DGI155:0320:IT>
      <[>not a lot</[></{>

  <WSC#DGI155:0325:IT>
      okay

  <WSC#DGI155:0330:RT>
      so um but it's an event <drawls>er</drawls> where you know
      you've got to have sort of er speed explosive power um gymnastic
      ability and and you know height always helps and er you've got
      to be reasonably light but powerful with it so <{><[>er</[>
      you'll sort of know that er a lot of er young maori are pretty
      solid er solid er strong sort of athletes you know more tending
      towards shot put and discus maybe

  <WSC#DGI155:0335:RT>
      there's a couple of those out there so yeah yeah so not a lot of
      high jumpers out there

  <WSC#DGI155:0340:IT>
      <[>mm</[></{>

  <WSC#DGI155:0345:IT>
      okay we'll get into the er to the area of finance

  <WSC#DGI155:0350:IT>
      how important is finance and sponsorship to an athlete of of
      this ability

  <WSC#DGI155:0355:RT>
      <O>tut</O> um well really er if you if you reach sort of er
      being the best in the country um <&>9:00</&> it's it's almost
      impossible to continue to improve on your own er jumping against
      yourself basically

  <WSC#DGI155:0360:RT>
      <{1><[1>um</[1> for a period of about eight years there i would
      wake up every morning before a national championships and i'd
      know i was going to win before i got there

  <WSC#DGI155:0365:RT>
      you know that's not gonna bring out the best in you

  <WSC#DGI155:0370:RT>
      um you NEED to be able to um once you've attained er national
      sort of er prominence you need to be able to um er look for
      overseas competition

  <WSC#DGI155:0375:RT>
      um <O>tut</O> <.>i</.> it's a different <?><.>s</.></?> kettle
      <.>o</.> kettle of fish in in in a distance race you know

  <WSC#DGI155:0380:RT>
      you may be able to nominate a four hundred metre runner in new
      zealand to pacemake an eight hundred metre race

  <WSC#DGI155:0385:RT>
      in new zealand er you know in high jump it's impossible to get a
      pacemaker

  <WSC#DGI155:0390:RT>
      <{2><[2>you've</[2> just got a barrier there so the only way to
      bring out the best is to compete against the best so that um
      it'll scare you into <drawls>a</drawls> to good performance er

  <WSC#DGI155:0395:RT>
      there's nothing like a you know experience like that

  <WSC#DGI155:0400:IT>
      <[1>mm</[1></{1>

  <WSC#DGI155:0405:IT>
      <[2>right</[2></{2>

  <WSC#DGI155:0410:IT>
      mhm

  <WSC#DGI155:0415:RT>
      and er unfortunately we're pretty isolated

  <WSC#DGI155:0420:RT>
      er australia has now got some very good high jumpers so that
      would be the first step i think <&>10:00</&> for a young high
      jumper um or any young athlete in track and field and er then
      you know if you're good enough and can make the grade then er
      <?>you know</?> i based myself in london for a while and
      competed in europe <{><[>um financing</[> myself most of the
      time <O>tut</O>

  <WSC#DGI155:0425:RT>
      um if you're good enough you know you can make money and and
      support yourself

  <WSC#DGI155:0430:IT>
      <[>right</[></{>

  <WSC#DGI155:0435:IT>
      mm

  <WSC#DGI155:0440:RT>
      so <{1><[1>that</[1> yeah you really need to iNITIALLY you need
      some backing

  <WSC#DGI155:0445:RT>
      um track and field is a major sport in europe but in new zealand
      it hasn't got a high profile

  <WSC#DGI155:0450:RT>
      <{2><[2>we're stuck</[2> in this <drawls><with creaky voice>er</with creaky voice></drawls>
      rugby netball sort of syndrome and we're doing well in those
      sports but you've really got to remember how many countries are
      actually competing in track and field and how many countries
      actually play netball

  <WSC#DGI155:0455:IT>
      <[1>mm</[1></{1>

  <WSC#DGI155:0460:IT>
      <[2>right</[2></{2>

  <WSC#DGI155:0465:IT>
      right

  <WSC#DGI155:0470:RT>
      so you know those are those are sort of the barriers that you're
      coming across <&>10:44</&>
</I>
