Sideline Sid - Sports blogger Sideline Sid is a local sport fanatic. Not only is he a classic rugby bloke but he has views, opinions and knowledge on all sports played in the Bay of Plenty.

Sidline Sid found out that Tauranga is a big city last Friday. Grandson number one had requested we pick him up and transport him (and his bike) from one side of the city to Otumoetai Intermediate.

The need for the bike at school was transport to take bikes to the kids' Duathlon at Pilot Bay. Not used to being on the local roads at about 8am it was real eye-opener with the amount of traffic out and about.

Chaos and pandemonium seemed to surround the intermediate as a couple of hundred bikes were unloaded at the same time. However, good organisation and control quickly had the participants and their bicycles on the way to the event.

While our grandson is never likely to be an outstanding athlete, as he is more into things theatrical – he thoroughly enjoys the camaraderie of such events.

It is important that youngsters growing up take part in events such as the Duathlon. While winning is important in the development of young athletes – the enjoyment of taking part in something that all the finishers experience.

On the local sporting scene, the transition from summer to winter sports is taking place with rugby league the first out of the blocks. My spies tell me that the Otumoetai Eels are in for a big season.

The local league club, which is relatively new on the scene, is a grand example of planned development. While local league teams have come and gone over the years, going back to the Mount Watersiders in the early 1970s, the Eels look set to be a big player on the local league scene for many years.

While the club has a raft of talented players and a good coaching setup, the big plus the club has, is a solid administration base. All the players and coaches in the world will bring little success unless there is a solid administration platform in place.

Another important component that the club has got right is media coverage. While the media can be a two edge sword, media exposure is important in growing and developing sport.

As someone that works within the media world, the most common bleat received is that no one reported or covered 'our” game. My response is always – did you tell the media that it was on.

While on one of my hobbyhorses, another annoying part of covering sport is the people that seem to want to report just good news. There is nothing more frustrating than giving a game a good preview, only for the contact to go AWOL when the result is a loss instead of the predicted victory.

The local cricket season is fast coming to a conclusion with the Baywide premier second round likely to go down to the wire. The cat was put amongst the pigeons last weekend when BOP Cup leader Otumoetai Cadets were beaten by Rotorua side Eastern Pirates.

With just three weeks of round robin play remaining, Tauranga Boys' College are a solitary point ahead of Pirates, with the Mount and Cadets snapping at the leaders heels.

Seeya at the Game.