Games security slated

A Wairarapa international table tennis umpire has returned from a busy trip to India with mixed feelings about the Commonwealth Games.
Val Scarr, from Mount Bruce, left New Zealand on September 30 for Delhi, arriving back on Sunday night.
She said going to the Games was a good experience but she had not brought home the memories she might have.
"Let's say it was great but you don't see much. The security is very tight - basically you only see the hotel and the stadium."
During the tournament Scarr took charge of many matches, including several quarterfinals and semis, and the men's doubles final.
She said a typical playing day lasted from 9.30am until 9pm - with her once umpiring seven games in one day.
However, the lasting impression of the Games was the huge security presence, which included police escorts from hotel to stadium and back every day.
This culminated with a trip to the Taj Mahal, which proved an eye-opener for the level of security it entailed as much as the beauty of the mausoleum itself.
Scarr said police cleared every street of traffic between the train station and the Taj Mahal, then whisked the tour bus through empty roads to the attraction.
While the Games came in for a bit of flak before the tournament, it was the Delhi residents who suffered most, she said.
"I did feel sorry for the locals because their lives had been disrupted and we were treated like royalty."
It was those same locals who were kept away from the events.
"It was disappointing, because they wouldn't let any vendors in, which affected the atmosphere, and it was very, very hard for locals to get tickets.
"Everything had to be done over the computer, which meant only the upper classes had tickets."
That all changed when an Indian athlete was on show, however.
"We had to stop play quite a lot. They would chant 'India' and try and put [the opposition players] off. It was quite hard umpiring because you just had to put your hand up and wait until eventually they got the message."
The other disappointing thing for Scarr was not getting the chance to see other Kiwis in action. Her Games ID was "only for table tennis", which meant she could not even watch the archery - an event held right next door to where she officiated.
Scarr, 64, said she had been umpiring for about 10 years now, including international duties since 2004.
Already the job has taken her to Russia and Taiwan this year, and it isn't ending with the Commonwealth Games.
She is off to South Korea on Friday for the world disabled table tennis champs, before a well-earned rest.