MISCELLANEOUS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 32, 8 February 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

MISCELLANEOUS.

Alreadytalk is beginning about the next sports meeting of the Amateur Athletic Club. It is now only sor 6 weeks, off and those who infend to compete will need to be getting into training ab once. I believe the date will be about tho 15th of March, so that those who think they will be fit to go to the Sydney meeting may well have an opportunity beforehand of showing their ability. The cyclists intend to put on' the forthcoming programme a one mile Bicycle Steeplechase. Such an event should afford some amusement and there should be good competition. The bicycle men seem very well pleased at Mr Cooper's handicaps forlast Saturday's races, and the scratch men were able to geb up to the front. Hitherto the limits have been so great thab the beafc men were often quite out of it. Ab the same time they must not always expect to win. I wonder how it was thab so many men wero on the same mark in each of the races.

Rollo, the new bicyclist from Wellington, had very hard lines in getting a spill jusb afber the start. The lesson is for each rider to have a man used to starting him. Rollo gob one of bhe crowd and suffered inglyHow is ib thab bhe numbers of our bicyclisbs do not increase appreciably ? It is too much bo ask bhe same crowd to keep the thing moving. There ought to be a little new blood now and then, and a few dark horses at every meeting. Competition for the maiden race is getting so slack that there is some talk of cutting such races out of the programme unless the number of entries increase. Bicycle riding is one of the best and cheapest sports we have, and certainly shouid be more popular in Auckland. The country is a bit hilly, still there are plenty of places for pleasant rides, and a jollier lob of club mates no bicyclisb could wish to have bhan those in bhe Auckland Club. Tho.=e ab presenb engaged in the sport Bhould try to wake obhers inbo life by some novel attractions, such as Chinese lantern processions, etc.

The 150 yards race ab the Squadron sports on Saturday gave three very interesting contests, and the handicappers deserve every credit for the excellent sport they gave. Some of the men were, no doubb, in this and the other two amateur races, running for handicaps at next meeting ; but their little games were carefully watched. Hutchison ran a splendid race and deserved his win. Laird, also, both in his heat and in tho final, showed what a good man he is, bub he can't give Hutchin son anything. It wa3 a treat tosee these two striding along. Ib is questionable if bhey are much inferior bo Lusk or Owen s or any of our obher crack sprinters.

The Quarber-mile was something _ of a surprise in giving us Kiifoyle as a winner. He had little difficulty in getting home first. In this race again Hutchison ran splendidly, and the way he got round his field and finished up tlie straight showed bhab,fib and well.he was nob unworthy to be sent to Dunedin for bhe race.

The Thousand Yards another surprise, tho winner turning up iv Goldwater. He ran a good game race, and finished very strong. The handicappers seem to have been underrating him somewhat. Jeffreys, too, ran very well in this event, but the handicap was too severe for him. Taylor ran better than I expected, but finished a bit weak. Want of training probably. I hear from 'Frisco thab J. B. Buchanan is doing very well over there. He still keeps up his heavy weight lifting, as the following from the 'Frisco " Alta" will show :—

"J. B. Buchanan, a young abhlete from New Zealand, will in all probability represent the Olympic Club at the forthcoming championship meeting with the sixbeenpound shob and throwing the hammer. Purceil, the Irish champion, whose record wibh bhe sixteen-pound shob is 37 feet 8 inches, will unfortunately be prevented from competing. Mr Buchanan is afine specimen of physical development, and as a gentleman amateur has won a good record in the colonies. He is at present engaged ab a photographic studio, bub in his spare moments continues bo keep in form by exercising ab the club. Very shortly he intends to issue a challenge to the world in an all-round amateur weight lifting contest, for which he will almost immediately go into braining." The above championship is open to the world and will bring athletes from Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York. Every one of my readers will be glad to hear of Joe's success,

The running of our professionals at the Friendly Societies' sports last Saturday and the beautiful way in which they arranged the winners of tho races will surely encourage people to put sports on programmes to suit them.

T. W. Bussfc, the well-known Victorian cyclist, has challenged any man in Australia to ride for £50 or upwards. The challenge has been taken up by Frank Mills, who was lately in Christchurch. Amongst the latest inventions in cycles is a Rover manufactured by the Quadrant Cycle Company, Birmingham. The front wheel is composed of two rims, one within bhe other. These rims aro fasbened bogebher by aboub thirty springs fixed ab intervals of three inches, and intended to acb as a gigantic spring tyre. The inventors claim that the vibration on the arms is completely nullified, while the driving wheel is completely rigid. A boxing contest between S. Baxter, of London, and J. Burge, ot Sydney, for £250 and bhe Hghb weighb Championship of Australia took place at Foley's Athlebic Hall on January 24th, when Burge won in bho twenty-firsb round.

It appears that Baxter will certainly be unable to go to Sydney. Hampton has applied for leave, and thinks he may geb ib : Reeves and Shaw can go. Moirison has given no definibe answer yeb. Mr Coombes, who broughb the Sydney runners to Dunedin, gives the following opinion of ourathletes: —"IthinkHempbon, of Invercargill, can beat any amateur in New South Wales over 100 yds course. Macpherson could, in my opinion, beat their cracks from 150 to 440 yds, New Zealand would then come in again from 880 yds up to the longest championship event, viz— 3 mile?. In hurdle jumping we have nobody who has a chance with Batger, of Wellington, or Shaw,of Christchurch. We should go under in pole-jumping, putting the shob, and probably in bhe long jump, bub would score a win in the high jump."

Darby, whose wonderful jumping I made a nots of some little time back, jumped sft 9iri high with his ankles firmly tied together. He afterwards cleared 28ft 6in in two standing jumps.