AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 29, 4 February 1937, Page 19

AMATEUR ATHLETICS.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS.

AUCKLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS.

PROVINCIAL RALLY AT HAMILTON

■ From now on it looks as if there in goinjj to be a very buey month ahead of the athletes right throughout the province. On the 13th, at Thauiee, will be held the Waikato Sub-centre'e championsliipe. The 20th will eee the famoue Japaneee athletes, Murakoso and Togami, in Auckland. The venue of this meeting is not yet certain, the Domain, Eden Park and Carlaw l'ark all being mentioned as euitable. ror a straight-out good track the Domain must tome first. After all, international men, especially thoee who have never been on a gratis track in their lives, should be given the smoothest of conditions. CarJaw is a line ground in every way except for the bends. Its seating accommodation is the botst for all sections of the public. hiden Park is a fine ground, but the track may not be as smooth ae that in the Domain, and it ia more remote than the other grounds. At Hamilton on the 27th the Auckland provincial championships will be held for the first time in memory outside of Auckland city. This meeting will give ue all a real ? iiide as to the possible chance the province has to win back the New Zealand championship shield. Accounts from the south indicate that Canterbury and Wellington Centres are experiencing a pretty lean period. Meetings have been few and it points to a very ordinary season there to date. Athletics is inclined to come in cyclee and we must remember that Wellington dominated the situation for year after year until Canterbury took its turn. Otago has lost both Tyrie and Lachie McLachlan and cannot be expected to make a great showing. Wanganui-Taranaki and Hawke'e Bay-Poverty Bay, generally regarded as the "minor" centres, look to have a better chance this year than southern, "major" ten tics. All in all, it looks like Auckland's year, but, as mentioned previously in thie column, there are still too many departments we are very weak in. They may yet prove our undoing. Matt Baker, the Thames and Auckland provincial qnarter-mile star, has been suffering from the " 'flu" the last two weeks. He is recovering fairly well, but still lias a while to go before he ie hie usual self. "Ticky" Whye, the well-known Otahuhu athlete and League footballer, ie now stationed at Ngatea, on the Hauraki Plains. He has been running with success at meetings in the district. . Rotorua may not be as strongly represented at the Waikato championships ae usual. It looka as if the thermal regions town will depend mostly upon its field event men this year. I. Devic-h, of Thames, is proving to be a fine distance performer. He should be a rival to Lindeay, of Hamilton. A. Gardner and R. Fisher are two very promising junior distance men. They are both Thames Club members. Gardner can also run a good quarter mile for a youngster. He clocked in at 50 4-5e off 30 yards , last week. H. E. McMillan, an ex-profeeeional eprinter who has just been reinstated, is expected to be a rival to Charlie Gooseman. However, it ie very hard to judge the worth of a professional sprinter, as the conditions are generally different at country sporte meetings It is easier to frauge the worth of their distance men. What a race it would be to see Preston, the great professional miler, who ie credited with 450 or better, matched against Savidan, Cooper, Lindeay and Birtwistle. To run the 100 yards in Hβ—even with the help of a wind—must place Miee Ida, Campbell, of Morrinsville, as the greatest lady sprinter the province has yet produced. If she ie beaten at the national meeting in March it will be the biggest upset of the meeting. The times were all fast at Morrineville. Denz won the 100 in 9 4-ss. He wae on a handicap! Alan Sayere ran a magnificent quarter to dead-heat with W. Kepple, of Hamilton, in 51e. Sayere gave Kepple 38 yards, and Kivell, who was third, also received this big mark. That P. Ferguson is in great form proved when he cleared lift in the pole vault at Morrineville. This must be the greatest height yet cleared by an Aneklander in this event. He stands a great chance to collect a Dominion title. As it was far too wet to hold the.Anniversary Day meeting at Te Awamutu, the eports will be held this coming Saturday. Te Awamutu has been unlucky wrth its weather in recent years and deserves a good day's outing.