ATHLETICS

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20989, 18 October 1933, Page 13

ATHLETICS

PLEA FOR SCRATCH RACING VALUE OF INTER-CLUB COMPETITIONS (SPECIALLY WBITTEN rOK THE PIIESS.) L'By "Limber."] For the last few seasons the Canterbury Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association has led the rest of the country in the promotion of scratch inter-club competition. In fact, outside Christchurch there has been very little such competition at all. Last season Canterbury was definitely on top in interprovincial athletics. Again, it is well known that in America all athletics take the form of inter-group competition; and it is also well known that the Americans are the present world leaders in athletics. On the other hand the British races, although athletically inclined, rarely do so well as the Americans. Handicap athletics are the usual form of the sport in British countries. It might be said, therefore, that handicap athletics have little value in a system providing plenty of scratch competition; and it can be said, quite definitely, that scratch inter-group contests are vital to the competitive success of any athletic organisations. But while the Canterbury Centre is to be congratulated upon the work it has done for athletics, and upon its successes of last season, it is a pity that it has apparently not planned 10 continue its advance in this reason's programme of meetings. Having established itself now as the leader cf athletic policy in New Zealand, the centre is in a good position to lake further steps. It could well have cut out a large proportion of its handicap meetings this summer, and substituted inter-club scratch meetings. Such a move would improve club and centre finance, and would also weed out "amateur professionals." True Amateurism. Inter-club athletics exhibit true amateurism. Thousands of persons enter other sport—tennis, football, cricket, hockey, and so on—and often spend considerable time and money on them without dreaming of trophies and prizes. Yet there exists in amateur athletics a peculiar notion that men must have trophies and trophy orders to compete for, if the sport is to become attractive. At present the only difference between professional and amateur, athletics is that professionals get cash for winning events: amateurs can get only orders on firms for goods to the value of the prizes they have won. The difference is merely technical. The less competition there is in amateur athletics for orders on firms for trophies the more truly will the sport deserve its name. Inter-club competition substitutes the wish to benefit one's club for the wish to gain personally, engendered by handicap racing .for trophy orders. Last year Dr. A. L. Haslam suggested at a centre meeting that handicap meetings should be cut out or cut down. It was argued in reply that if handicap meetings were abolished or reduced, athletes would give up the sport. But it may ne argued on the other hand that last season's inter-club meetings produced far more competitors than the handicap meetings. And, after all, competitors who will not run unless there are trophies to be run for are of no value to amateur athletics, and (he sport could be well rid of them. Such "amateur professionals" frequently run below form on purpose to secure bigger handicaps; and the practice slow:; up the races and lowers the athletic and moral standard of the sport. The present inter-club system provides for grades of competitors, in which placings score points equally. There is the same incentive to full effort in all grades. In addition, a man does not like to let his club down. It follows that performances and standards improve.

Club Finance. Finance provides further argument in favour' of cutting out the majority of handicap meetings. At every evening meeting under the present system trophy orders cost about .11 .j, and entries rarely exceed £2 10s. This leaves a loss of £2 10s each meeting on the actual racing. No gate money is taken, and there arc. of course, other expenses, unavoidable at an" meeting, such as the cost of materials, the hire of the ground, the cost of marking the ground, and so on. If the evening meetings were all intcrelub contests, without trophy orders or entry money, such necessary expenses would be the only ones incurred, and the present loss of £2 10s on trophy orders would be saved at each meeting. Since there are at least 12 evening meetings each season, £3O would be saved in all; and as many of the local clubs are not in a very sound financial position, this saving would be helpful. Public Interest.

Actually a bigger public turned out to see scratch racing than handicap racing last season; and most of those who attended handicap meetings did so to see the only inter-club events on the programme; namely, the A grade races for the Thomas relay baton, given for inter-club relay racing, and the races in the E grade' inter-club relay competition. People can be interested in the progress of inter-club contests; but (hey soon grow tired of seeing scratch men, meeting after meeting, trying to catch runners far ahead, who look slow because of the backmarkers' superior speed. In graded scratch events the competitors cover most of their distances together, and interest is sustained from start to finish. Evenly-matched fields do not look slow. B grade 100 yards races, won in 11 seconds, often look as fast as A grade races won in 10 l-ssec. If the public is once interested in inter-club competition, that interest may grow. If it does, it can be capitalised, so that scratch inter-club competition might become financially profitable to the centre and clubs. Handicap racing never will be. In any event, if scratch inter-club competition is cheaper to run, if the public prefers it, and if it produces a far better moral and athletic standard, surely the centre would be justified in cutting out handicap athletics altogether.

Conduct of I'rcßcnt MeetingsOf course, the conduct of the meetings run altocts public interest. Some meetings in the last few seasons have been very dreary to watch. The starting has been excellent and the judging and rci'ereeiug have been good; but meeting:-: have not been run to time. This must have lost the : port a great deal of public backing; and if the centre does nothing else new this summer, it will do much by simply speeding up programmes.

NEW BRIGHTON CLUB The opening meeting ot the New Brighton Amateur Athletic Club took place at the Rawhiti Domain sports ground last evening. The track was in perfect order. The officials were:—Referee, Mr A. 1. Hughes: judges, Messrs W. Queree and R. S. Pearson; timekeepers, Messrs L. C. Matson and C. A. Cooper; marksmen. Messrs E. Chrysell and A. C. Boyd: starter, Mr R. Russell; handicapper, Mr G. A. Malaquin. Results were as follows: 7.5 Yards Schoolboys (over 12 years) —First heat: D. Gibson 1, E. Sprosen 2, D. Badger 3. Second heat: B. Buxton 1, D. Gobbe 2, F. Hulme 3. Final: Gibson 1, Sprosen 2, Gobbe '. 50 Yards Schoolboys (under 12 years)—-First heat: A. Houghton 1, R. W. Wyness 2, C. Barter 3. Second heat: R. Smith 1. R. Wemyss 2, E. Green 3. Final: Barter 1, Wyness 2, Green 3. 75 Yards, Men—C. Kerr OOyds) 1. A. Thomas (9yds) 2, S. Thomrjson (6yds) 3. Time, 7 4-ssec. Second heat: J. Hay (3vds) 1, L. C. Richards (10yds) 2, T. Wilhelm (7yds) 3. Time, 8 2-ssec. Final: Kerr 1, Thomas 2, Thompson 3. Time, 7 4-ssec. 75 Yards, Women—Miss M. Murray.