ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 86, 4 January 1908, Page 9

ATHLETICS.

i : (Bti MEnocBT.. COMING EVENTS Jan.,do. —W.AiA.C;. evening .meeting-, s : •Ifebi. —N.Z. Championships at- Basin Ee-

. serve. . • . ■ ■ vi ! Fob..-B.—Hutt :Valloy A.A.C. meeting, and Provincial Championships. ' Feb.; 29 and March 2.—Australasian Championships at Hobart.

Last week I roferred to tlio decidedly cool reception thp Wellington Centro gave; to' the. proposal that! oach Centro should contribute toward tho expenses of tho " New , Zealand team' for .tho Australasian Championships. Tho local -secretory wrote the governing Council stating tho. objections to the.'B.ch'omo and those ; objections have the. endorsement of '."Amateur", who writes:— ■ ; 1

.'■! !Thp : reply, of tho Wellington .Cohtro-of tjiq; Now .-Zealand. .Amateur Assoisirition) to: tho Council's •.requesW6r- contributions ,lo. : rassisfc; in fsending: a "tfca'fii'jfco Hobart-' jwfljf"what Vmight b'&eh of t)ib'Centres are at present; iri' : 'a "wry flourishing "Condition 'financially, and;Witli' thei'Couh'cil ;'of,a bank Vbalance' of; over .£10(), naturally the local bodies 'do. >. hot j feel thom'selyes .called .on to .sub.scribo.y./It-inay, however, .bo pointed , out'..;to - them, that '.any money they do will ,-go: towards "strcng-theiiing-tho'team, for though' at present, the' Council is in a position to provide'thp'greater portion of 'the necessary tunds, ■ it; ..would bo vory impolitic, on. tho part, of tho governing body to expend.all,its. ing;a toam away.:".- At. tho last CoiinciUmeot--ing,i oncuor.,two.-of,the. members,seeriied . inclined to 'hold ..tho ;opinion . tbat'-unless j.tbor Centres did assist no teams should'-bo'sont,' but th'o'Council is .in-honour bbund-' tti bq represented;' • V''-:■ "Spike;"'. of ~thq-.Dune'dfn ."Star.'Vjna'Kpsj tlio J tliij 'eliampipiisliip.mating,a fjrom wliich,, it, sv;oiild appeal-- that ;;r .tho ' southern* pr l dviii'c6 , V'"tbaiiccs 'of aiirioxiiig v tho aro.. riot\toP rosy":—"At-- the :: present., time Otago' -only lias about lialf-aKlo'MnvMthletes who aro likely Wgo liear. winning champion- ; ships.' Hector .Bark, the' present' half .'and one-milo champion of New Zealand,. is a cer'taiiity for tho . Otago'team; whilst Overton and ; M'Lachlan (both first : class T polo yaulters)',v O'Kaiio and Ruddock ' (hurales), - with ICeddell ■'■ (if for, . the "broad. jump - championship), aro about tho- only'other athletes who aro likoly to bo sent to Wellington. , ■ Skinner, Macfarlano', .Hoaro,. and ono or two others may between noiv- and- da to of .'.selection of tho team "show 1 form /.which may ' erititlo tlicm consideration:".; , j.CbristchurcK writers" are $lso .''^p&JMiftjfij; Orte" ! sci - ibo after criticising tlio ■Club'B'ineeting shovyn jiKortf iwill* ripc4. ."t0;..." bq..- a' .'.vast- 1 ' improvement..-.beforoi .Canterbury ,can : have:,any possiblb' cliance of even milking a; decent fight with. Wellington for tho Champion Shield, which tho Empire City team , won in February last.- 'Of tho competitors ..who took- part . in .-Saturday's' .mooting l H..'A.. Murray, and P. H.'Stubberfield were perhaps tho only two -with-, a rea-' sonablo claim for championship -.honours.-"

New Zealand' will not,. after all have tho services of Guy.-Haskin's,-: tho ex-Cantcrbuiy' student who has.madti such a namo. for liim-i self'as a miler;in iiit-er-uHirorsity, contests hi* ■tho United, States, to fill, the gap oaused ; ,b\": Bark's probable absence, apropos of wYiich: regrettable fact. "Harrier" says Gu- Has'kins .V'h'a's - .-written-, from ~ Philadelphia to-a : 'friend .that.ho.is -a . fixture_ .ia' .tho;Stetes,; and does, not intond returning 10 1 -K«s; land, as reported; and will, riot, therefore,! bo' available foi-tho-Australasian''ohar.'.?iqi\sli!p3.; Rather-, 'disappointing,. ho; ' Zealanders, -.but n 'gotid maiipiii. bl .tho.'.'iJatli of;G % A: ! ''\\!Eeatiey anil ? 9>iug|lta i haying 1 siiapped a back .fe'naojM 'b?j sot cornicing. Mir the'-; National Championship's tliis year. '■ Tho'milo was run in.4n>.m'!i9seC;. and-as Haskins has 4riiiii 50;,2-sscc...to'his credit for tlie distance, ho should liaro .had. a big say'i:i tho result.' ... .'.-'/O

. C. L. Orbell, of, Canterbury, tho cpifosent high : jump champion appears ;to"b'p performing well at'prcsenty r --A'£ tflM s Tc'c%fTSouth Canterbury A.A.C. meeting, which -by tho. way is tli<i oklcpf,,established' gathering ,of tho kind iiV. tho Dominion,' he. won tho high jump with oft. Glin.,"'anil cleared 19ft. 9m. m the .broad jump.

According , to ""Prodigal,New • South Wales, will bo 'strongly .represented in. tho Australasian championships. Nigel Barker's rotiirirto form has spoilt ;Ncw Zealand's chance of winning'tho furlong and a : quarter 'championships', and-C. P. Stewart, is con : sidorcd'.to be \a, betterl2oyds.- hurdler ,than any Now'. Zoalander. • will . probably go,v. to -.Victoria, ; :Ik is;, bable thatiAV; o'illeilly will .bo.'a'vailable," arid', in tbai'caso';two. in.oro championshipsi aro, ■practicaU'y assured' 1 to New-;;- South' 'Wales; but -most/'enthusiasts on this 'sido' : of !t}w Tasman Sea are donfident:that;thq-N-piviZeaf land .team' Ttfll ■ ib'b; strong; enough; to "settlo most of. tho 'opposition.'.:'.

■i Hector. Burk .turnedout at 'an ..evening meeting /of tho Dunedin A.AiC.- a few iiights .ago; in the half and mile runs. In tho shorter distance ho'was un'ablo-to gct.'a place .in Sciin; 3scc.\ and in tho mile pulled, out at tho ond of' tho second lap, being distressed .with' his' offorts in tho half. This looks as though ho had not yet struck form. He was to havo run at Milton on New Year's. Day, but,no results are. to hand, at time of writing, so it. is iinpcssiblo to say j just now. whetho'r this is his truo form or. not.: v It is likely, however, • that ho is d-af erring wind-ing-up operations until nearer championship time. ■

A. E. Rowland,'present iniio. and threo milo : walk champion.of New Zealand is .still. keeping himself in .tli-o publip-nyo At a combined meeting.of .tho Polytechnic and Herno Hill" Harriers (London) ho started fronv virtual, scratch in, a six milo r.oad race, ancl after making a good impression by tho fairness of his'style finished- unplaced, but had tho satisfaction of recording tho second fastest timtf for 'tho distance. ' His time was : beaten'by 2sec. only by tho second man. ...

G.'A. Wheat-Icy .who visited Now Zealand with'Shrabb and DufFcy has given notice that ho will bo tinablo. to defend his championship titles at Hobart at tbo Australasian meeting. ' .... ,

. Writing to tho Sydney "Referee" beforo Shrubb's break down, a Winnipeg (Canada) correspondent thus, describes a curious match ho (Shrttbb) took part' in in that city:— Tho local papers have "boomed" Shrnbb industriously, and his photographs appear ovorywliefe.,;- His,' in fact,vis/,one".of ,tho:b6st. known faces in Winnipeg. Over 4000 j>e-qpkv saw tho' ten 'miles 'match with the trotting; horso Patsy, possessing something moro than'; a local reputation,. and although, .tho.. timo, 52min. 20scc., was a .long way. outsido his ro-. cord, of attain. 40 3-osqc., mado .at Park, Glasgow, on November 5, 1904, it was, at any rato a West Canadian record, and Slirub'b rcceivcd all due honour for 1 tho feat, although ho was beaten fifteen yards .by tho pony. Tho crowd went- wild ■ wth entlui-' siasm, and carried tho runner shoulder -high, to the pavilion for his exhibition.'

A detailed report: of .tho race' sa.vs: —By fcho tinio. tho eighth milo was completed tho liorso was sweating froely, and covorod with foam. Shrubb did not seem to tire in -tho least, and looked comparatively fresh. ..A considerable number of tho spectators;-their-excitcmeiifc getting tho better of. them, forsoolv::tho stands for tho track, and tho sorivices of: tho police were required to permit-of spaco for tho opponents.' r.Tho.-. .cries "Good-i'old Shruub,'.' ■ '"Go :it, Shrubb;? 1 "Hurrah- for Sussex," beearoo general -as'tho ninth rililo was in completion."- -And their tho" last stago of tho journey 'was' staffed with;tho contestants on practically the .sa'mo basis as when tliov began. At tho quarter 110 cliango hiul boon made, bofcik running strongly. Just as the turn was made for tho strctch Mr. Roche urged, I'atsy oil'to a spurt. By degrees tlio animal puHod away from Shrubb—and tho race was over.

No ono really expected Slirulili to beat the horse, especially as tho gentleman driving, It. Rocho, one of .tho best-known men in tho city, .and an acknowledged roinsman, possesses tho confidence of all who know him, ami tiiore was not the slightest possibility of .tlio raco boing "fixed." Mr. Rocho said after tho race that he-was not obliged to' .force. tho animal, but that, tlio paco. was', aigOoil fast-clip, and. tho, way..that Shrubb kopt going, especially along the back stretch against a. very strong, wind, was, more tliari ho oxpectod.' ■ Tlio strength of -tlio wind on tho back stretch was felt by the horse,-and Shrubb did not take advantago of tho buggy a.? a wind shield either.