ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 544, 26 June 1909, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

(Br Mekcubi.) i

August 18 and 21—Australasian Championships.l Brisbane. ' The "deadlock" in the affairs of tho N.Z.A.A.A. still obtains, and the position is sot forth in the following terms in tho "Weekly Press":—"The delay which has occurred in bringing about a linal settlement of affairs as between tho old Council of the Now Zealand : .Amateur Athletic Association and thepresent executive has naturally caused,,a certain feeling of•resentment in Wellington, where the headquarters aro now situated. At the : last meeting, of the old council,which, for some.reason or- other , was never reported, the matter was left in tho hands- of Messrs.- Grierson and Hoare to forward all-the books, papers, and accounts of the association, together with a proper balance-sheet, to .Wellington. That there has been some delay' in! doing so nas been' no.fault of the' gentlemen mentioned, who have devoted a considerable amount of time, to putting-the affairs of the association in order. The balance-sheet at first submitted to them did not commend itself to them as sufficiently clear to enable' a stranger to at once grasp the position, and it has "been- solely duo to. their desire: to mako matters perfectly' plain that the business has not yot been finally settled." '. If the reason as given above is tha correct one—that is-that the affairs of -tho late have been fallowed to got into such a Btate that it requires so ranch - of the time of .two business men to' straighten them out sufficiently to be presentable—then it is hard, indeed, to find any reason why. the defunct executive gave that bonus of £10 to the: late secretary-treasurer in its dying moments. '-■.;. '.'/>.>■■■',.■:

Mr. J. W. Heenan, tic local member of tho Selection Committee; of ■ tie Now Zealand team for the Australasian championships, has received word from Harry Kerr that he is available, if selected.. It is understood in Christch'u-rch that 'both Miles Dicksoaij and Guy Haskins are prepared make the trip, Dut that 0. L. Orbell—the present high jump champion and record-holderr-ris a vory doubtful quantity. '■■'.•'; ' : - '•-■ . ,

Walker, the groat.-, sprint • runner, and Duncker, South African hurdle champion, loft on ■'■May.; 6 to compete in the English cham.pionsihips. A. R. Postle accompanies them to England;, Before sailing he was interviewed.' He was; at first reluctant ,to',grvo an opinion of Walker's powers,'but subsequently he expressed the'belief that if. Walker trained consistently he would win the 100.yards English'.cuoinpionsbip,;remarking, "He:isa: better ;man than Kerr, and even now I'cannotsay .how good lio really: is." .'-. Continuing, Postle' said, ','Tho first time I saw him: in England, when he essayed the record at. Manchester; I thoughthim merely an average •sprinter, capable;perhaps of 10, l-sth or a, little.bit.bettor at his best. It was not'till he fan in J6hannesbuerg. that I realised how good ho was. Ho. has improved out of all knowledge, and : I have no hesitation.in saying .he is a. faster sprinter than the; English champion, Duffy, over was. 'In England they probably .have not realised ..the extent of his improvement, but they will not find that this .estimate over-values his powers." . ; A; correspondent in a southern .writing-from'.lnyercargill under',date 'June' :16, projects a searching light on the state of amateur athletics' in: Southland, and winds up a, very, scathing' indictment as follows:— '"rhero;'is no'such thing .'as.:a local;centre,' and that, as: a matter of .fact,' 'it rhas been dead for nearly a year. 'Tho v anhiial meeting. Bhould: have been held- last October, but it, has -not been held-yotj nor has a.balance-: sheet ■ 'of, the .previous; year's -working • been circulated'. amongst: members; In addition, no other, meeting of any description.for the .furtherance of amateur: athletics has beenheld since-then. VAs members of tho tive are only elected for:twelve 'months, the local executive ceased. :to .exist.; last October; 'since when there has.'been.no rnling,body in Southland.' ds it any wbndor then Siat ama;tcurism is dead?' ...Under, the' above extraordinary circumstances it .would be interesting to know upon i what authority Southland has .taken., such. a. prominent part in recarit years. ■: I hold that Southland should, have no legal standing in the. deliberations quoted abovo, ,and that, mbreover,'.'it has/no right ,'te be represented on the New, Zealand Execu-. :tive' Council, as the. local centre is legally non-existent. / Even-for the ;sake: of ; argu;ment, if we allow that last year's-executive may.'still. bo said to hold office, I contend that the. delegates'at the ..conference and tho nominees on .the executive. :wcro' not Vap- , pointed by the local centrb, ; as no meeting for the.purpose of. appointing,-.them was ever held, j The question naturally arises,, upon what'authority did an individual, shoulder tho ;responsibility of acting and as. :tlio centre, lii.these matters?"': ■ '■■'•.-.' ', Fine weather,. a favourite; rendezvous, and a good courso to follow, jwor'o. the conditions of last Saturday's run of the Harriers, yet the muster can only be classed as fair. Why the absentee list should have been-so great is unaccountable. ,So r far,;.'the:av©rage attendance at the weekly runs is ,mnoli below that of last season, and, if this year is to Bee a; continuance of the steady progress which tho ; club;hns experienced during past-.• seasons, some method.will havo to be adopted or getting the "casuals" out. "'.'■'<",'.'..' '■''■'. '.;. A "total; of: twenty-one.'.runners took part in .the' run, followinga traillaid by A. Muir and E.S.Forne from, Worser Bay. Of. the cpurso: itself, it need only be. said that it gavo satisfaction to thel'pack,-generally, as indeed''' is. usually :tho case -when a trail, is laid over-any part of :tbe ; Miramar■ peninsula.' At..".brio part,the, trail .struck tho beach at LyelLßay, and here some fast work was indulged ill,'lt. Bust being most prominent. Afterwards a turn was, made for home, via the. hills to ; the west of. the signal. station, theridge being, followed, as far as.the Seatoiin tunnol. The "run in" ended id a fiasco. Two of ..the: leading men mistook the finishing place,',and pulled. up : too';■'soon, thereby, of course, completely throwing away their chances of scoring points. ' Tho experience, however,-should have the effect of driving homo to them and their club-mates the desirability—in fact the (necessity—of satisfying.themselvos as to the correct finishing: place on future occasions'. ' To-day the run will; commence and finish! at Thorndon 'Baths.:;.;;', ■"-":'.;'-;;. -•..'"■-

'An innovation in the form of a regular mid-week run is 'thelatest step' taken by theHarriors' committee. Tho 1150 of ono of the large boat-sheds in the; Clyde Quay boat harbour as a dressing-shed,' on each Wednesday..evening, has beon arranged for..: This move :should do, : away with complaints as to : 'lack 'of training facilities" so' frequently heard in thejast. Nest Saturday'a race'for the Palmer Cup is being looked forward to with, the usual; interest, and. it ,is probablo that, it will, be contested by every. activo member of the club, as was the case two years ago. - : ''." .' .::"■ . : '