ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1054, 18 February 1911, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

(Bt Mebcobt.) 1 1 ' • ... FIXTURES. ' " '' A complete list of fixtures for clubs under the jurisdiction of tho Wellington Centre for, the .remainder of tho season is appended, from which it will 1m seen that therois "plenty doing"-for tho dmateur athletic;'fraternity, 'and particularly the city section thereof. The hxturcs anil dates are! February 25—Port Nicholson A.A.C, Meeting.- ... March ' I—Kaiori A.A.C. Evening Meeting. . March 4—Petone Junior Club Meeting. March B—Karori A.A.C. Evening'ileeting March B—Mauuwatu A.A. Meeting. March 11—W.A.A.C. Carnival; March 15—Marton A,C. Meeting.. March — —Woodvillp A.A.C. Meeting. March Horowhenua A.A.C. Meeting. March 18— N.Z. .Championships (Christ.church), i April I—Victoria Collego Sports, and Open , Events. ! . - ' Easter— Upper Hutt' AsemenVi Carnival (amateur, athlotio , .

Festival of Empire. During tho week, Mr. A. Marryatt, president of tho N.Z.A.A.A., in anticipation of a successful issue of the.petition from the various athletic bodies to tho l'rimo Minister for Government assistance in financing Noiv Zealand representatives to tho Pestival "of "Empire, telegraphed to Messrs. Harding, llaskins, and Keddell, as being the. most likely selection's; as" to their" ability to" Mako tho trip if chosen. .Both .Harding and Haskins will but. ICeddell will riot be, so the choico will fall on .onaoor-othar .of-itho middle-dis-tance meR," if ttftfo.tlicrt is font. The'choico between'these two and G. Whentley, of Victoria, is a hard one to make. .Wheatley wo know to bo in good form—ho recently . covered a halfmile, measured six yards short, in lmin. 50 3-s.'oc„ and before that ho established new Victorian figures for 1000 yards. Harding is also running exceptionally well this season, lioceiitly, at Auckland, ho too hoisted a 1000-yard' nnd on February 22 intends an attack on tho New Zealand figures .for 410 yards, "a. lest that will give further cvidcnco'as to his capabilities. With Haskins it- is different. Ho has' notified that lie is in steady training, and it is well known what lie has dono in America. There, speaking' from>memory, ho was credited with a "Half" in lmin. s(!sec., nnd a mile in • 4inin.- 2Hsoc.,, performances that arc iinapproached by our' runners now. But that was some ■ years'ago, and' tho question" naturally , arises Mis: to - wKother he can. reproduce this-form, ne is still young enough, but ho has done nractiially nothinc "on the track sitico liis return from Pennsylvania, with the slight exception of his training' for tlio 1009 championships at Dunedin. Bcforo tho selection is made, if it ever is made, naskings and Harding should both bo tried out in "tests" against the watch, nnd with "pacers,"'etc., arranged'as nearly as possiblo to iruo racing conditions. The Championships.- : ... ,

The Ucv .Zealand Championship meeting; to bo held in Cliristchureh on March 18. is at last having, an effect on tho athletic position "down south." There are jsHss of a healthy revival,." In Christ. £hurcb, Guy Hoikina is in training again,

aud inDnncdin Hcctor Burk is "out" again, and seriously, too, this lime, it report is to Jio believed. To-day the D.A.A.C. meeting in Dunedin takes, place, and quito an array of talent will be in evidence. 0. I'. Keddcll nnd Miles Hickson, tho Australasian hurdle nnd threemile champions respectively, are running, so is Opie and many lesser lights, and things generally, are looking much' brighter. Southland is nl*p stirring in her sleep —in fact, slih has woken up. To G. I*. Keddell's good ofljces in Otnutau much of this happy result is due, ns the new club there is marching out and taking hold in a Very capable fashion. Meetings are being arranged for lo enable a championship team to be picked, and in tho sliot-puttim; department at least tho centra should bo strongly represented. Among tho members of tho new club is one M. Crew, a sturdy field-event performer, with several "puts" of 40ft. to his credit. ' "

.News of Christchurch doings is satisfactory, but rather vagiie. Still, at last the centre there appears to bo up and doing, and making good, if somewhat belated, progress. On this head "Vaulter" says in the "Weekly Press":—"The past week has further furnished tho ambition of tho local authorities to establish n successful meeting for tho championship fixture, and-it-is gratifying to know that the Canterbury Centre has bestirred itself to this end; I am pleased to nolo that tho steps taken,' both from a financial and competitors' point of view, aro fiuit-o in keening to ma'ke the 1911 Dominion gathering unsurpassed. During tho week I had the reliable information thot details wero well forward in every -respect, and in noting this I commend tho different sub-committees elected on the fact that prospects augur well for. tho sport. As tho date first chosen clashed with a moro popular sporting fixture, tho committee lias wisely decreed a postponement, and tho day now selected, March .18, should muko the gathering most successful."

While all this has been going on in tho opposition camps, our own havo been steadily getting into form, and incidentally" havo been making the Selection Committee's task a very one. J. F. Wilson has got back to form in a surprising manner, and on Wednesday ran a splendid mile off 15 yards in 4min. 31 2-ssec., slewing up. Tho same night "Jimmy" Wilson ran a dead heat for second place in the "quarter," won bv Hubbard, off G ynrds, in 51 Msec, Wilton's timo being 52 2-ssec. Ndno cf tho performances can bo ignored. In the, milo Wilson won, Baxter ran second, his actual timo being 4min. 35sec., and then ho was not run out. Wellington certainly is strong in middle' distances, with Harding, Wilton, Wilson, Baxter, and Hubbard.