ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1336, 13 January 1912, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

(Bi "MKBCDBI.")

THE SURPRISES UP NORTH. January 17—Karori A.A. Club Evening Meeting. January 22—Wanganui Caledonian Society, nt Wanganui; all running events amateur. January 22—Seatoun A.A. Club' 6 Cnrnival, Worser Bay. January 27—Civil Service Amateur Sports Club; afternoon meeting. February 10 —Wellington Provincial Championships (Basin Reserve). February 21—New Zealaud Championship Meeting, Invercargill. . February 28—Manawatu A.A. Club's Meet, ing "(Palmerston North). What Occurred at Auckland. The defeat of Ronald Opieby P. T. Redmond, the sturdy little New South Wales sprinter, in their 75 yards test race at the Auckland meeting on Saturday last, caused no surprise here among the cognoscenti. Taking tho running of the two at tho big championship meeting as a guide, there could be no other oulcomo to a race between them over this distance. Both in the 100 yards and the furlong event, here at Christinas time, Redmond demonstrated his superiority off the mark—or, to be more correct, the greater alacrity with which he strikes his gait—for it is not so much his actual slownoss out of the bole that tells against the local champion in tho first stage of his sprint as tho time he takes to get fairly into his running. Thero is an axiom in the pugilistic text-book to the effect that a match well made is a match half won, and- this axiom applies with equal force to track matches. This is whoro Opio allowed himself to bo out-generalled. He must have forgotten tho rulo when he a»recd to take Itedmofid on over. 75 yards, for it was Opio that gave tho visitor the choice of distances, when the match was first mooted.

However, now that he has been beaten, lie will bo the last to grudge the speedy little Australian his well-earned victory —well-earned' because, if the time returned, yiz., 7 3-ssec., was correctly "caught," lie must have been running right up to his best form.

Opic and Redmond started in the "hundred" handicap. The former was beaten out of a plaoe in his heat in lOsec. The Australian fared slightly better, running into sijcoml place in his heat in 0 4-ssec., bting beaten by a yard, which sounds too good to be true. He apparently thought so himself, as ho did not turn out for the.final, which was also won in 9 4-ssec.

In the 220 yards Opie ran right up to form. He won his heat by two vards in 22 l-ssee. just a fraction worse than his New Zealand record. In the final, lie could only get fifth, finishing four yards away, but, as the time was returned as 213-5;-ec., one cannot wonder that he was not closer, liedinond—off three yards— ran third in his heat, being beaten by 3 yards, in 21 4-ssec.

Neither of the cracks saddled up for the quarter," evidently being of opinion that the. handicapper had been too complimentary. This event, was woii in 50 l-ssec., so_ their judgment proved sound. Neville Hill, with his Australasian honours thick upon him, was lokeil to for tilings. He ran well iu the mile, covering the distance in tain. 25 l-ssec (1-asec. better than his Australasian time)! but even this could do no better than get him (third place, the winner clockins limn. 21 2-ssec.— IS-Ssec. inside Shrubb's Australasian record. Hill's intermediate times were:—Quarter, 50 2-ssec.; half, 8 2-ssec.; three-quarters, Bmin. 19 3-ssec. , Some weeks ago "Mercury" commented upon the seventy of the tasks set tho scratch men by the handicappers, and, from the times mentioned above, it will bo seen that tho Auckland allotments were cvoti more severe on the back-mark-ers. In fact, in most cases, they were absolutely unreasonable. This is clearly shown by tho winning times throughout as witness. They were:—looj-tls., 9 4-5 sec.; 220 yds., 21 3-ssec.; tlOvds., 50 l-55«.; half-mile, lmin. 53 2-s?ec.': mile, lmin. 21 2-ssec. We cannot rise to theso heights in New Zealand—the timo is not yet.

On the other hand the handicap in the High Jump a splendid piece of work. L. 11. Kelly, the Victorian, was scratch, and the jumping saw him clear sft. 10in., tieing for first place with N. Winklemann and C. Laurie (the ex-cham-pion of 1900 and 1900), both of whom cleared sft. siii., and kid 5 inches handicap.

A "Find" Is It Not? Before leaving the subject of the Auckland meeting, mention must be made of one (or rather a series) of meritorious performances registered bv a local runner—one A. A. Dormer, 'i'his young athlete proved to ,be quite a "find," and had a field day. He won the quarter off 12 yards in 50 l-ssec.; the half, off 18vds., in lmin. 58 2-ssec.; and tho mile, oil 65 yards, in -4min. 21 2-ssec.—a splendid afternoon's work. More should be heard of Master A. A. Dormer. Centres, Attention! Now that .the excitement of the big Christmas gathering is simmering down, it behoves the centres to be up and doing on New Zealand championship business. The local premierships are to be decided on the 21st. prox. at Invereargill, and the council of the N.Z.A.A.A. has written the southerners to the effect that it is time that the preliminary notices and programmes were in circulation.

No doubt the return of Messrs. Gow and Keddoll will give matters in Southland the necessary "shake up." Meanwhile, as far as Wellington is concerned, there is the provincial championship meeting on February 10 lo bo worked up. It is to this meeting that the centre looks to to provide the neoessary sinews of 'war for its travelling team. So upon the success or failure of the gathering depends the keeping oir losing of the championship shield. Tho dispatch of a strong contingent of defenders to SivtT<argill will be a costly affair, and so, the provincial championships must be made a correspondingly successful gathering. Tho preliminary programme, for an advance cony ol which "Mercury" has to thanlc Mr. \v. L. Dunn, honorary secretary of the centre, runs as follows:— ,

Championships (points to count for M'Villy-challenge shield).-100 yards, 220 ■yards, 410 yards, 880 yard?, 1 mile, 3 mile, 120 yards hurdles, 440 yards hurdles, 1 mile walk, high jump, throwing hammer, putting shot, nop, stop and jump. ' Handicaps 1 .—75. yards, 1000 yards, 3-mile walk, long jump, pole vault, boys' walk. School and College Events.—22o yards, public schools' championship.; 100 yards, lnter-colleg) chanij'onsliip; high jnnp, inter-college championship.

A Regrettable Inoident. The walking event at tho recent Wellington Wheelers' meeting at the Athletic Park has l>ecn the caus9 of a deal of 'adverse discussion among our local "peds." The Wellington Centre is held to be responsible for all tho trouble owing to its omission to appoint a walking judge for tho (lay in terns of its own regulations. In fact the centre has not exactly covered itself with gMry in its attitudo toward tho affair sineo its inception. In tho first place, it was an error of judgment on the centre's part to rccogniso the meeting at all, seeing that it was, in tho main, a professional affair, but having extended its official sanction, it certainly becamo the centre's duty to carry tho thing through properly. Had this boon done a qualified walking judge would have been appointed, and tho troublo in this department avoided. As it ivns, tho "walking" was simply ludicrous from the viewpoint of the spectators, and disheartening and demoralising tp those of the competitors who endeavoured to comply with the ruled. A fiasco of this description doas a lot of harm. It encourages an illegal gait on the part of some of the competitors, ami it indicts a grave injustice on those of them who are put out of tho "running" through their adherence to the correct codo. Moreover, it lowers the grade of the sport in tile public eye. There is a moral hidden in this matter—and not hidden very deep either—that the centre would' be well advised to search for, and learu a lesson from, far its future guidance as to Uow to deal with "mixed" meetings.