SOLDIERS' SPORTS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 75, 21 December 1917, Page 6

SOLDIERS' SPORTS

NOVEL AND AMUSING

CONTESTS

THE THIRTY-THIRDS AT TRENTHAtt j

The Thirty-third Reinforcements held!! the first session of their Christmas sports at Trentliam yesterday, in line summer weather. Among those who wore present as spectators in tho after- i noon were Colonel C. 11. Gibbon, 1.G.5., : Chief of the General Staff, Colonel H.. : It. Potter, 0.M.U., Camp Commandant, Major D. 1). Mackenzie, Lieut.-Col. Leahy, 1'.M.0., and others. The officers in charge of the varioue sports! were Major F. 11. Lampen, D.5.0., Captain Brocks, M.C., Lieut. 11. F. Baie,. ! and Staff Sergeant-Major Spencer. ! i I'ho first event was a tug-of-war inj winch each of the five companies en-'l tered two teams. Some strenuous con- ' tests resulted. In the first round DI j team pulled 02, Al pulled El, CIJ pulled 152, and Bl pulled l<l. The sec-! ond round resulted as follows:—D2 pull-' ed A 2, B2 pulled F2, Al pulled DU and Bl pulled CI. The four winning teams will pull in the semi-final to-day,' and the final will also bo pulled t*.V day. _ ( A most interesting ovent followed. It was called a boat race, and tho modus operandi was for seven men to straddle a long spar, six of them facing in ona direction, while a seventh, the coxswain, faced the crew. Holding the. spar firmly with their hands, tho crew: trotted backwards, tho coxswain steer- ! ing them by shouted orders and strenuous efforts, in which his legs acted as. rudders. The course was a straight one, as far as a stationary soldier, who was tho mark round which the unwieldy craft had to turn and then make for tho home port again. Somo very funny incidents occurred. Four heats were "rowed," the winning crows being; CI. Dl, 02, and F2. The semi-finals, and tho final will be got off to-day.

A boot, putteo, and hat race was th& next item. Each competitor was deprived of the articles of clothing mentioned, and the regaining of them was tho spirit of the contest. The soldier had to hop 20 jards to his hoot. Haying done this, the race was to put it on in quickest time, then run for 30 yards to the puttee. Probably no puttees were ever wound about their owners' calves as fast as they were yesterday. From the puttees to the hat was 50 yards. With hats jammed on their heads the competitors raced over the 100 yards to the starting point. One team 'per company was allowed, and; the order of merit for_ first and second, places was C Company and D Company. . Throwing bombs, represented by lib. tins of jam, made a stirring event. The target was a box 4ft. square to represent an enemy bombing post, and the range was 30 yards. Some remarkable shooting resulted, an overhand ■ slowthrowing action being followed. The teams were extremely even, and the result was that A team put two bombs into the box. O, D, and E Companies were equally successful, while B and F each put one bomb into the hox. Only one tin of jam was burst in the process. Teams of ten men from each com* pany nest engaged in a relay race over , a distance of 60 yards—3o yards oub and 30 yards back. The winning team was from A Company. The going was even till nearly the end, and even then A and E teams ran level till the last round, when A-won by a small margin, described by the men in khaki as a, whisker. The day's sport concluded with ono of the most unique and amusing turns ever seen on a sports ground. It was called a blindfold squad drill. _ A squad from each company was lined up, blindfolded, and ordered to march. After going a few paces the order was "Form fours—left."

In tbo marcb the majority of tlio squads kept touch. When the order "Form fours" came there was not much loss of alignment, though the turn to tho left and the march which followed caused some dislocation. The next order was to form up on the left, and most of the competing teams wont to pieces in trying to execute the movement. A Company's effort was a diverting; one, especially at the end, when one man, scarcely less astray than his fellows, walked up to within a couple of feet of-tho Camp Commandant and halted. When his bandage was removed he was amazed. B Company was not bo had. The front rank re-formed Tvoll, but the rear rank was a hit out of plumb. C Company's work was good, the re-forming w,as nearly perfect, ana had the men left it at that it would have come near winning. But two or three feeling that thoTo was still something to be done suddenly moved forward a few paces and spoiled the effect. This team secured second place. D team's work was very good, and they won the contest. E Company's team was not bad, but two men were right out of it. F Company's attempt was very funny. In the march a man on tho left flank went off at a tangent and nearly walked over some recumbent spectators. A resourceful onlooker threw a lint in his face and turned him towards his proper path. But the lost soldier's attempts to form fours—left, march, and re-form, all by himself, caused screams of laughter. The sports will be resumed at 9 o'clock this morning, and should be finished by noon, when.the Christmas dinners in the hutments will he enjoyed by the soldiers and their noxt-of-kin.