Amateur athletics

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 131, 27 February 1929, Page 8

Amateur athletics

"SPIKE")

(By

NEW ZEALAND CHAMPIONSHIPS.

REVIEW OF THE MEETING

Another New Zealand championship meeting has come and gone. This, the thirty-eighth gathering, was as successful as any in the past, and the management reflects .credit on the officials for the manner in which the events were started to scheduled time. One pleasing and much commented on feature of the gathering was that in the last event the competitors left the mark right on time. The. attendance on the first day was in the vicinity of 1500, and on .Saturday 6500. The gross takings amounted to £385, so both the New Zealand Council and the Wellington Centre should make a fair profit. The ground was in perfect order, and never before was the marking out so extensive and so well done. The visitors a joined ii paying a tribute to the fine work carried out by the City Council’s groundsman, Air. Brewer. There is no doubt that Elliott, of Auckland, the winner of both sprint events, is a classy runner, and fit to be classed with such past champions as Leadbetter and Davidson. C. Jenkins ran up to his best form, but was defeated by a better man on the day. The quarter flat was a great race, but the writer is still of tlie opinion that the new idea of running in lanes robs the race of its spectacular value. While admitting that the heady runner has a big advantage, especially if he draws the inside position, the man on the outer is at a disadvantage. Fleming, on the outer track, was never able to judge his pace, and left too“much to the finish, with the result that he was only able to gain third place. A. W. Findlay, of Otago, ran his own race all the way, and though his chances were not highly fancied in the south, won rather easily in the fair time of 51sec. L. C. Veitch stuck it out, and struggled into second place. In the 880, a good field faced the starter, the favourite being C. McLachlan. To obviate any jostling nt the start, the competitors were dispatched from the 440 yards straight start. Unfortunately this assumption failed, for in the first fifty yards and later in the race unnecessary bumping took place. The worst offenders seemed to be the local men, who are generally awkward runners. Suckling (Canterbury) led for most of the distance, and fought out a great finish with AlcLaehlan. This result wns not allowed to stand, as one of the inspectors reported Suckling for jostling, and the referee immediately disqualified him. The decision was hardly fair. To the writer, it appeared that the winner never interfered with McLachlan at any part of the race. Suckling has sent in through his centre a protest against the referee's decision. The prdtest should have gone in fifteen minutes after the race, so "Spike” cannot see what action ean be taken now.* J. W. Savidan, of Auckland, was in a class of his own in the distance events, and won as he liked in good times. H. McDonald, a Wellington representative from Longburn, impressed one as a likely champion in the near future. He ran a fine race in the one mile, finishing third to Savidan and Gibbons. The hurdles were a trial of strength between Lander and Ramson, the former jnst getting home in the 120 and the latter in the 440, both done in real championship time. Ramson caused a surprise by his good showing in the shorter distance. , The walks as usual did not create much interest, and it looks as if in the near

future these events will be deleted from the programme. Tonkin and Gutlsell won a race apiece, and both walked well.

The field events were got through promptly, and it seems a pity that the controlling officials of Saturday were not available for the ordinary meetings. S. Lay was the star performer. His throwing of the javelin 200 ft. Gin. against the wind was an outstanding performance. The long and high jumping was not up to standard. Had the local selector included D. Barker in his team "Spike’’ feels certain that the University man would have done over 21ft, Rydbeck had the misfortune to injure his ankle after putting up a great leap In the hop, step and jump event. This injury kept him idle for the rest of the meeting, and both the high and long jumps looked more than likely to come his way. P. Munro won his usual two events, shot and discus. D. Brown was a good second in the shotputting. and Is Improving with every throw. The veteran, J. McHolm, had a popular win with the hammer, and it looks I as if he has many more wins in front of i him. The pole vault seems to be a dying I event. Onlv four competitors turned out on Saturday. Sutherland excelled himself and had a rather easy victory. The cycling events were all of an exciting nature, and good finishes were the order of the day. Oakley came Into his own. and won two events In good style. Wade, of Auckland, rode with his head in the half-mile, and won nicely. O’Brien, the Canterbury rider, who was heralded as a prospective champion, failed to produce Ills best form, and had to be content with minor places. Grose had a spill in his first race, and was on the bank for the rest of the day. Gane, Carswell, and Flett rode fairly well, but seemed to lack finish on the day. The ladles’ 100 yards championship caused more excitement than any other race on tlie programme. Miss Norma Wilson was the favourite, but was beaten into, third place. It was apparent to those who saw Miss Wilson before the race that she was not at her best.. She was suffer ing from a severe cold, aid was not really fit to start. Her performance was not nearly near her standar:! of sprinting. Miss Martyn, of Canterbury, deserves great credit for her run. and on the day fully merited her win. Sle seemed a qlass above her fellow competitors, and won rather easily at the finish. More will be heard of this lady sprinter. Miss Kcnch put up the best performince of the Wellington girls. The ladlts relay was an easy thing for the Wellington team, but Otago are to lie congratulated on the fine performance their girls put up. There is one thing that “Spike” would suggest, which, if given effect to, would make the gathering more popular from a spectator's point of view, and that is to alter the present colours as worn by the respective centres. At the present time (outside of Auckland, who compete in white), all the centres compete In black with some distinguishinr mark on the front. Now in n race it Is impossible to pick out the Individual competitors. My suggestion is that put Canterbury In a red singlet with a black C. Otago in orange with blue O. Winganui-Taranaki In royal blue with present monogram, and . leavo Wellington in blaci.

Standards Improved Upon,

Following is a list of the standards which were improved upon at the New Zealand championships. Twelve were bettered and one equalled:— x 100 yards: 10 1-usec., A. J. Elliott (A.). 220 yards: 22sec., A. J. Elliott (A.). 440 yards: 51 sec.. A. W. Findlay (O.). One mile: 4.29 l-ssec, J. W. Savidan (A.). Three miles: 14min. 59 3-ssec., J. W. Savidan (A.). Three-mile walk: 22mln. 54see., W. lon*l2o yards hurdles: 15 4-ssec., R. W. Lander (W.). Throwing the javelin: 206 ft. Gin. (Australasian record), S. A. Lay (W.-T.). High jump: sft. Sin., R. 11. Neville (C.). Hop. step and jump: 46ft. 9in., B. Rydbei’ole'vault: 10ft. 6}in., E. G. Sutherland (W ). Putting the shot: 42ft. 4Jin. t P. Munro the hammer: 135 ft. siu., J. W. McHolm (W.).

Large numbers of members 'are still in training for the sports meetings to be held in and around the city duriug the next few weeks. . It. E. Walker and C. Campbell, who represented Wellington In the 100 yards aud one mile respectively, ran well in their events, although both were out of a place. Walker is without a doubt the most improved sprinter in the district this season, and his performances speak volumes for the coaching and training he receives. In the 110yds. handicap he again Impressed, just falling to concede the winner three yards by the smallest margin. Campbell showed bad judgment in trying to hold Savidan for so many laps in the one mile championship. Had he coserved his energy for the latter part of the journey he would have gained a place. In the relay race Walker made the mistake of trying to pass his opponent on the corners and lost ground. N Glover, after drawing the outside position at the start of the 300yds. junior scratch race, allowed Killeen to make the running into the straight, when he put in his usual finish and won comfortably. Glover Is one of the fastest junior sprinters seen in action for some time. G. Atley made no mistake in the halfmile handicap. Running with great dash, he filled second place. In the 1000yds. ho eased up before reaching the tape, and allowed Tubby to dead-heat with him. W. Watt ran another plucky race, and will register a win before the season is ended. „ „ F E. Hughes and .1. Pullan were not far behind in the 300yds. junior scratch race, the former especially showing much promise for his first run this season. W. Sceats is now getting into form, and should show up well at the next meeting. G. Staveley still gets a win or two in the cycling events, but is inclined to attempt too much riding in one afternoon. Both Staveley and his mentor should remember that a good man will always defeat a good boy, and now that this lad, who is not yet seventeen, has to concede handicaps to older opponents he should limit his rides to one event each meeting. His win in the one mile cycle was clear cut, but after doing most of the pacing in the two-mlle event was beaten into third place by older riders. H. Scarfe. who has been riding so well of late, has been ordered off the track for a while by the doctor. Scarfe has not fullv recovered from the nasty spill he had ’at Masterton, and it Is doubtful if lie will be seen on the track for some time. A. Horsfall hns been transferred to Christchurch. The club is indeed unfortunate in losing these two fine riders at this stage of the season, but next season should see a larger number of riders wearing the club’s colours. E. Bellman did not compete on Saturday. and will be all the better for the spell. Three ladies turned out to contest the

ladies’ handicap events, but did not meet with any success. The ladies’ branch is to be reorganised this week, and a decided improvement will be seen. Kiwi Club.

Congratulations to the winners of the various championship titles.

L. C. Veitch proved himself in both the 229 yards and 440 yards events. He demonstrated that he is at present one of the three or four best 440 yards runuers in the Dominion. Under the care and attention of J. Taylor, Veitch has Improved out of sight, and with the building up that Veitch will get this coming winter there is no reason why he should hot show inside 50 seconds next season.

There are others, too, apart from Veitch, who are coining along nicely, and the club is indeed fortunate in having such able men as Messrs. Taylor, Mexted, Bell, McColl and Juno to give their advice. R. Wickens moved well in both heat and final of the 120 yards handicap. Slow to get going, he came with fine dash over the final 20 yards and made a real “Jackson Scholz” finish. If only Wickens could do well at both ends of the race he would be back on 41-5 yards in no time. M. B. Furlong was another who ran up to his best form in the heat of the 120 yards, but could, not produce quite the same dash in the final. Don Alley and Jack Russell found the pace too solid In the 1000 yards. Don came with his usual strong finish, but the placed men wore too strong. Jack Russell has not had the time to train properly this season, with the result of his not running into a place so far. E. Workup Is on the improve and did quite ail right in the 110 yards. When he gets away faster, and learns to run the race right out. then he will be a tough proposition over snrint events. Botli Phillips and Griffiths ran well in the junior 300 scratch race. Once more Phillips had to run round the field. He makes the bad mistake of going too wide, thus losing much more ground than Is necessary. Ted Watson, off 35 yards, ran a hard race In the 880 yards to finish so close up. He covered the first 440 nt a slow pace and left too much to do for the last lap. However. Watson is improving in every run and should become a potential champion.

Sports At the Hutt. Next Saturday the Lower Hutt Club will hold its annual sports meeting on the Hutt Recreation Ground, commencing at 2.15 pan. This meeting has always been keenly looked forward to by city athletes, and the entries for this year, which have definitely closed, are well up to expectaThe club Is very fortunate In having had three trophies donated for Hutt Valley championships. For the third year in succession, Mr. H McGill has donated a trophy valued at £1 Is. for the Hutt Valley boys’ 100yds. championship. In the past the boys have not responded in the way Mr. McGill would have liked. It is to be hoped that this year’s race will produce record entries.' , ... Mr. A. C. SUivonaon has donated a aup

for the Hutt Valley ladles’ championship. This should lie a great race between Miss T. Kench aud Miss J. Willson, witli the odds slightly in favour of the former. Miss Kench ran brilliantly ou Saturday to finish second In the 100yds. ladles’ championship. Miss Willson has been at the top of her form since November, and after her trip to Gisborne showed signs of staleness. A fortnight’s spell should do her the world of good and enable her to be at top again on Saturday. Ot the other competitors in the race, Misses Blake, Powell. Boswell, and Broe appear to be an even lot. and should not be far away at the finish. Another cup. presented by D. C. Motors, will lie awarded to the winner of the half-mile Hutt Valley cycle championship. This race should be a most interesting one. as all the competitors are very evenly matched. J. Morris has recovered from his recent accident, but has hardly had time to be properly fit. A. R. Mutton will probablv land the bacon with McGill and Morris 'filling the minor places. The Eric Riddiford Cup for the ladies’ relay race will be another interesting race. Tills cup should do a lot to stimulate interest in relay racing, and will be much sought after in years to come. It Is a beautiful cup of rather a unique design, amt an exact replica will be presented to each member of the winning team. In addition to the above, there will be a full programme of handicap events lasting over two hours and a half. All classes of the sport have been catered for. for in addition to the running, cycling, and field events, there are several races for boys and girls, including a boys’ tire race and boys’ walk. , , The field events are post entry, but entries for other events will not be accepted on the ground. In Sacred Memory.

The Victorian Amateur Athletic Association recently decided to eliminate the decathlon competition from its annual championship programme, but it is felt that an effort should be made to induce the governing body to restore the contest. It is understood that several leading enthusiasts are prepared to offer a shield for annual competition to perpetuate the memory of tlie late Frank Paterson Brown, formerly of the “Sporting Globe” staff, who in his day was a champion athlete and a great advocate of amateurism. “The association could not choose a more fitting way of honouring such an ideal sportsman as Frank Brown, who, in his youthful days, performed some great feats on the track—one who was every inch a sportsman—and was always eager to give his time and advice towards promoting amateur athletics,” said a leading member of the association.

“Bv offering a shield for annual competition it would help to stimulate interest tn track athletics and inspire young athletes.”

Mr. Hugh R. Weir. hon. general secretary of the'V.A.A.A., stated that the reason why tlie decathlon had been eliminated from the annual championship programme was because it was rather unwieldly, but he felt sure that any proposal to honour the memory of such a wonderful sportsman as the late Frank Brown would be received with the utmost favour, as he had. played a big part in fostering amateur sport, not only in Victoria, but throughout the Commonwealth.

Settling in Sydney. Eino Keskinen, who at Wellington last season won the pole vault and the decathlon championships of Australia and New Zealand on behalf of Queensland at the last of the Australasian championships, is settling in Sydney, for a period at any rate, and has linked up with the East Sydney A.A.C. (says “Argus,” in the Sydney “Referee”). The wearers of the tricolour jerseys not so long back lost their star all-rounder, Bengt Rydbeck, who went to New Zealand, and Is now a member of the Wellington A.A.C.. and the joining up of Eino Keskinen will amply fill the vacancy. Both are very versatile and classy performers, the Finn having a better allround record than the Swede. Keskinen is remembered in Dunedin by reason of the valuable coaching work he did while staying there for a few days last season, during which he competed at an evening meeting on the Caledonian ground. “Slow Auckland.”

Auckland has got nothing on Wellington when it comes to athletics. Here is what the “Sun” has to say about it: “The oldfashioned notion of letting a sport look after itself simply docs not carry any weight in these days of brisk competition. Wellington, Canterbury, Otago, and the youthful Wanganui-Taranaki centres are the live forces of New Zealand athletics. The Auckland Centre should be taken en masse to one of the electric light carnivals in Wellington, should see the enthusiasm of thousands of people and of the athletes. The centre would creep back North, sullenly full of respect for the Southerners. In the meantime, Auckland’s running stars of the present day seem likely to become old men while they are waiting, not altogether Micawber-like, for something to turn up. It is logical to think that, were the Auckland Centre to stage attractive programmes, the standard of running and cycling would improve.” General Notes.

The action of the Wellington Centre in agreeing to the New Zealand Cross-country Championships being decided .in Otago this year Is a very syorting one, and is much appreciated by local athletes and followers of harrlerism (says the “Otago Dally Times”). Before it can be definitely stated, however, that the fixture will be held here the proposed alteration will have to be approved by the New Zealand Council.

N. J. Suckling is training hard under C. M. Walden and is getting into fine shape for the Canterbury championships (says the Lyttelton “Times”). He will contest the 880 and 440 yards championships, and if the mile is run In the evening he may also contest this event. Canterbury has quite a number of promising women sprinters, and the 100 yards championship for women should be an interesting event. At New Brighton recently (says the Christchurch “Sun”) Miss E. Hay, off 2 yards, was timed to win the “century” in 113-ssec. That makes her run equal to a fraction under 12 seconds, and gives her a chance of winning the New Zealand title. There should be a good chance of getting a falrlv strong team of lady athletes in the province this year (says the "Otago Dally Times”). If the Otago Centre could arrange to send a team of ladies to Wellington for the New Zealand championships it would give a lot of pleasure to the northern people, and would also probably help considerably to encourage the sport among the fair sex here. It is reported that G. L. Austin, the Canterbury cross-country champion, will not be seen out on the track at all this summer. He will turn out next harrier season, and intends making a come-back on the track in the 1929-30 season. According to the “Herald,” Auckland should have a formidable team in action at the New Zealand championships, being able to draw upon such men as J. W. Shirley (all-round field event exponent and holder of the New Zealand hop, step, and jump championship—he Is also a fine high and broad jumper), J. W. Savlden (holder of the New Zealand mile and three miles championships), A. J. Elliott (who shaped so promisingly in the sprints at the New Zealand championships last season). C. M. Olsen (ex-Otago star and ex-New Zealand half-mile champion), T. E. Henry ( a fast quarter-iniler on the flat and across the sticks), F. Nesdale (who dead-heated with Ramson in the 440yds. Australasian hurdles championship last season), and A. C. Garlick (another good middle-distancer). Auckland will also be able to call upon some good cyclists, several riders having shown excellent form of late. Only one member competed at the evening meeting at the Hutt last Wednesday, and in getting placed in his heat of the 220 yards, R. Furlong did quite well. However, he could not manage to do the same la the final. This goes to prove my contention that Furlong requires building up very much. He cannot hope to run a fast 100, or a hard 220, until he follows the above advice. The relays at Athletic Park on Saturday saw the club field a team in each event. The final result, was two thirds and two fourth places. This could easily have been Improved upon had one or two members known anything about baton changing. One third place was lost through our running the given ten yards, thus bringing about disqualification. Again, in a later event, the team was very lucky in not being disqualified. Too often a competitor would get ready to hand the baton over, some yards away from his man. with the result " that valuable time would be lost. Individually, some very good runs wore put up. The four 880's, were, perhaps, the team’s best effort, during the day. There is not the competition in field games and walking that the writer would like to see. Both events develop a man evenly, and It is a great pity Indeed that young athletes seem to have forgotten that.