ATHLETICS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 74, 21 December 1937, Page 15

ATHLETICS

Selection Of Empire Games Team FINANCE THE BASIS Some New Zealanders Should Win Titles

(By

Spike.)

In the light of discussion as to the basis ou which the New Zealand Empire Games athletes were selected, it should be made known that the first consideration was the financial one. in other words, how many athletes could the New Zealand association afford to send. The available resources were found to be sufficient to provide for 20 athletes. The next, step was to select (1) the best men and women in the country; (2) the men and women reckoned capable of competing on more or less equal terms with the athletes of the other Empire countries. These were the first considerations. Not the amount of good the trip would do any athlete or how many were needed to provide a good “show” for New Zealand, but simply the athletes that were worth sending. The work of the two “selectors,” Messrs. J. K. Moloney, Christchurch, and A. C. Kitto, Wellington, was merely to | recommend. The council picked the team. ■ Mr. Moloney was not present, and Mr Kitto found himself in the invidious pdsi- ■ tion of a selector who had made his | choice, only to see it pulled to pieces by a council of administrators whose job is not to select teams at all. In fairness to the selectors it should be made known that the piece of paper on which they sei out their choice proved to be worth less Hinn n trpntv in Iflnrnnn.

Nor were the selectors in any way responsible for the lamentable decision not to send Alfred Fitch with the team. The reason for it was a financial one, though whether it would bear close examination is another matter. One or two members of the council showed courage of a certain kind in suggesting that Fitch would do more harm than good. That the Wellington centre, which stood to lose a good deal by releasing Fitch when he would be most needed, had offered to release him temporarily seemed to matter little. However, the team was chosen, and has given general satisfaction. A good feature is that allowance was made for men like Pullar, Anderson and Sayers, whose training schedules did not allow them to reach their peak by December 11. This fact was strenuously argued by some members of the council, and the result was some nominations were made subject to satisfactory trial performances. Even this course was dangerous, for the trials are to be held by December 22, only eleven days later. But in Pullar’s case all has gone well, and Weller, /Ynderson and Ball will probably sort themselves out. Can Form Be Reproduced?

For many reasons it is almost impossible to say how many wins and places New Zealand should secure in the athletic events, but on form we have every reason to feel confident about some of the chosen athletes. The only question is whether that form can be reproduced after such a lapse of time. For example, Matthews, the three-miler, and Ulmer, the sprint cyclist, will almost have to loaf for a few'weeks after their recordbreaking performances in order to work un to peak form again. Matthews's 14.7 compares well with the Empire Games record of 14.27

Stan Lay, the javelin thrower, will be a New Zealand representative for the fifth time. He won the Australasian championship in 1926 with 198 ft. 7Jin., and in 1927 with 218 ft. 2-}in. At the Amsterdam Olympics, 1928, he won a British record with over 222 ft., which stood until last year. Ho holds the Empire Games record of 207 ft. 7iin„ made in Canada in 1930.

Lay is now tin-owing about 196 ft. without exerting himself. The winner at the last Gaines threw 196 ft. Ilin.

Leckie and Morgan may win the hammer and discus titles. The former threw the hammer over 151 ft. at Auckland. The winner at the last Games did 158 ft. 34in. Two Irishmen are the- only ones who appear to have done over 150 ft. in Britain this year. Morgan’s recent discus throw qf 137 ft. 3in. is 6ft. short of A. A. Cameron’s best, but would have won the Empire Games titje in 1934. No athlete in Britain appears to have done as well this year. Miss Betty Mitchell, Auckland, has a good chance in the women's javelin. Her recent 112 ft. is nearly seven feet better than the 1934 title throw. C. Weller, the New Zealand crosscountry champion, who has been included in the team subject to a satisfactory sixmiles trial, is to run at Palmerston North to-day. He will be opposed by A. J. Mackay, Wellington, who finished a close second to A. R. Geddes, Otago, in the Lower Hutt trial on December 13.

Juter-Ulub Competition.

The Wellington centre’s inter-club competition, held under the management of the sports sub-committee of the centre, entered its second round on Saturday at Hataitai Park. Each round, comprising the full championship programme for three open grades, and selected events for women and junior competitors, takes two Saturdays to complete. For the second round the two sections of graded competitors are as follows:— Section 1: Wellington, Combined Old Boys, Varsity, I’etone. Section 2: Kiwi. Olympic, Scottish Harriers, Lower Hutt. Section winners last Saturday were Wellington and Kiwi, and the pointe scored for the day were as follows: —Section 1 : Wellington 106, Varsity 61, Combined Old Boys 52, Fetone 0. Section 2: Kiwi 844, Scottish Harriers 43, Olympic 214, Hutt 16.

At the end of the competition the winning club will be the one with the largest aggregate score. Points for this competition are scored in the open graded events only, women’s and junior events being separate competitions. The aggregate scores after three meetings are as follows: —-Wellington 317, Combined Oid Boys 2421, Kiwi 177 J, Varsity JOG, Scottish Harriers 92J, Olympic 76J, Petone 45, Hutt 3-1. The most notable improvement on Saturday was in the Victoria University College team, whose score of 61 was considerably better than its aggregate for the previous two meetings. Finishing in second place to Wellington, the students beat Combined Old Boys, who were section winners on the first two Saturdays. Kiwi, winning a section for the first time, scored nearly as many points on Saturday as in the two previous meetings, as did nlso Scottish Harriers and the small team from Lower Hutt. Although Wellington have a comfortable lead, and Combined Old Boys are well ahead of Kiwi, the three meetings held so far have indicated Hint there are several events in which points could be scored easily, and any club which sets out systematically to build up an allround team could almost double its scoring. On Saturday there were 66 pointe to be picked up in the first section and 116 in the second section by simply “completing the course.”

The results achieved by the system are very satisfactory. On the first, day 96 individual competitors filled places, on the second Saturday 115. and on the third Saturday 88. The number of individuals, including women competitors and juniors, who filled places in the three Saturdays was 158. Each meeting has brought several new athletes into competition, and the year ends with more than 200 athletes registered with the Wellington centre.

Dates for a further five meetings, together with the dates of the Dewar Shield contests, have been forwarded to the Wellington centre for approval. Thus it is hoped to provide competition on every Saturday in the second half of the season, beginning on January 15.