ATHLETICS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 120, 16 November 1929, Page 24

ATHLETICS

By "spniNwt" RECORD AFTER RECORD

FINE YOUNG ATHLETES

VARIOUS TOPICS OP THE WEEK

The young Wellington College champion, V. H. Stephenson/ and others, such as A. D. Benham, H. E. Patience, J. M. Watt, A. James, and A. S. Henderson, gave the" compiler of records something to scratch his head about at the secondary schools' championship meeting held on the Basin Eeserve this week. Surprising is one word, and gratifying is another, • which, it seems, can be honestly used by anyone making reference to the performances registered at, this gathering, which is one of the. best, and in the opinion of many, the best athletic: meeting held in a year. While good performances were looked for, it was not anticipated that so many notable achievements would be recorded. ' In this connection there was a surprise. The performances gave the direct negative to any suggestion that the standard of secondary school athletics is not being improved upon. Many fine, performances have been recorded in the past, and there have been athletes whose achievements at the time seemed well-nigh unbeatable, and yet the colleges to-day are turning out athletes who can do better. All is well ■with the sport in the colleges! All is WeU.^ There is another aspect of the meeting. With such fine performances registered by these young athletes, one may also say that all is well with the future of the sport in the Dominion. That is, of course, providing the boys do not overdo things and that they continue to compete on leaving school. What happens to college champions when they leave school is a question that has been often asked, but not so much perhaps of recent years. The prospects now appear to be much brighter of promising college boys continuing to take an active interest in tho sport at which they have made such a good start when they leave school. There may be some who disagree in this respect, but, at any rate, it is to be hoped that the services of the young champions seen in action on Wednesday will not be lost. As in previous years, Wellington!'Col-. lege, with a larger number of boys to draw upon, again triumphed in the competition for the M'Evedy Shield, but while the names of the old school's representatives were prominent in the honours list, there were also good performances by boys from other colleges. It was pleasing to see the success of the Hutt Valley High School's representatives, who finished up in second place in the shield competition. Good Intermediate Boys. Most records were registered in the intermediate section', (under 16J-on Ist October), in which records were bettered on nine occasions; but, in some cases, performances were better in heats than in the finals,,and vice versa. Actually, if tho performances are passed, there will be six alterations in the records m the programme for this section next year. F. H. Stephenson, who defeated his older brother, J. B. Stephenson, at the Wellington College sports in. the senior 100 yards and 220 yards, added to his reputation as a boy well above tho average by returning the record times of 10 2-ssee and 23 3-ssec for tho intermediate 100 yds and 220 yds respectively. In the junior class an outstanding boy was A. James (Hutt High School). J. 8,. Stephenson accounted for both the senior sprints. ■ The records in this section were registered by A. S; Henderson (Hutt Valley), who, it might be said, has grown up with the championships. He has done well as one of the younger athletes in the past, and his performances in the senior half-mile and one mile on Wednesday capped off a fine record of successes. Centre Activities. • A few weeks ago a field events gathering for Athletic Park was planned for this afternoon, but owing to the Aero Club pageant the Wellington Centre decided not to hold the fixture, so that the next centre meeting will be that to be held under electric light at tho Basin Reserve on 30th November. Mr. A. C. Kitto has gathered around him a very capable centre executive, but what with counter-attractions and difficulty over grounds, etc., it has not been an easy matter so far to arrange suitable dates for sports meetings. Returning to Track.. Towards the end of last season Miss Norma Wilson (Gisborne), Olympic representative and ex-New Zealand 100 yards ladies' champion, announced her retiremont from the sport, but according to Mr. S. Murray, club captain of the Wellington Club, there is a possibility of her making a reappearance on the tracks this season. As a matter of fact, Miss Wilson is reported to have started training in preparation for events ahead. Junior Titles? : It was suggested.recently by a local club that there should be several junior championships as well as the senior championships at the . New Zealand meetings held annually, events mentioned in this connection being 100 jrards,. 220 yards, 440 yards, and perhaps . 880 yards. " The suggestion is discussed by a southern writer, who says that more often than not boys who have been outstanding or have shown promise at college are lost to the sport after leaving school. It is considered "that if'a junior title were inaugurated in one or more of the distances'previously , suggested, these lads would be encouraged to foster any talent they have. In this connection America is pointed to as having found tho value of such events, and the question is asked why not New Zealand also. Tho suggestion to introduce junior championship events is not a new one, but from the point of view of encouragement of college boys, are such contests absolutely necessary? Each of the four main centres of the Dominion has its annual secondary school championships now, and keen clubs should have little difficulty in providing a desirable link between school and outside competition by interesting the fcoys further in amateur athletics on their leaving school. In this way early ability would be developed and' the sport as a > whole would benefit correspondingly. The Wellington Club keeps an eye on promising boys and offers them special privileges, and there are other local clubs also showing a. more than keen interest in tho younger athletes. For its meeting on 11th December the Lower Hutt Club proposes holding a 400 yards relay, Continental style, that is up and down the ground.