ATHLETICS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 19, 23 January 1937, Page 23

ATHLETICS

JAPANESE ATHLETES

TOUR OF SIX WEEKS

NO LONG HANDICAPS

Acting on the decision made in October, 1935, to keep the amount of travelling by overseas teams in the Dominion within reasonable limits and at the same time provide better opportunities for the visitors to coach local athletes by arranging as far as possible for them to spend at least a week in each centre visited, the plans of the council of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association are for the two Japanese, Murakoso and Togami, to compete at only about six or seven meetings in New Zealand. At the time of writing the itinerary for the tour had not been finalised, but the intention is to allot one meeting to each of the six centres, namely, Auckland, West Coast (North Island), Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago, with possibly a second meeting at Auckland in view of the fact that the visitors are to be present at the New Zealand championj ship meeting on March 13 and t'ne Auckland Centre will derive no separate "gate" from their appearance then.

Various objections were raised to the tentative itinerary sent out to the centres. It is no easy matter to arrange an itinerary to meet the wishes of the individual centres. A long time was spent by the council at its meeting this week in an attempt to do so, but in the end, after having decided that Murakoso and Togami are to be in Auckland for the New Zealand championships, and having dealt with the financial conditions relating to tho tour, the finalising of the itinerary was left to the administration committee.

. March 20 is the date which has been tentatively put forward for the appearance of the Japanese at Wellington. The date suits Wellington, and as the visitors by this time are likely to bs in better form than at the beginning of the tour, local athletes and followers of the sport should see a good meeting. Murakoso and Togami will be in New Zealand until the end of March. The expenses of the tour are estimated at approximately £450, so that good "gates" will be necessary to make the visit pay. Murakoso and Togami should be draw-cards, however, and if the weather man will only make amends for the unseasonable conditions experienced so far this season the council is of the opinion that the visit should be a success from every point of view. Something is known of Murakoso's capabilities; he was one of the Japanese representatives at the last Olympic Games, and made a good showing, being second only to the Finns in the 5000 and 10,000 metres. Togami is an unknown quantity. He has been announced as a hurdler, but no particulars of his performances have come to hand. In his case the council is rather in the position of having to accept the view that the Japanese authorities would be unlikely to recommend a second-rater. He will need to be a good man, for he will find some good opposition in this country. Another important decision made by the council this week was to restrict the events in which the Japanese will appear to scratch contests or shortlimit handicaps, the handicaps to be submitted to the council for approval at least four days before the meeting. This should go a long way towards checking a tendency that has been noticed in some districts in the past of handicapping visiting champions out of all chance of being in the hunt. From all points of view the action taken by the council is not only desirable but necessary. Some action in this connection was contemplated by the N.Z.A.A.A. Council in 1935. The matter was discussed then, but nothing was finalised. dewar shield meetings It was particularly unfortunate that the Dewar Shield meeting had to be postponed last Saturday owing to the unfavourable weather. The meeting had been keenly looked forward to from the point of view of seeing how various competitors would shape and also as the means of providing some strong competition in preparation for those who probably will be taking part in the bigger events to come. The events which were to have been decided on Saturday will now be contested on February 6, the date originally selected for the second Dewar Shield meeting, which is now to be held in conjunction with the Wellington provincial banked track cycling championships on the Petone Oval on February 20. WELLINGTON TITLES The Wellington provincial track and field championship meeting on the Basin Reserve on February 27 is to start at 11 a.m. There is a particularly comprehensive programme for the meeting, the number of events, including some handicaps, totalling 42. There are additional championships for both the women and junior competitors. For the juniors there are six championships and a 300 yards handicap and for the women competitors five championships and two handicaps, 75 yards and 100 yards. The men's championships total 20, and there are also three handicap events for men, 120 yards, 300 yards, and 1000 yards. No one is to be allowed to start unless he has paid his club subscription. Entries close on February 19.