LUCK AGAINST THEM

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 19, 24 January 1938, Page 11

LUCK AGAINST THEM

WEST INDIES TEAM

WET WEATHER UNFORTUNATE

Everything possible has been done by officials of the Wellington Amateur Athletic Centre in an endeavour to help and look after the welfare generally of the three coloured athletes, J. N. Cumberbatch (sprinter), J. Ashmead (jumper), and N. Stanford (mid-dle-distance runner), who, with their manager, Mr. M. E. L. Joseph, arrived at Wellington from Trinidad on Saturday by the Remuera, en route to compete at the British Empire Games in Sydney, Unfortunately, though, the. bad luck they .suffered through not being able to leave Trinidad earlier for the Games owing to an alteration in the sailing date seems still to be dogging their footsteps, for the weather he,r.e ■ since their arrival has rather upset their plans. Still, they are making the best of the position and they appreciate what has been done for them. As they will have less than a weok in Sydney to tune up before the Games open, the visitors had planned to make full use of their three days' stay in Wellington' in an endeavour to shake off some of the effects of the long sea voyage they have had before proceeding to Sydney in the Awatea. They were taken to the sports meeting at Masterton after their Ticrival on Saturday and yesterday and today were tq be devotftd to training at Hataitai Park! - The meeting at Masterton gave them an outing—and there incidentally they did suprisingly well considering they were just off the Doat—but the wet weather yesterday and today put a stop to all ideas of solid, outdoor training at Hataitai, Instead, they have- had to work out indoors, and in' this they have had1 the assistance of the Wellington Amateur Athletic Centre's American coach, Mr, A. L. Fitch, of whom they have formed a high opinion. The visitors were taken out to the gymnasium a.t Hataitai Park yesterday morning'and Mr. Fitch went through exercises with them, as well as supplying them with a complete schedule of exercises for the trip to Sydney, This morning the coach was with them again for a work-out on board the Remuera. and later a car was placed at their disposal to enable them to see something of Wellington and its environs. They were accompanied this morning by Mr, F. Bond, and this afternoon they were to be taken on another tour in company with Mr. A, D. Rowse, secretary of the Welling: ton Centre. Mr, B. Sutherland, a vice-president of the centre, has also been very good to the visitors, He went'with them in his oar to Masterton .and during the weekend entertained them at his house. ■ Ashmead, Cumberbatch,' and Stanford are very keen, as theya showed at Masterton, where each of them showed goad form tax men just aft the boat after a long sea voyage. Each in his own particular event also impressed j as an athlete of class, and it is a pity j that they will not have longer in Sydney to enable them to work into bet- ' tor condition. ■ ! • Mr. Joseph, the manager, is himself a versatile athlete, He is the secretary of the Trinidad Amateur Athletic Association, and on this trp he is keep-. ing his eyes and ears open with a view to learning all he can about the administrative side of athletics, Ashmead, the jumper with the team, in an exhibiiion high jump at Masterton, cleared 6ft, and he declares that in I New Zealand he would be capable of I doing two or three inches better than jho has done in Trinidad, The takeofT was better than anything he had experienced in the West Indies, he said, and, moroover, in Trinidad the high jumpers had no pit to land in, While he is in Wellington one of the party wants more than anything else to see a "real apple tree with apples on it," and this morning arrangements were mado' with a view to thi s wish being gratified. He was to be taken with the others to Khandallah this afternoon for this purpose, Instead of leaving Wellington by the Awatea, the team now intends going up tp Auckland tonight by the Limited express. At Auckland they hope the weather will be kind enough to allow them to train there tomorrow and on Wednesday. They are to leave from Auckland by the Awatea on, Wednesday for Sydney. ,