SPORTS OF ALL KINDS.

Evening Star, Issue 11891, 20 May 1903, Page 3

SPORTS OF ALL KINDS.

THE TURF. Wanganui May 21 and 22 Auckland May 30, June 3 and 6. [Gossip by Old Idkntttt.] ■ My first fancy for thi Dtmedin Jockey Club*'s winter double of Birthdav Handicap and Tradesmen's Handicap is General Sv- . moris and Windwhistle, but there will b\> a better chance to pick winners later on. As for the Tahuna Park Club's coram*" meeting, Mr Brinkman's handicaps are well received, and are sure to make interesting lacing. Donna Rosa is reported to be amiss at Wingatui. Concerning thi3 year's Liverpool Grand National our London correspondent write, nnder date 3rd April:—A Grand National » brimful of stirring incident from start to finish as that decided at Aintree last Friday has seldom, if ever, been witnessed. No less than sixteen of the twenty-three pinners engaged came to grief, and even the ultimate winner, Drumcree, in the course of the race found it necessary to (as one chagrined backer of the second horse ironically remarked) make a fifth leg of bis nose. The fact that only seven passed the judge is a fair test of the quality of the field Certainly a dozen of the starters were flattered when they were set down as steeplechasers," and only two of those that did complete the course could beat the fifteen-year-old Manifesto (winner in 1897 and 1899 and third last year), who was carrying no less than 12.3, and was giving • stone to the winner, 321b to the second, and weight to all the rest bar the King's 1900 winner, Ambush 11., which carried 12.7. From a ragged start Ambush led the way, and the fun started at the first fence, where Expert and Orange Pat came puriers, and the next obstacle put Fairland, Inquisitor, and Ailmalloa out of court, whiM a title further on Cushenden, Pride of Mabestown, and Aunt May left their backers' money literally "in the ditch." At this point Matthew took up the running, with Detail, Manifesto, and Ambush 11. as his nearest attendants, but the first-named dTopped back after negotiating Beechers BrooK. With changes in the order of his followers Matthew landed on the racecourse for the first time with a clear lead, but his pursuers were thinned out by the fall of Marpessa and Gillie 11. before the water, and only thirteen completed the first round. Going into the country for the second time Patlander fell at Beecher?, and Detail assumed the lead, with Matthew, Kirkland, Drumcree, Drumree, Ambush, and Manifesto in close pursuit At the Bam House fence Matthew took off too soon, and came a terrible cropper. Here Drumree took first place in front of Kirkland, who, however, began to fall back, on which Detail took second place, with Ambush, Saxilby, Manifesto, Drumcree, and Deerslayer lying next. '*'•"—■ fences from the post Saxilby and Dearslayer fell, leaving DrumCTee with half a length's lead of Ambush and Detail, Drumree being close at hand, and Manifesto and Kirkland some lengths away. • The excitement of the spectators was now intense, for it seemed possible that the King, who was present, might once more lead in the winner. But Ambush and Drumree were both rocking badly, and at the last fence the King's horse never rose •a foot, and a cry of dismay went up as the gallant chaser crashed through the obstacle, and fell, fairly done. Drumree managed to get over the fence, but as he landed on the flat he staggered, and his jockey had barely time to throw himself out of the saddle ere tfie horse collapsed. Meanwhile Detail and Drumcree were fighting for the lead, and it was only in the last 100 yds that the favorite managed to shake off the tightly-weigh ted son of Curley and Rosara, who compounded in the last fifty and allowed Drumcree to win by three lengths. The winner's time for the race, which is decided over 4 miles 856 yds, was lOmhi 9 2-510 C, the record for the race being Cloister's 9 42|sec in 1893, that grand chaser carrying 12.7, which weight has only been borne to victory twice in the history of the National, the second occasion in 1899, when Manifesto won in 9nain 49§sec. The value of the race is £2,000. The first of the "classics" in England has resulted in a thorough confirmation oi tho two-year-old form, as far as the colts are concerned, remarks "Terlinga." The stable companions Bock Sand and Flotsam were the best colts of their year as two-year-olds, and they ran first and second in the Two Thousand Guineas last week. Rock Sand ran seven races between May 15 and October 30 last year, so he had a fairly busy time. His only defeat was experienced in the Middlepark Plate, when Flotßara and the Carbine colt Greatorox finished in front of him. This defeat was attributed to his regular jockey (D. Maher) being on Flotsam, and in the Dewhurst Plate, with Maher up, he wiped out this, his only failure, most handsomely. Giving 61b to Mead and 31b to Greatorex, he won by three lengths. One of the toughest fights Rock Sand had was with Baroness La Fleche at Ascot: He beat her a head after a great set-to. Such well-known

races as the Woodcote Stakes, the Chester-

field Stakes, the Coventry Stakes, the * Champagne Stakes, and the Dewhurst Plate were among Rock Sand's successes. The breeding of the Guineas winner interests Australians, because his sire, Sainfoin (a Derby winner), is a grandson of Sandal, the dam of Instep, who founded one of the most successful families we have ever had. Roquebrune, the dam of Rock Band, was got by St. Simon, from that food race mare St. Margaret, by Hermit from )evotion, by Stockwell from Alcestis, by Touchstone. The opening of the flat racing season in the South of England at Windsor last April was remarkable for the feat of little John Watts (a son of the famous "Jack"), who had five mounts in the six races which con- . Btituted the day's programme, and caught the judge's eye on each occasion. Although not a record as regards the number of races won (the late Fred Archer haviDg ridden six successive winners on one afternoon at Lewes in 1882), the performance of Watts was notable from the fact that only one of the five horses he rode started favorite. Indeed, three of the winners may be said to have been outsiders. Archer on several occasions rode five winners on the same day (once at Windsor in 1884) and also six out of a possible' seven; but in the majority of instances the horses were well supported. At Edinburgh in October last Trigg, an apprentice, rode five successive winners and a third, though four of the victors were favorites in this case also. Perhaps the best performance on record as regards number of races won was by Fordham at the Bibury Club meeting, 1867, * when he won six out of the seven races he took part in. English exchanges to hand show that Over Norton won the Lincolnshire Handicap very easily, starting at 100 to 7. Consequently his joint owners, Messrs E. C. Irish and W. Millard (well-known English bookmakers), made a good investment when, a week before the race, they gave 800gs for him, with a contingency of £4OO more in the event of success. He was ridden by 0. Madden, who subsequently had the luck to win the Brocklesby Stakes (the first important two-year-old race of the English season) on a 20 to 1 chance, an un*an»ed gelding by Orvieto from Virtus. Madden, by the way, has been retained t>s first jockey for Mr Musker during the season, while Captain BewicEe has second call on his 'services. Mr Ellis tells me that Red Gauntlet is to be put to the stud next spring, and will be mated for sure with Emmeline. A four-mile race was run at a San Francmco track recently, and was won by Rio Shannon (8.4), who beat three other runners. The .tunes were: One mile, lmin 56isec; two miles, 3min 46|sec; three miles, 6mm 40sec; four miles, 7min 23isec The vsalue of the stake was £590 ■■ The- Australian winning sires'' statistics for the first nine months of the present racing season have been published in the 'Australasian,' and it is shown that Pil Brim's Progress (now in New Zealand) heads the list with £10,561. He had seventeen winners of twenty-nine races, and second money was earned on thirty-three occasions to swell the total named. Pilgrim's Progress got a big lift through the success of Abundance. The Admiral, who m wcond on the list. with, nearly £9.000.

had only ten winners, who accounted for " ve °J«en races, but The Victory, who won tne Melbourne Cup, was among them, and that stake is a big lift. Bill of Portland follows with nearly as much and then follow Lochiel and Grafton. '

FOOTBALL. RUGBY. [By RicrauK.] The following table shows the position of the teams competing for the O.R.F. Union's senior flag:—

The wet weather and sloppy grounds were a serious drawback to Saturday's matches, which were all fairly evenly contested. As neither the Dunedin nor the Alhambra had lost a match, and as the Dark Blues generally make a good fight against the 'Bamas, more than ordinary interest centred in this contest, which was played on the Caledonian Ground before a large and enthusiastic crowd of spectators, who took a keen and lively interest in the game, more particularly in the first spell, when the Dunedin repeatedly made things lively for last year's premiers. Towards the close of this spell and for most of the time during the second half the Alhambra, however, turned the tables on their opponents, and the interest died away somewhat after the Red-and-Blacks scored a try, and went near doing so again later on. At the same time it was one of those matches that are never won until the whistle sounds "time," and no one would have been surprised if the speedy Dunedin backs had equalised the score. The Dark Blues' defence was sound, and the successful crossing of their iine might have been prevented had Teesdale clVed for his man low instead of going for him high. The Dunedin backs again handled the ball cleanly and accurately, besides running and kicking with judgment. They are a really good combination, and given a fine day and a dry ball they should be well worth watching. The crowd were very anxious to see Stalker and Teesdale under way. The former once looked dangerous, but to the disappointment of all he Tricked for the purpose of centring instead of dashing for the line. He had only one opponent in front of him, and with hi 3 speed should never hesitate to use it whenever there is the slightest chance of getting over. Taking the backs individually, Dale at full took and kicked the ball well at the critical moment. Once, however, he just had time to get his hands on the ball as his opponents came down on him, and nearly carried it over. Teesdale was in good form. He made no mistake about going for his man, low when Heenan came at him a second time. Don's cutting in tactics almost ended in a score in the first spell. He got away nicely, and the Alhambra backs hanging off for the pass, he got into his opponents' quarters, where, however, he tried it on again and was downed. In the second spell he again distinguished himself in a similar manner. He is a heady player, and, like the rest of the backs, kicks well. Stalker's kicking was again a strong feature in his play. He, however, should remember that he cannot make too much use of his speed. The two Watsons were again a tower of strength to their side, but MTiaren was not too sound, owing to the injury he received in the first match of the year.

The Dark Blues have every reason to feel pleased_ with themselves, but in one way they might have done better had they gone in more for hard kicking and fast following up. Their forwards made a good fight of it tintil the 'Bamas' brigade warmed up and began to use their weight and strength. The Dunedin men then began to fall away somewhat, and it was chiefly owing to the efforts of the Alhambra pack that the Dunedin were kept on the defence. One regrettable incident happened when one of the Red-and-Blacks' forwards was seen to deliberately trip up an opponent with his foot. Players should remember that this is not football, and that such practices will not be tolerated.

The Albambra, were without the services of Mackay (who was missed) and Knowles in their back division, and while their backs did not give so good an all-rorind exhibition as the opposing rearguard, they, nevertheless, performed creditably. They, however, should not hang off and wait for their man to pass, as thay did more than once on Saturday, but go for their man. Stuart at full generally managed to' get in his kick, but was somewhat on the slow side. Bennet at centre and King (scrum half) did no end. of useful work. The former showed a good turn of foot, and, as usual, played well both on defence and attack. King is a player of the sound, solid type, who knows what to do and when to do it. Heenan displayed plenty of grit in scoring his try._ There was no half-heartedness about his run. Brookes, who played in Mackay"s place, is a promising young player. Of the forwards, Moir, Johnston, and Mitchell worked hard in the scrums, while Given, Hobson, and Connell shone out in the loose. Of the Dunedin forwards, Churchill, Dunne, Wilson, and Paton were about the best. The first-mentioned was generally on the ball. Mr Cameron, who acted as referee, had a busy time blowing his whistle. Numerous free kicks were awarded, most of Uiem being against the Alhambra. Expert football opinion and there seemed to be a lot of it floating about at Bishopsconrt on Saturday—was much divided at to the rplative merits of Kaikorai and Southern. ]p view "of the fact that Zingari had beaten Kaikorai, and Southern had followed this up by downing Zingari, there were plenty of emphatic people who thought that the Blue-and-Black colors would again be lowered. The experience of the past has, however, shown that the task of beating Kaikorai, while extremely easy to talk about, is nevertheless a very difficult thing to actually do, and so it proved on Saturday. Taken on Saturday's form, there was nothing to choose between the two teams. The ball hopped dangerously about both goal-lines, and the slightest turn in the luck might easily have caused one or more tries to have been registered against either fifteen. In the scrums the success of Kaikorai was the rule, that of Southern the exception. The Kaikorai game inclined to tightness, the propensities of Southern were all the other way. Kaikorai were forced three or four times, Southern were all but scored against just as often. What would have happened had the ball been dry is, of course, only a useless chapter of " might have beens." As it was, it was a locked-level contest.

On the Kaikorai side Duncan caught the eye most. His dribbling was reminiscent of his old wing-forward days. Had Sinclair punted more and passed less things might have gone better with his side, but, this error of judgment excepted, his'game was sound. To the other Kaikorai backs the statement of Kipling's "Tommy"— "Some of thorn was pood, and some was not "—might be applied with truth. Among the forwards, Adamson, Spiers, Ronald, and Porteous all shone at different periods of the game, and the enforced retirement of their crack forward M'Donald was no doubt a heavy blow to the Blues. The footwork of the Southern forwards supplied most of the exciting incidents cf the match. Thsy followed up as only a thoroughly traiaed team conld have done, and whenever a Kaikorai back committed the mistake of dropping the ball an awkward five minutes for the home team never failed to ensue. Casey's well-judged, high kicks searched out the weak spots in the defence, and when the ball fell his forwards —not one or two, bat all—were invariably well under it. Where all played excellently it would perhaps be unjust to specially mention any. They are said to average 12.6, and look at least 12.0 In cleverness they are a match for any pack in town, and the common statement of the Southern supporters that they mean to go near the flag this season is certainly not to be huiohed at in the m^^timft

Abrim, a promising forward who played, in last year's premier junior team, and who won his place in the Alhambra First this year, has taken up his residence in Wellington.

In the first half of the Pirates-Union match the fielding, particularly of the Pirates, was considerably below par. The referee seemed to make little or no allowance for the greasy state of the ball, and abated none .«f' the strictness of the knock-on rule. The consequence was that the whistle w.is tne of the most noticeable feature* of th«." first spell. In the second spell there was a very marked improvement in the way both teams handled the ball. Wynks,- at full-back, was one of the most prominent men in the Pirates team, whom he got out of several tight corners, and one of his saves was a decidedly plucky bit of work. His-lop was as clever as ever with his feet, and played a most serviceable game. Munro, Green, and Rowlatt were among the best of the Union players. The Cansbrook Ground was in a very greasy condition for the Zingari-Richmond v. University match. As was natural, the ball was heavy and leaden, and under such conditions the fastness the play assumed was surprising. If anything, it was faster and better from a spectacular point of view than that played the previous Saturday on the same ground. The Zingari men showed better combination and willingness in both divisions than was the case in the' Southern match. Their forwards outclassed their opponents in the scrums, generally managing to heel out the ball and to place it in safe hands. Dash, dribbling, collaring, and kicking were none of their faults, while in regard to off-side play there was not much to complain of. Altogether they gave a good# exhibition, which if maintained will serve them well in other matches to come. This remark may also be applied to the rearguard, who very rarely fumbled the ball or misjudged the passing. Had they done so there would have been some excuse for them. They worked well together, and made few mistakes in regard to tackling. The 'Varsity men, on the whole, were in good form, and mode a fair stand. The forward division is still the weak, spot, but with more training they would shape better. One of the chief complaints against them is their off-side play; another is that they do not work hard enough. Their back division, althoughweakened by the exclusion of Crawford, who was replaced by Turner at wing threequarter, maintained their name. A noticeable incident in the match was the way in which-they managed to clear their lines. Not only did they do this time and again, but they invariably managed to maintain their advantage, carrying the ball to the opposite end of the field. With regard to the referee (Mr W. J. Wilson), all seemed to be satisfied with his decisioni

The pick of the Zingari forwards were Spiers, Stewart, Abbott, D. Caradus, and Mason, who worked well together, and were as often as not on the ball. Mason was conspicuous m this respect, playing a first-rate game. Of the backs, there was not much to pick and choose. Bolt, perhaps, may be singled out as the most prominent. He played particularly well. In mentioning the Blues' forwards, none of them were exceptionally brilliant. If anything, those who played best wore Buik, Gibson, and G. Thomson. Those showing efficiency in the backs were Wi Repa, Blackie, and Foote.

Under date of May 18 my Wellington correspondent writes as follows: A Dunedin friend advises me that Abrim, of the Alhambra Club's senior vanguard, is leaving for Wellington to-day. The chances are that if the newcomer stays here the Poneke Club can count on his services, in which case there will be no need for him to procure another co'ored jersey. Slater, the Poneke full-back, got " bushed " recently at the back of the Hutt district. The doctors say that he will be fortunate if he escapes rheumatic fever from his two days' exposure in the undergrowth. A companion suffered no. illeffects from his bush experience. "Jocky" Breen, the one-time Auckland rep. back, and famous as a goal-potter, is dcing purser duties on the Penguin, trading between Lyttelton, Wellington, and Nelson. Constable Heffernen, of the Masterton Police force, who played for Auckland against Otago in 1896, and for Thames th« following season, was married a few days ago to a Mauriceville young lady. The bridegroom, who is a brother of the once famous "Snowey" Heffernen, played a few games for the Athletic Club during his residence in Wellington. Aucklanders will doubtless still have recollections of Harry M'lntyre, who made a name for himself in their town before the district scheme came into operation. Harry, who in his day was one of the best forwards in the loose that ever wore a Wellington rep. jersey, still takes a keen interest in the winter pastime, and rolls up every season to make one of the Veterans' team against the Referees. It is said that in a recent fifth class Rugby match three sons of the old Poneke warrior donned the Red-and-Black jersey. Driscoll, formerly of the Kaiapoi Club, Christchurch, ia playing some shining games for Petone this season. Taking a long shot, I predict that H. Harris will be selected by the Executive of the Colonial Union as one of the four to pick the New Zealand and Inter-island teams, provided, of course, that the Otago Rugby Union elect to have three selectors to chose their representative team, and he is one of them. ASSOCIATION. , fr [By Babkis.] The match between Northern and Southern, played at Montecillo on Saturday, was—amusing. Something was said on Monday about the ground they played on, and something more must be said here. "Socker" people probably have grown used to paddocks of this Bort, and may think it late in the day to begin commenting. They will say they cannot get anything better. That's not their fault; it's their misfortune. They ought to have better grounds. It is not fair to the players or to the game they try to play that they should have to attempt impossibilities—for it is impossible to play the Association game as it should be played on a hump-backed hillside or a semi-macadamised vacant section. A good ground is as nearly necessary for Acsociation football as for bowls. Some of the "socker" grounds are good enough in their way, but the Montecillo mountain 1 Perhaps some of the readers of these notes have a suggestion or two to make. If so, "' Barkis' is willin'."

Now, having said so much about the adverse conditions under which this Northern v. Southern match had to be -played, it would be hardly fair to judge and criticise players generally on their performances in that match. Still, there may be a word or two not altogether amiss. First of all, then, there seemed to be a general tendency towards what may be termed the kick-the-ball-and-run-after-it style of play, which may. have its occasional uses, but is not Association. The ball should never be delivered without some object or purpose. There are lots of men who can kick well under almost any conditions, but unless they "look through the little hole of discretion," and so focus the possibilities of the situation, their efforts may be no more effective than a shot fired into the air. A full-back is often so situated that he has not much time to work out knotty problems of cause and effect, but he ought always to aim to place the ball. To tell players commonplace truths of this sort may found like taking coal to Newcastle. Let it be taken rather in the spirit of a reminder than an instruction. The looker-on, too, often sees a back who is cool and clevsr at footwork net in the cleanest of kicks in the tightest of corners without any better result than to give the opposing backs the bill and a clear field, whpre a little judicious placing might have helped the ki-ker's forwards to an opening. It often proves more useful to make a bungle of it than to toys the ball up to one's opponents; yet this is frequently done ; Harrison, the young fullback of the Northern team, is a thorounhly plucky player, who can take a kick in almost anv position, yet he is an offender in the direction indicated. The whole thing is simple enough. Make "combination" the watchword, and the chief difficulties of the eame will tort themselves out.

the passing ambnir the forwards on both sides in the match referred to was erratic, too. There seems to be a tendency to gain ground with a pass rather than to feed supporters. Time and again on Saturday Morrison, on the Northern left "wing, was given paises which it was impossible for h:m, though fast, to overtake. As instances of play more nearly the correct thing in the departments alluded to may be instanced the combination of Siedeberg ami Irvine and the kicking of Ashton. I dojnot propose to individualise in regard to this match. Suffice it to say—a few things. The Northern backs did not play the;best of games, nor up to their previous ' Saturday's form, and mnbt be strengthened in one notable particular; and that their forwards, the right wing in particular, did some yood work, considering all things. The Southerners' backs were their strong point, and executed at t'messome reallv excellent manoeuvres. With a little less looseness in general movements the team ought to give a good account of themselves. In point of fact they were beaten by three to one on Saturday; on the merits of the game they were not. I notice that "Vanguard," of the Wellington 'Post,' takes some local backs to task for indiscriminate kicking, as I have done above. It is a common failing. , Thus the same writer in a burst of enthusiasm: "The Queen's Park-St. John's event demonstrated that Gordon, between the Park sticks, is simply 'ripping.' If he improves as his knowledge of the game advances he should prove one of the best goalkeepers Wellington has seen." He refers also to a well-known old-timer in Wellington Association circles in the following terms:—"Apropos of Malcolm Fraser's resignation as Wellington delegate to the New Zealand Association, an outline of bis club record locally is timely. He is now playing in his tenth year for Rovers, and during that time he has been seldom absent from the team. When he joined, the club ranked second to the Queen's Park, and he has seen it rise to the top and hold the championship for two years, then fall right away to the bottom, winning in the competition of 1596 only one point, a draw—,-with seven teams contesting—then coming up again and holding the championship for another two years, only to again fall back to middle place. This year the club seems improved, and he_ may yet accompany them to championship honors again. From the Sydney 'Referee': "The Balmain District Club has a membership of fifty players, trad it is its intention to enter first grade, second grade, and two third grade teams in the, competitions. This club, which is mainly composed of schoolboys of five years ago, has the management' of the Balmain Schools Competition. Eight' entries have been received, which shows the firm hold Association football has in the Balmain district."

The semi-final tie in the English Football Association Cup Competition, between Aston Villa and Bury, attracted 50,000 people to the Everton Ground on March 21. The game was a disappointment, owing to Aston Villa giving an unexpectedly moderate display, Bury beating them by three croals to love. The receipts amounted to £1,824, while the pressure of the crowd caused barriers to be broken down.

At Celtic Park, Glasgow, on March 21, Ireland, for the first time on record, defeated Scotland, notwithstanding that it is twenty years since the first international was played by teams representing the Shamrock and the Thistle. All the more creditable because it has been won by genuine football ability and under the very worst atmospherical and ground conditions, which it was believed would rather have tended to favor the home team. That the persistent run of defeat recorded in past years— Scotland having won eighteen of the nineteen matches previously played, and drawn one—should at last terminate is a matter upon which the eleven representing Ireland are entitled to flatter themselves There is no doubt that the decision of the Irish F.A. some seasons ago to include Anglo.-Irish players in their international team was a wise one. The 'Sportsman' says: M Taken over all, Scotland were unlucky to lose by two goals, but there is no denying that the Irish eleven, by their steady, unchanging defence and brilliant forward play, are justly entitled to full credit for the first win in the twenty years' history of the contests between.the nations. Weather conditions were not'by any means of the most, auspicious- nature, the slight improvement which'showed itBelf in the morning disappearing with the afternoon, and the high wind and hurts of rain that characterised the whole week ■were in evidence towards the hour of the start."

GYMNASTICS.

[By. Longswivg.] Each season sees gymnastics becoming more popular, and the various clubs are now hard at work every week. Numerous new clubs have sprung up in our midst, and all give promise of developing into strong organisations. . A club has been formed at Ravensbourne, and possesses some promising talent. Messrs F. Mitchell and A. H. Crawley have been instructing the members for the past week or so. Mr A. Ga'.lowav, of the Mornington Club, was down lending a hand en Thursday evening, and gave the members some valuable instruction. I believe a number of leading gymnasts from the town clubs have volunteered to give a helping hand to this club. It has often surprised me that a gymnastic club has never been started at Port Chalmers, as there should be a good opening for one there, and it should also prove a splendid means of training for the football club and the harriers. The Gymnastic Association had a busy time on Saturday evening, when a special, general meting was held to confirm the rules drawn up by the Committee to govern the various competitions to be held during the season. I expect this season to see some very close contests between the various clubs. Three new clubs have joined the Association—viz., Ravensbourne, St. Joseph's, and the High street Ladies' Club I hope ere long to see all the clubs associated with the Association, as the more clubs there are connected with this body the more interesting will the competitions become, and it will also help to make the Association stronger. ' The Dunedin Club are having splendid practices this season, and it is well worth a visit to • see the members at work. The evening's work starts punctually at 8.15 with SandoVs dumb-bells exercises, which are gone through in a highly creditable manner, after which the members are" divided into squads and put through exercises on the various apparatus. The class work is brought to a close with running evolutions to music. Captain Austin and his lieutenants deserve every praise for the pains they take in their instruction of the members. • The Mornington Club members are working hard again this season, and intend making a bold, bid to retain the Association's banner. This club possess some very capable gymnasts, and the younger members are showing great improvement under the able tuition of Captain Galloway and Deputy-captain Wares. The* High street Club had to face a few difficulties at the beginning of the season, which I am pleased to relate have been overcome, and the club have every promise of again rising to the proud position they held a couple of years ago. In Captain Morrison and Deputy-cnptain Gollan they have two painstakin? instructor*. I am pleased to hear that the rule debarring outsiders from joining the club has been altered, and the membership is now open to outsiders as well as old boys of the school. It is with, reeret that I learn that the Albany street Gymnastic Club are thinking of disbanding. The trouble is, I believe, that the School Committee have given permission to a football club to in the gymnasium, with use of the apparatus. In my mind the Srhool Committee are taking a very short-sieht c d view of the case, as gymnastic apparatus is very easily damaged when footballers get running over mattresses with football boots on. The hardest nart about it is that the Albany street Gymnastic Club have, chiefly through their efforts, equipped the pymnasium. The Union street Gvmnastic Club are progressing well under the able tuition of Instructor Siedeberg, and should give a good account of themselves when the time for the banner' competition arrives. Another club doing good work this year is tba Geoxee street Club. Tlii« maaoa

they have secured the services of Mr T. Fergusson, who is making a vast improvement in the members. Captain Bab«r- is also helping the members on a lot, and they should be able to get a strong team together. "The Trinity Club do good work, and can boast of 100 members. Captain Ackroyd is sparing no pains in bringing the members up to a high state of proficiency, while the ladies are practising under Mr G. Balfour. ' The High street Ladies' Club <• members are showing plenty of enthusiasm, but they will have to work very hard if they wish to come out top in the ladies' competition this season.The St. Joseph's Gymnastic Club are doing good work, and under the able tuition of Mr J. Drumm this club should turn out some very fair gymnasts. The St. Clair Club members have made a capital start this winter. HARRIER NOTES. 'Some of the D.H. freshmen have yet to learn that it is utterly opposed to the principles of the club to pay any regard to weather conditions. Because Saturday was a trifb dampish there was quite a perceptible d crease in the muster. Absentees may rest assured that they missed a very fine afternoon's outmg. A slight softness in the ground is no blemish from a harrier's point of view. It adds that delight> ful element of uncertainty found in so many sports, the uncertainty in this case Being, how long it will be before you are sitting' down again. Coming down a hillside on Saturday one member of the D.H. slipped once too often, and injured his ankle. The whole pack immediately volunteered to see the'disabled man home, but a relief .party of three was considered sufficient. . A C.S.H had a similar experience. The C.S; Harriers and the Port men both seem to be getting fairly under way. The former ran from St. Clair on Saturday with a muster of about twenty, and investigated the very fine harrier country that lies towards Green Island. Harrier clubs are being founded in Oamaru and Ashburton. This is probably the outcome of*the recent visit of so many harriers to these* towns at the Easter meetings. Last week the D.H. Committee met to bid farewell to one of their best-known officers, Mr Alex. Lothian, who has moved to Wellington. In thanking his club-mates for a small presentation, he made a sensible speech, and gave them some seasonable advice. The occasion, made the committeemen feel that the D.H. is becoming quite an old institution, for the meeting was not the first of its kind. Last year J. Caldow was the occasion of a similar gathering. SWIMMING. Somewhat late in the day (writes our London correspondent on April 9) the Life-saving Society announce that, with a view to making the first contest for the cup recently presented to the society by the King "the most notable in the history of swimming," the Executive have decided to hold a big two-day gala in London on July 10 and 11, whereat three international races for the cup will be swum. They have issued invitations to the leading amateur associations and societies in Canada, the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Cape Colony, Natal, New Zealand, and India, to send one, two, or three representatives to compete in each race, for which three prizes w.ll be given, but only the first man home of each country or colony will count points for the cup, which will be held for the vear by the winnine country. v As the ICO* Yards National Championship is to be held in London on ■i71 9, e day )efore tae meeting, visitors Will have an opportunity of taking part in three good days 4 racing. Fortnnatelv, the championship of Europe is not to bs decided until August 2, at Vienna, and the Austrian championships until September 8. The German champonships will not be arranged until the meeting of the DeutscheVerband at Dessan on Sunday, but as they have been apprised of the dates they are not likely to clash with ours. Consequently there appears every probability of big Continental entries for the King's Cup, bub unless the cable is used to Australia and .New Zealand the invitations cannot possibly reach you until the middle of May. This means that all arrangements must bo made by the colonial executives and swimmers in a couple of weeks, and even if this could be done the chosen representatives would have to hang on to the mails" all the way Home to get here in time. And what sort of show could the best of them be expected to make a few days after landing? ROWING. • e , have received from a correspondent, in Melbourne a letter, from which the following extracts relating to the recent interstate cight-o&red race are taken : "Our fellows are .ibout the best-looking crew you could imagine—five stern oars of the Albert Park champion eight, two Banks champion eiprht men, and 'Son' Williams They have just the Albert Park stylepretty well perfect—and it looks like child's play to them. Tulloch (5) developed a poisoned hand at the beginning of the last week's training, and was out of the boat for two nights, but came back again with his hand tied down to his oar, so that he could not give in to the pain. However, bar accidents, our fellows ought to win easily. Gao. Upward has been over in Sydney coaching N.S.W. for five weeks or so. They are now dead slow. Very short, audi shcot their slides. The time is very good, and the blade work fair till they get a bit done. But they are too short to live long 'Most fellows think that N.S.W. and Queensland will be left. W.A. are thought to have a good chance for second, and some fancy S.A., who are a comical crowd. They all come from the two public schools, there—the four stroke side from Prince Alfred College, and the bows from St. Peter's. It is the eight that won the championship over there—Adelaide R.C.—and not a real State crew. They work hard, but bucket forward badly." "There is a lot of interest in the Sculls. Brasch is the man most Victorian fellows want to see win. Ivens just beat him last year, but Brasch ste-jred badly. Since then Brasch has improved a great deal, and Ivens, of course, is not much, if any, better. Bourke is over from Tasmania. Brasch ought to beat him again, as he did there, but Daley is the snag But I wouldn't be surprised if Brasch beat him." As has been cabled over, one of the Victorian scullers (Ivens) beat Daley, but was unequal to the pace set by Bourke, who won the Sculls almost as easily as Victoria won the Eight-oared Race. The Sydney' Referee' says that Daley was not in the best of form. He had a brash before he left with a well-known local sculler, but did not shape as he should have done, but it was believed he would pick up enough condition ere the,day of the race to b?at the opposition Daley won the Champion Sculls in 1899, 1901, and 1902. Of the twenty-seven inter-State eights rowed, Victoria has now won twenty-three (including the last ten in succession), while New South Wales has won three and Queensland one. Tasmania has competed once, Western Australia twice, South Australia four times, and Queensland thirteen times New South Wales has stood out three times, and Victoria has baen represented every year. In the inter-collegiate eights, rowed on the same day as the inter-State race,' between Trinity and Ormond (two of the colleges affV# -d to the Melbourne University), the latter proved rather easy winners by three lengths. The winners were coached by C. Donald, of the inter-State crew.

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