SPORTING.

Evening Star, Issue 16093, 19 April 1916, Page 2

SPORTING.

OTAGO CHESS CLUB. the thirteenth annual meeting of the Otago Chess. Club was held on Monday evening. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. The election of office-bearers resulted as follows:—President, Mr L. D. Coomb:?; senior vice-president,. Mr. G. ■S. M. M'Dcrmid; junior vice-president, Mr J. Lang; hon. secretary, Mr W. G. Stenhouse; hoi;', treasurer, Mr R. A. Cleland; hon. auditor, Mr H. H. Henderson. The incoming President thanked members for his election, and asked eve remember to try to get at least one ncv.member. It was decided to hold the official opening of the club on .Monday, May 1. OLD BOYS' ASSOCIATION CLUB. Mr H. Webb presided over tho seventh annual meeting of tho Old Boys' Association Football Club, held at the Y.M..C.A. Rooms last night. The report congratulated the club on their very successful season, the First Eleven winning the cup and charity banner. The finances of the club were in a. satisfactory position (showing a balance in hand of £5 9s 7d). The committee were confident that although there would probubly be no serious football during the coming eea-son members would keep the ehrb togther until things were once again on the old footing. The report and balance-sheet were adopted, and it was decided to hold the challenge cup until the end of the coming season. The following office-bearers were elected for the. ensuing year:—President. Mr H. K. Webb; vice-nr-esidents—Messrs'K. J. ■Smith, W. J. Morrell, J. Beid, J. Allen, W. Rae, L. S. Ferer.s; club captain, Mr M. G. M'lnnes; deputy captain, Mr W. Thomas ; secretary, Mr *W- Aitchescn ; auditor, Mr J. Hey; Selection CommitteeMessrs Mlnnes, Thomas, and W. E. Gregory; delegate to' 0.F.A., Mr K. J. Anderson; General Committee—Messrs J. Race, J. Allen, L. M'Lenna-n, J. Hey, A. J. Stephenson. Seventeen new member's were elected. THE ATTACK ON THE C.J.C. [Special to the ' Star.'] CHRISTCHURCH, April 18. Mr W. H. E. Wanklyn, secretary of the Canterbury Jockey Club, writes *as follows in reply to the attack made on ths club by Professor Blunt: Professor Blunt, in his address as chairman of'the Victoria League, :<*.- tacks the C.J.C. for going on with racing, and I do not propose to enter int.) a controversy with him on the rights or wrongs of carrying on the sport; but in his diatribe ho recommends us to follow the -example of England and France, and ingenuously states til at in English ami French newspapers to-day racing news i.--, conspicuous by its absence. He is right in one sense, as since the beginning of November last there has been no flat racing in either England or France, and will be none until about the present data, but it he wishes his readers to believe'that racing is abandoned in Great Britain he is drawing «n inference that is not borne out by facts. There has been no cessation of racing in Ireland during 1915, and altogether there were 133 meetings in the British Isles at which 3,169 horses started, as compared with 4,C01 in 1913, and amongst the list of winning owners is tho head of his league, His Majesty the King. On May 20 last the stewards of the Jockey Club, acting in accordance with the wishes of the Government, cancelled all fixtures (in England and Scotland) otheinhan those for Newmarket as from May 24. But there were five extra meetings held at Newmarket, and, according to the present arrangements, racing at Newmarket will continue. The sole reason for cancelling the other racing fixtures was that the Government .having practically! commandeered the railways, racing excursions coiild not be carried out. I shall be pleased to show professor Blunt the reports of the Jockey Club meetings when the question of abandoning racing was under consideration. I am sure he would be interested in readinsr the opinions of Lord Crewe,- Sir Hedwoi-th Meux, the Duke of Richmond, Lord llchester, Mr Leonard Brasaey, Captain Greer, Lord' Wolverton, Lord' Villiers. JCord Derby, and Lord Rosebery, etc. It tvas one."of the largest attended meetings She Jockey Club had ever held ; there were »ver 30 present out of a membership of Under 60, and the resolution that racing should be carried on was adopted with only one dissentient. As a matter of fact, letters were read from prominent sportsmen in France i-incercely hoping that racing would not be stopped in England. DEATH OF A POPULAR BONER. [Special to the ' Star.'] CHRISTCHURCH. April 18. News has just been received in Christihurch that amongst the New Zealand boxers who fell at Gallipoli was M. F. (Mick) Ryan, the genial, good-hearted young Irishman, who twice won the amatcur heavy-weight championship of New Zealand. He represented the Southland Association, being champion of that dis- ' trict, at Christchurch In 1908, beating Hale, of Wellington, in the final ; in the following year, at Dunedin, hs won the final from P. Ruston, representing Otago. Ryan was the New Zealand heavy-weight representative at the Australasian championship" meeting held at Brisbane in 1908, being defeated by the ex-New Zealander Dave Smith, who afterwards became famous in the professional ranks. In the following year, at Svdnev. he lost to W. F. Waldie, of Victoria.. Ryan subsequently met Mitchell, of West-port, in a, eontest- for the heavy-weight professional championship of New Zealand, and suffered defeat. That w.'.shis last- appearance in tho rinir. In addition to ho Id in a boxing honors, Ryan was » representative Rugby football player. He was a man < of magnificent physique, standing over 6ft j arid woigliing 14et of bone and muscle. A cleaner boxer and a better-natnred man never entered the ring, and outsids of it his straightforward character and gonial disposition made, him a host of friends. Jn many parts of New Zealand the news of his death will be received with the deepest regret. COURSING. At a special meeting of the National Coursing Association of New Zealand last evening, the Hamilton Coursing Club were allocated control of the Waterloo, to be run at Frankton Junction on Julv 12. The president of the association (Mr B. S. Irwin) donated a silver cup for the winner.