SPORTS AND PASTIMES

Evening Star, Issue 16994, 17 March 1919, Page 4

SPORTS AND PASTIMES

[By Ex-Ohamfioit, lor Dunedin ' Star. 7 ] • LONDON, January 20. THE BOOM IN SPORT. It is very evident that the year of 1919 will witness the greatest boom in sports and pastimes on record. Several reasons can bo thought of on account for this, among the chief ones being the following: —Millions of people will naturally turn with very great relief to their popular sport and pastime after the trying ordeal ns represent by four years of warfare. Many men and women busily engaged in war work of various descriptions, felt justified in occasionally indulging in a little fishing, a game of golf, or some other favorite pastime, and yet when they did no it often aroused unfavorable comment from thoughtless individuals. The time has now arrived when different conditions prevail, and everyone can now joyfully take up the particular sport or pastime they favor, and seek relaxation after very trying times. Another potent reason why sports will boom is that the Government of the country and the military authorities are now fully alive to the very estreat benefits associated with sports. The educational authorities are bent on introducing snorts and pastimes as part of the educational scheme, and the Minister of Health recently publicly stated that ho horn'd nt no distant date tn see every oc'tro with its own playing fields. This is akin to an idea which has often been advocated by the writer, and one has every reason to anticipate that it is only a question of time, and at no distant date, when we shall have municipal and Government playing fields under the supervision of export men and women, who will safeguard the welfare of the youngsters of both sexes who make use of the facilities offered them. This is a very important point, and about which something may be said on a future occasion. NEW FIELDS.

It can be confidently anticipated that we shall see great Impetus given to sports and pastimes in what may be termed a new field. Many hundreds of thousands of women workers during tho war have acquired a taste for various sports, and the heads of our great industries are unanimous in their opinion that it is a good poliev to promote sports and pastimes among their workers. To that end some thousands of our greatest industrial concerns have already appointed what are known as welfare representatives. One of the chief duties of these officials will ho to endeavor to form and support a sports club for the workers. Naturally we shall see intense rivalry between organisations of kindred firms, with a corresponding boom and intorsports rivalry. It is also now recognised throughout service circles that sports have a very great use in keeping men fit, and a now organisation in connection with the Army will make a great feature of promoting sporting events of a greatly altered character in future. Wo shall see greater efforts to eater for every man in a recipient, as distinct from tho old order of things, when a few cracks attracted chief attention. It Is not expected that our groat events, such as championship fixtures, will bo discontinued, for it is only right and proper that the best men shall be given an opportunity of winning a tivnby representing championship class. Wo shall, however, have far' fewer handicap events than in the past, and instead the tendency will be to promote interclnb, interunit, intertown, interconntry, and international competition. Altogether the outlook is exceedingly bright, and it is quite evident that the year 1919 will be a red-letter one in the annals of sport. THE KING’S CUP, His Majesty has presented a trophy In the form of a challenge cun, which is to ho off-'red for competition among teams representing nnv brarxffi of TT-s Majesty’s service ether than Civil Service. 'the event will take tho form of a cvoßß-comitry nice, and the teams will he 12 in number. Each team will run tho course on its own. and the time of the eirth man to finish will eontstituto the time of the team. Tn addition to medals to the eight _ men of the placed team, brouzo medals will_bo to the other four men, providing they finish tho course. This event promises to event very weif interest in serviee circles and it will probably take the place of the usual crn«-eonntrV championships, which .are hardly likclv to be revbmd this season. We can. however, confidently anticipate something tn the form of a championship team race for industrial tennw. jVnrp.VATTONAI. EBAY. The "ronton” athletic authorities within the United Rt a te« hr-- already made pfrnrts towards arranging a miniature fVvmm-d for the present year, and invitation* have been extended to the athletic nnriioritiPß of <srent Rnt-m. Franco, Ttalv. fhvAden. Norway, and Denmark to send teams to the U’vted Statos early in the (soring. Tho idea, is to held ft series of inte”n"*’Opal meetings in the eastern perts of the ITn ; ted BMes. and it is honed that it wiii bo pep-"’de to earn- o"t this programme. Tom lung on to'ernottonal nib-lot-V tor. the b'g meeting held at Stamford B" : d<-e ip tho summer of 1918. when the United ffi-ntos. tho Over-mas Dominions. and the Home athletes met in friendly rival) v. created very great in-* te'-est and it is cert-ibi we shall see another meeting of wredar nature, hut on n much bicrer scale, held during the coming summer. The Am-tour Athletic As*oc:rttion will he hoVlum n meet*ng very rfiorfTv, when this and other important matters will receive eonriderct’on. RUGBY FOOTBALL. Tho Annr Rngbv authorities are bent on arranging a ernes of inter nH V r, md j matches among sew-ieo fifteens, and. should -j ail go well wo sbn’l see some exeelh-nt | fivtores. With the overact! * part of the j Emp : re represented bv t'ew Zealand. A ns- | trnlia. South Africa, and perhnrs Canada, j and louring with the Home teams, n big success can lie ev-eeted. Prohahlv France will rd'o ?cnd n team, and ■'eeinv tVrt our near neighbors recently defeated a Webb j team, we must expect stout opposition ■ from the tri-color. ,i Among Patordav’s matches, that he- ! tween the R. A.8.0. end tho New Zeeland r‘on-ric«eeut Hospital team at, Grove Park ntti-cted most notice. The home teem only consisted of 14 players, but. though bnndrapped. the top of plav rntl-er favored j the fVps men. Finally, however, a bril- | liant forward rush g-vc the New Zealand- j era a trv. and this advantage was retained to the end. A New Zeidand team also i met Leicester, and rained n fine victory i bv IS points to ml; but the visit of an Arist-ralian fifteen to Newport was not so fniwessful, the Welsh side winning by 26 . points to nil. j LAWN TENNIS. 1 Although it is not known for certain if the All-England lawn tennis tournament at Wimbledon will be resumed during the rummer of 1919, it seems clear that a general revival of this popular pastime will be seen before very long. It may not bo generally known that tho D-vis Cup. representing the world’s championship, is lying in a New York Safety Deposit vault at r-rcsent, though the trophy jg held by Australasia. Anthony Wilding, of New Zealand, and associated so much with Bnrlish lawn tennis, who helped wrert the C"p from America-, lies in a soldier’s grave, and we shall miss many more fine sportsmen when our pastimes are resumed After four years’ interval, we are bound to see many changes, and no doubt new blood will be the order when the next big i’-temational tournament claims attention. Another thing we can count on is that German players will not be present, as, whilst it may be admitted that those who came to Wimbledon were the best type, we cannot forget the vileness of Germans in general.