AMATEUR ATHLETICS

Evening Star, Issue 19589, 22 June 1927, Page 2

AMATEUR ATHLETICS

OTAGO CENTRE MEETING FURTHER CRITICISM OF SELECTORS Tlio monthly meeting of tlio Otago Centre of the . Now Zealand Amateur ; Athletic Association was held in the Y.M.C.A. last night, the president (Mr 1 E. L. Macassey) .presiding over a large 1 attendance of delegates. ' i INDOOR MEET. . j The Chairman reported that the i danco . recently staged by the centre would result in a profit of £9, perhaps ( more. In connection with the . pro- ( posed indoor track meet lie stated that ' Mi Lander and himself had inspected . the Drill Hall, but the track there at \ present was too dangerous for the hold- ■ ing of a sports meeting, in the event i of it’being found impossible to stage tlio indoor meet an evening meeting might be held on the Calc, early in the spring. ' A sub-committee, comprising the j chairman, secretary, and Messrs Lan- . der and Suckling, was appointed to in- : spect the track and go into the matter 1 more fully before reporting to , next meeting. AFFILIATION OF CLUBS. The Abbotsford Methodist Harrier Club wrote applying for affiliation to the centre.—lt was decided to forward the application on to the New Zealand Council with a favorable recommendation. This brought up the matter of the Mornington and St. Patrick’s Qlubs’ applications for affiliation, which the centre had previously granted, the New Zealand Council having written point- 1 ing out that the centre had no ,au- • thority to grant- affiliations, and that 1 that they should have been forwarded J to the council. The Secretary reported that a letter had been sent to the council expressing ' regret that the applications had not 1 been forwarded to the council first, and recommending the affiliation of these clubs.—His action was confirmed. 1 A letter was received from the newlyformed Rover Harrier Club stating i that owing to lack of support the club f was forced to disband, and asking that ,] the club’s affiliation fee and capitation fees should be refunded. —As the af- < filiation had not been passed it was de- ! cicled to grant the request. * CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS. Arrangements were finalised in connection with the Otago five-mile crosscountry championship at Wingatui next , Saturday, and it was decided that the - Otago team for the New Zealand cross- , country championship on July 2 should 1 bo selected after Saturday’s race, the ( team to comprise six men. ’ FIFTEEN-MILE PACE. < By the generosity of a keen sport a fifteen-mile marathon race will be 1 staged later in the season, Mr R. Swin- i ney reporting that Mr N. Nichols had - presented £5 towards prizes for such 1 a race. It was suggested by the donor i that the race should bo from the Gale. ( and out round the Taieri. 1 Mr R.- W. Lander: How about a 1 Dunedin to Brighton race along the lines of the London to Brighton race? (Laughter.) It was decided to thank the donor for his generous gift, and to hold the race later in the season. DEWAR CUP. In the recommendation of tho com- j mittee appointed to go into the mat- j ter it was decided to award the Dewar ; Cup (for most points in cycling events during the recent season) to W. J. Templeton, of the Pacific Club. COMBINED RUN. . The question of the combined clubs’ harrier run on July 2 was considered, < and it was stated that the one-mil© race i for Mr N. Nichols’s trophies would ho decided on that date at Forhury Park, : entries to close on Monday next. A suggestion was put forward that .other < events should also bo decided on -that date, but this was not given effect to; tho opinion being expressedthat tho combined run should bo carried out as originally intended. NEW ZEALAND SELECTORS. - Concerning the Otago Centre’s criticism of the method of appointing the selectors of tho Now Zealand team for the Australasian track and field championships, the secretary of the Council of the' New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association wrote giving the following facts;—“Consideration of the championships had been held over until May 2 in order to allow centres to express their opinions. A circular letter had been sent to the centres to this effect, but the only suggestion received was one from Canterbury, which the council adopted, and was attempting to carry out. No other reply had been received from the Otago or Canterbury Centre. On May 2 the council discussed the whole question at some length, and made various appointments, including the appointment of selectors. According to the report of the Otago Centre meeting, the centre secretary stated that the four selectors were members of the council, that was contrary to- fact, as only two of the four selectors were members of the council. The council, in making the I appointment, followed the precedent of the appointment of selectors for the last New Zealand team which competed at Brisbane in August of last : year. It was not considered by tho council that the centres had nob competent men to select athletes from their own districts, but it had not been intimated that the council intended paying the expenses of the four selectors to tour New Zealand, for it would not consider such a step.” The Chairman said that because the council had adopted a certain method of selection in the past was no reason why it should be maintained in the future. He was satisfied that the i Wellington men were working for , themselves all the day, and the way that Lander’s claims for inclusion in the first list of candidates for tho Now Zealand Olympia team had been dealt with showed the kind of treatment Otago could expect from the present controlling body. Canterbury was also opposed to the present Selection Committee, and he thought that either one selector should be chosen from the South Island and one from the North Island, or one each should be appointed from each of the five affiliated centres. Tho Otago Centre should hammer away in this matter, and obtain the support of the other centres in an endeavor to have matters righted. It was decided to write to the New Zealand Council stating that Otago was not m favor of tho four selectors already appointed, and considered that | the Selection Committee should either ; consist of two nien—one from each I island, to be appointed by the centres I I in ' the respective islands —or a Seleci tion Committee of five, one from each 1 ' of the centres affiliated to the New 1 j Zealand Amateur Athletic Association. * I It was resolved to send a copy of ’ j the resolution to the other centres ask- > I i n g for their support in the matter, t j GENERAL. j * Discussion took place over a request - from the Council'.of the New Zealand * Amateur Athletic Association that a copy of the centre’s rules should be forwarded to the council, and it w*as stated that the centre’s rules had not 5 been revised since 1913.—A sub-cora- ‘ mittee, comprising the chairman, the ’ secretary, and Messrs R. Swmney, N. > J. Suckling, W. L. Hooper, and C. K. • Heaton, was appointed to go into the rules. Mr Macassey being appointed ’ of the Council of the ’ New Zealand Amateur Athletic As--1 sociation in awarding honors caps to those entitled to them was referred to > by Mr C. K. Heaton, and it was decided to write to the council pointing i out that J. W. Tapp and E. L. Brown, both of Otago, hm not yet received

tlicir honors caps in connection with the Australasian cross-country championship in 1925; and also that R. W. Lander, who bad' won the Keddell Memorial Trophy on two occasions, had not yet received tho trophy. E. D. Palmer’s application for reinstatement as an amateur cyclist was before the meeting, and on the recommendation of the Reinstatement Committee it was decided to forward it on to the N.Z.A.A.A. for favorable consideration. The Secretary of the Timaru Harrier Club wrote extending ail invitation to Otago runners to compete in the Te-muka-Tiniaru (twelve miles) road race on July 16- His club would arrange to billet any Dunedin runners who wished to make the trip.—Delegates to note. The Secretary of the Otago Centre of the New Zealand Athletic and Cycling Union wrote, in reply to the letter from the Amateur v Centre in respect to reciprocity, and pointed out that a definite reciprocal agreement between the New Zealand Athletic and Cycling Union and the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association was in force, and had been for a number of years. His centre expressed its. regret that the Amateur Association would not consent to reciprocate so far as club sports programmes were concerned.— It was resolved to forward the letter on to the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association for an opinion on tho matter.