TOPICAL TITTLE

Evening Star, Issue 23501, 15 February 1940, Page 7

TOPICAL TITTLE

MOTES FROM THE PLAYING FIELDS [By H.P.S.] New Zealand Champion At Home. The London correspondent of ‘The New Zealand Herald ’ advises that Actingpilot Officer T. C. M'Gillivray, of Oamaru, is to fight Able Seaman Bradshaw, a naval diver, in a tournament arranged by the English Amateur Boxing Association and the Imperial Services Boxing Association at the Wembley Empire Pool on February 22. M'Gillivray will be better known to . New Zealand boxing followers by his ring name of Don Stirling, under which he won the New Zealand professional welter-weight title. Another Trumpet. . The name of Thumper is before the cricketing ipublic again, writes J. G. Lush in a Sydney paper. The old Victor Trumper broke bowlers’ hearts. Now his son, young Victor, is taking it out on the batsmen. He made Mosman’s feet slip a couple of rungs down the Sydney competition ladder _ recently. With his fast, swinging deliveries be tumbled Mosman out for 138 on a perfect pitch. The tall speed merchant ■kittled six of the Seven batsmen for 41 runs. Auckland All Black Joins Up. Included in the list of names issued by the recruiting authorities at the Rutland Street Mil Hall in Auckland recently was that of the former All Black forward, W. Batty, one of the outstanding Auckland forwards of recent years. He was a New Zealand representative in 1928, 19.30, and 1931, and played in the Auckland representative pack no fewer than 64 times. Golfer’s Claim Fajls. A golfer in England has discovered that he. cannot claim damages for ini va-ips against a club of which he is a committee member. For he was one of those responsible for keeping the place safe, lie litigant was D. fi. Jones, captain of;; Pollard Hill Club. He tripped) on the stairs and dislocated bis ankle; •b he'sued the dub. He alleged the stairs were defective. It is essential, tp. succeed in a claim for , damages against a club, that negligence must be proved. Justice Branson decided that Jones had not established there was negligence. Even if there had been negligence, the judge held that Jones could not have claimed because he was one of the committee charged with keeping the club premises safe. Football Club’s Difficulty. Regarding present-day wartime Rugger, an English writer states that he is sorry ;to hear that the Catford) Bridge C.Mlb is finding some difficulty in carrying on owing to the fact that the majority of its New Zealand members have now joined up, barring those awaiting the opportunity of joining the main contingent, Catford Bridge, like § good, many other clubs,, varies in strength, from week to week, being dependent to a large extent on members homo on leave. In a recent match the team was_ able to play Don Cobden (the Royal Air: Force Barbarian and All Black wing); S Ross:?James, and 4 J. Murphy,, all home on leave. Off to Burnham. ■ The latest detachment for Burnham Camp included one of Otago’s bestkmiwn competitive swimmers and divers, Neil Williams, member of a family which has been prominent in Otago swimming for years. As an intermediate Neil showed outstanding promiM as a diver, and he wais placed in the New Zealand championship in this division at Tima ru in 1935. On attaining senior status he did not devote so much time to diving, but developed into ■. ’fine free style swimmer, being placed in Otago_ championship events over the longer distances. He has played in the Dunedin Club’s water polo team for a number of years, and was a member of the Otago team that won the New Zealand water polo championship at New Plymouth in 1938, and at Invercargill last.year. His elder brother, Arthur (a former New Zealand intermediate boys’ diving champion), is a member of the first echelon of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. They are the sons of .the late Mr W. Williams, for years a member of the Otago Swimming Centro and a great worker on the administrativeand educational side of the sport. Their uncle is Dave Smith, formerly of Otago and at one time heavy-weight homing champion of Australia. A younger brother of theirs is Walter Williams, who is a member of the Otago water polo team which has been defending. its laurels in the national champion-ship-meeting at Wellington this week. A. Stsdman in Khaki. „ An ex-New Zealand champion, Denis Coombe, was on© of the first prominent New .'Zealand tennis players to enlist (says the ‘ New Zealand Observer ’). He joined up with the New Zealand anti-tank unit ip England. Coombe has npw been followed by Alan Stedman, undoubtedly the outstanding New Zea-land-born champion of recent years, who went" into camp at Ngaruawahia last week to train as a non-commissioned officer for the third echelon. Stedman has not played competitive tennis for some timesharing paid more attention to golf. No finer sportsman has held the New Zealand title. Another former New Zealand champion serving in the war is Stedman’s partner in. manv doubles matches, C. E. Malfroy. Malfrby, who has been absent from New Zealand for several years, has a commission .in the Royal Air Force and is now on active service. Long’Sporting Association. ' The privilege of being the first life member of the North Canterbury Centre of the New Zealand Athletic and Cycling Union falls to Mr W. J. (Jock) Walter, whose election has just been announced. None deserves the honour better, (says the ‘Star-Sun ’). Jock Walter has been associated with the administration of cycling for 39 years, since the day when he took over the secretaryship, of the Marshland Club in 1901 and was appointed a delegate to the Canterbury. Centre, In those days the cycling sport was controlled by the New Zealand League of Wheelmen, and Hr Walter, in hi* capacity as local representative and, Hawke’s Bay delegate for some time, has seen the amalgamation with the Athletic Union ; has been a vice-president of the combined body, a foundation member of the New Zealand Cycling Federation, and president of the North Canterbury Centre for 16 years. To most cyclists his name is connected' with the big Timaru-Christ-churcfa Road Race, for which he has bean handicapper since 1909, and with city and country athletic and cycling

Soccer in Australia, Although details of the South African; Soccer team’s tour of Australia are practically completed, world conditions will probably cause the cancellation of thu tour for the 1940 season. As an alternative the Australian Soccer Association has opened up negotiations with the United States, Brazil, and the Argentine. The Palestine Soccer team’s tout; last season shows a loss of £3ll 11s 9ch The Australian association will lose £lO3 17s 3d on the venture, and the remainder will be borne by the Jewish community in Melbourne, who subscribed £750 toward financing the tour, and two Sydney guarantors, who contributed £250 to the Jewish communities’ guarantee of £I,OOO.

Rugby in War Time. The Canterbury Rugby Union’s decision that no trophies will be at'stake in war-time football competitions and its proposal that no interprovincial; matches should be played will turn.'thei thoughts of other unions to the important policy decisions which will soon ba required of them says the ‘ New Zealand Observer’). During the Great War organised football in most New; Zealand centres was restricted to players under 20' years of age, but this patriotic arrangement simply played into the hands of opposition games, and after the war it took the Auckland Rugby Union a good long while to recover from the setback. There are many considerations involved:, including the question whether a sports body has the right to set itself up as the judga of the moral conscience of its players and also the fi*pt that certain players might have adequate personal reasons for not being able to engage in overseas service. In any case it is doubtful whether anything is served by dispensing with the usual trophies. ' If organised competitions are held at all, why should trophies not be issued for them? And why should it not.be possible to_ maintain interprovincial matches limited to young players, plus any known to have good and sufficient reasons for not being in khaki?; Bromwich’s New Service.

John Bromwich showed recently that ho is a greatly improved player (states a Melbourne tennis writer). It was in smashing and volleying that the greatest development has taken place. His service was better, but it still remained the weakest section of his game. Now news comes from Sydney that Bromwichl is developing a new service. It appears that the change from his jerky,, stiff service was unpremeditated. “ It happened while I was playing ia a social match,” Bromwich said, “ perhaps because I was not concentrating fully, or perhaps because of laziness, I took my arms up more easily in the preliminary swing, instead of making my usual stiff swing. Suddenly I realised that I had discovered a moans of improving my service, for I was getting results. I have tested this service thoroughly since, aiming at obtaining greater rhythm in the preliminary upward swing. . This helps me to obtain, better co-ordination throughout the action, and the result is that I get increased pace and more effective placement. lam so delighted with the change that I am determined to persevere with it in the Australian championships.”