ATHLETICS.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXIII, Issue 10094, 5 September 1925, Page 9

ATHLETICS.

NEWS AND NOTES. (By “Stride.”) 50 MILES N.Z. CYCLE CHAMPIONSHIP. Good reports am coming to hand about the training operations of the local amateur cyclists in preparation for the premier amateur road cycle race of the Dominion. Unfortunately I am unable as yet to supply any mformiatimi relative to anything which would suggest that any of the riders are shaping in a promising manner. Of course very few' have yet attempted the 50 miles journey, but every opportunity should lie taken of line days to get in the necessary hard riding which a race of this length demands. The secretary of the G.A.A. and H.C. informs mo “that very satisfactory replies have been received from a, number of the most prominent amateur riders in the country and that indications point to a largo miraho' of outside competitors competing in tho event. CRACK CYCLIST’S LONG RIDE. That the event is being taken seriously is indicated by the fact that several of Taranaki’s crack riders (who will probably compete) intend to ride from 'Wanganui to Napier, so that additional training may'be obtained. .As this journey oceup'es six or seven hours by car it will be sec-n that Gray (1 mile N.Z. champion), Ross and Co. of Wanganui are leaving no stone unturned to attain p.hvsical fitness. Perhaps this fact will “ginger up” some of our cyclists. GISBORNE’S BIG EFFORT.

■ Under the above headline tin? following article by my good friend ! ‘‘Spike” appears in the athletic col- > iimn of the Dominion newspaper, in Wellington:— “If there is one club in the Dominion worthy' of support and patronage, it is the Gisborne A.A.A. Secretary Owen Paltn’dge and it'-s enthusiastic committee have kept the club alive, and athletics afloat n the district, by their initiative and willingness to work hard for the good of ■the sport when things are not running smoothly; and their efforts have culminated in their securing the \enue for this year’s 00-m le New Zealand road cycle championship. The indications point to this event proving one of tlie most successful amateur races yet hebl in the Dominion, and centres generally should rea’ise the necessity of rallying round this progressive little club and wherever practicable and possible see that they are strongly represented in the race. C. IR. Elett the local crack, who has in short past given ample proof of his ability in such events as this, should certainly he sent to Gisborne as Wel'ington’s representative if he is ava luhle, and the local centre, if funds permit, might well consider the pract cabibty of sending with him several other prominent riders. Train fares appear to be the only obstacle, as the G-.-s----borue enthusiasts ’nave expressed their willingness to billet any visiting cyclists free of charge. It is announced that Umpires to the value of JGO wl! he inc’udcd in the prize list. Octobe 22 is the tentative date for the race, but this is subject to confirmation bathe parent body. Gisborne s could lie supported in their big undertaking. “EVOLUTION OF ATHLETICS.” It is my intention to endeavour each week to write an aiticlo appertaining to athletics ho it either eyeling. or running. ,!n the "Evolution of Athletics.” amateurism itself las not changed much in the last eO years. It lias become more democratic and generally the desire for the practice of sport, because it is sport anu not a. matter of livelihood, has been splendidly beneficial. It has gi\on a special meaning of the term “sport, insofar as that expression to-day means a man whose hearing is honorable and whose methods are inflexibly fair. Tn the early seventies it was euriouslv contended that if a man’s ordinary work develop his muscle that should disqualify h:m. This is at present almost a rule with t.ie famous rowing clubs of bnglnna This remarkable and ridiculous suggestion was made in the to! owing t t »rm: —“That tlie practice of such manual labour as would give a man more than ordinary cexrcise and deve'opmont of those muscles which ire engaged in the part'cular competitions 'for which lie has proposed to enter shon’d disqualify him from engaging in such competitions.” (It was seeing til's rule in an old hook which prompted me to wrtc this article. — “Stride.) Tlr's shows liow keenly the amateur defi.nit on was discussed in what may be termed the traps tion period 50' years ago. Ideas on training were very d frorent from what they are to-day, but it leaf? to he remembered that competition then did not occur every week. To-day n man needs to keep in corn!'tion .for long pc‘ : ods. and his greatest help in that direction has been massage and common-sense feeding. As showing what ihe cnrlv ideas were, Doctor Farquharson. of E-ughy, England, may be quoted. That- gentleman read a paper before the Medical Society on “Athletic Sports and Thom Influence on Health.” Oxford had recently beaten Harvard in a boat race, and the doctor, referring to tins American defeat, said: “Them having trained on nee, milk and vegetables seemed to have unfitted them for their part, and made them inferior to our men, who had trained on meat and beer.” ■>

Certainly, training 50 years ago was a serious and searching process. Men were stuffed with meat and bread, tin’s diet demanding tremendous hard training and violent sweating such as no athlete would undergo to-day. NURMI’S HOME-COMING. It appears that abont_ one-hafif of Finland turned out to we come Paavo Nurmi when lie arrived at Helsingfors on his way to Abo. his home town, following Irs triumphal tour of the United States. On the liner Stockholm he became the most famous passenger aboard. Fetes we"o arranged for Inm at Helsingfors and ho was hailed in the streets are the conquering hero. His home town took a day off to do him honor when lie arrived. The fact that the mighty If inn had turned down thousands of pounds offered to him by promoters to turn professional has endeared Turn to the Finnish nation, where pvofessonalisin is unknown. TOO MUCH ATHLETICS. Contending that athletics have been dcmoral sing the scholastic work of the school. Dr. Wettstone, president of the University of Dubuque (U.S.A.) lm s announced that “all sports must he dropped, at 'east lor a period of three years.” The order has started a storm or protest among the students. Up to> few years ago (says an American writer) the Un.vor- • sity was one . of the Readers m ath’et’cs in tho Middle. Most, hut for the last few seasons all of its teams have been takings lacings and this cireuni•stanco may have had something to do with inspiring the order. AUSTRAL ASIAN CR OSSCOUNTR Y CHAMPIONSHIP. Tho Australasian and New Zealand cross-country championship resulted in a good win for the All Black team.. The course was very heavy and during the race, which was witnessed by 1000 people, there was a biting cold wind. Rose took the lead from the start, followed by.Whyte (Victoria) but after two nrles had been covered, .Brown, aild Tapp, both New Zealand, ‘iVfere'.'in’ the/second and third places, and from;, then on the places w#o practicalyAunchanged. Rose /..'-can stropgly throughout and after a great sprint finished remarkably fresh, 550

yards ahead of Tapp, who beat Brown by 30 yards. Whyte was 40 yards behind Brown. Then came Muir (Victoria) and Todd (New Zealand), both close up, and next were Whittle (Victoria), Hepper (New Zealand), Weeks (New South Wales), Swinbdurno (New South Wales), -McKee (New Zealand), Silver (unattached), ell (Victoria), Gainsford (New South Wales), Kent (New Zealand), Hutton (unattached), Moore (Victor’a), Wilson (unattached), .Fitzsimmons (NewSouth Wales). The t ines for tho first four to finish were:—36m 11s, 37m 50s, 38m 2s, 88m Bs. The points were: New Zealand 12; New South Wales 28; Victoria 43.

REPLY ,TO ' ‘NOM-DE-PLUME.” The above waiter, when penning iiis article which appeared in Tuesday’s Times, must have been suffering from delusions. In the first place, he entirely misses the main point of my criticism that I take exception to him using the nom-de-plume under which I write for this paper. Then he makes a ridiculous statement to the effect that I will not support cross-country running. Wake up, iny dear sir, and just use your eyes and peruse the two articles which T wrote in the Times some time hack wherein I tried to boost this fine winter pastime. I believe the secretary of the Amateur Club informed Mr Howell that tho committee would endeavor to hold the cross-country championship though specifying’no date, hut evidently Sep. 24 would suit “Nom-de-plume” very nicely indeed. Next I started to interview' the three runners which this “Nonvde-plumc” ment'ons in his par. I started off with the third name on the list and he was simply astounded to know he had been training, letalone “running over the course.” I did not deem it necessary to make further inquiries, as the runner" questioningly wondered if lie had been “erdss-eountrying” in his sleep. Oi course. Reg. Howell ie training, hut with the opposition mentioned in the par ho need not take his preparation too seriously. The statement that the committee of the G.A.A. and H.C. “have cycling on tho brain” is “bosh” and no other but “Nom-de-plume” would make such an assertion. In conclusion, may I state that it is iny earnest wish that cross-country runir’ng will once again prosper in Poverty Bay?