ATHLETICS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11829, 10 January 1933, Page 7

ATHLETICS

-OJMTMER” and ogg

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —In .the "Weekly .Budget’’ of your paper of the 7tli inst. your athletic critic, ‘'‘Old-Timer,writes as follows: "Unfortunately the inclusion, of .TVi. Ogg, of Wellington, in the 440 aii.d SSOyds.- events on the Reserve war apparently 7 a mistake, and the expense of bringing • the southerner to Gisborne was certainly not justified by/, results/’ Although I have, every respect for "Old-Timer’s’-’ opinions, f think the above is - a .harsh and unjustified criticism. ‘'Old-Timer’’ infers that Ogg was not in form. -To take the SSOyds. event (the distance over which the southerner has established his reputation) the visitor, although unplaced, actually covered the distance in approximately lmin„ dSisec. on a track which does not compare with some of the city tracks. Taking into consideration the fact that lie had travelled front Wellington the day before. I consider Ogg’s performance all that one could reasonably expect. I am sure the club’s' handicappef (Mr. C. Greig) did- not expect the race to be run in lniin. oGsec. The first and I second placed competitors showed a big improvement on their previous performances this season. Then in the 440yds. the visitor’s close third from 17yds. in the excellent time of oOsec. after the above

run could hardly he called a disap-

pointing performance, especially as it known locally that lie had no claims to be a "class 440 man.” Possibly Ogg was not a good choice as a ‘/star’’, .attraction as we had no athlete of the calibre of Grant McDonald to pit against the visitor. A good sprinter to test Graham Quinn -•'•Jor a cyclist to extend Tliornley Camp- ? bell might have been a better selection, but the blame for this cannot be laid at the door of a splendid athlete like W. Ogg.—l am, yours, etc., FRANK MARTIN. ‘292 Palmerston road.

“OLD TIMER’S’’ REJOINDER

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —I was somewhat surprised at the very bitter Jetter whiieh appeared in your paper of yesterday’s issue relative to my eri&cism of the appearance. (not the- performances) of AV. Ogg at the recent sports gathering at Reserve. .May I-point oat that it was not my intention or desire to criticise the actual performances of Mr Ogg, but merel-v to point out that unforunately. the expense incurred in bringing him here was hardly justified by the small amount of additional interest that was created by his inclusion. There can be no doubt that the performances of G. Qdinn and T. Campbell were definitely more colorful than thdse of Mr Ogg, and were certainly just as meritorious. The interest created by the contingent from Napier was considerable and, in consideration of the fact that these men came here at their own expense, I must repeat my contention that Mr Ogg’s inclusion was a mistake. although lam not, of course, suggesting that Mr Ogg should have paid his awn expenses. He was invited by the club and hence the mistake was the club 's, not his. I certainly think that Mr B. R. Ogg could have expressed himself in a far more > gracious manner than he did, and, if * his effort i s the result of higher education, it is to be regretted.—l am, Yours etc., 1 ~ “OLD TIMER.