ATHLETICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11056, 6 May 1899, Page 6

ATHLETICS.

Judging by the remarks of a Southern confrere I should say that the selection ccimnittee appointed by tho N.Z.A.A.A. to select the Mam. for the Australasian Championships have not yet matte an attempt to pick thn men, as several of the clubs have iic.it jet replied to the circular issued oy the governing body inviting nominations and financial support. At the same time, it would seem if a team is to be sent across to Queensland, that the task of selection is not a very r'iflicult one, and it is to be hoped that lhe putter will not bo delayed until the eleventh hour. The N.Z.A.A.A.'s share of the profits of tin; last championship meeting at Duni'din will be close on £20, which with about £30 in hand and £100 on fixed deposit makes the total funds £150, which by tlio f imn thj annual meeting is held in July next may he increased. In dealing with W. V. Kingston's Icttflr to the N.Z.A.A.A. relative to the Duncdinites j running ill the 250 yds Handicap at the last Championship Meeting, the asocial ion representative, Mr. Grierson, who occupied the position of chairman of tho council, explains that he did not wish in his report to impute unfairness to Kingston, and explained that the Dunedin runner was "forced on tho grass." As Geo. Smith, tho Auckland representative in that event, was 'lie only isn handy to Kingston at the point where 'he alleged offence of running inside •.he tracK occurred, it might bo inferred that the .''neklander was responsible for Kingston's running off, but such was certainly not the case, as Smith was at that time making the running, The Victorian Amateur Athletic Association are recognising tho desirability <>; coming into closer touch with the public and private schools, and at a recent council meeting a sub-committee was appointed to coimnuiurate with the schools and report at next meeting as to the feasibility of holding a combined schools sports meeting. Among other matters, the question of sending an Australasian team to Europo will engage the attention of the conference of Amateur Athletio Associations at tho forthcoming Australasian Championships. ' New South Wales and Victoria are favourably disposed towards tho project.

Several excellent performances were recorded at the competitions between Cambridge University A.C. and tho L' tidon A C. decided on March 11, and won easily by the light blues, who scored seven first in ten events. Hunter, the light blue president, won tho mile from the old Cantab., W. K. Lutyens, by 10yds, in 4m. 22 4-ss; H. A. Jones, tho Jesus Freshman, cleared 21ft 91in in the broad jump; Paget-Tomlinson covered the 120 yds hurdles course in 16?.—which ties the Tenner's record done by Godfrey Shaw running for L.A.O.—C. G. Davison won the quarter-mile rather easily in 51 2-55., and H. E. Graham accounted for the half-mile (from W. E. Lutyens) in lm. 59 3-55., breasting tho tape eight yards to the good.

I am informed that there will shortly bo an effort mado in this city to introduce tho game of lacrosse. The homo of lacrosse is North America, where, in the good old days, tho Indians played tribe against tribe, but now the game is fined down to 12 men aside. It is a game requiring good lungs, a quick eye, and plenty of staying power, and is entirely fren from roughness, the players trusting solely to skill and not to brute force. However, as the public of Auckland will no doubt see lacrosse played in the near future, let it suffice to say that there is little doubt but that the wonderful staying powers of the noble red men were to a great extent due to the fact that they played tho game. The New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association has written the Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cycle Club, asking a copy of tho report of the referee on which the disqualification of A. O. Keating for a term of two years for alleged competing to lose at tho club's March meeting was recommended, and at the. same time forwarded the appeal of the runner in question from the club's recommendation, together with two sworn statements of eye witnesses of the race, and other statements as to character. These were carefully roviowed on Thursday evening last, and it was decided to inform the association that 'the club could see no reason why it should not adhere to the original recommendation, the secretary being also instructed to send on the referee's report. Mr. O. Baiubridge, M.A., Oxon, F.R.S.N., arrived at the Christchurch post-offico on Saturday night (says " Vaulter" in tho Press of April 26). He is now on his walk from St. Martin's Le Grand, which ho left nearly five years ago. Since then he has travelled a distance of nearly 48,000 miles on foot. Starting from London, ho traversed tho wholo of Europe, Asia, Africa, In-i (ha, China, Japan, Australia, Tasmania, and several islands. Mr. Bainbridge, who is brother to Mr. Bainbridge, M.P. for tho Lincolnshire division of Gainsborough, is the author of two novels, a play, and several songs. lie is not travelling for a wager, his idea being to write and illustrate a four-volumo work, comprising the most interesting features of tho countries through which ho passes On Monday and Tuesday Mr. Bainbridge visited (ho local schools, and last night lie delivered a public address on his travels.

THE AUSTRALASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS. A cable message from Sydney during the 11 n " nm,los the prospect of a deadlock over the Australasian Amateur Athletic Championship Meeting, which Queensland insists 011 holding on August 5 and 12 whiln New South Wales and Victoria havo'agreed upon the 12th and 14th, while New Zealand -though not stipulating dates-has agreed that the intervention of six days between the first and second day's sport is unnccessarilv ong, and may be calculated to interfere with from C ?r "l tlon ° f • t ' l ° re P rosen 'ative team from this colony, owing to the extended leave of absoncc that the unnecessary prolongation of tlio meeting would entail. The action of e Qneenshn Association in deckling spread the meeting over a week seems tn ,n thnte l f Ti!" Bri3bmo friends havo been rather llinn' 1 T P f of " B ato mo " rat.he than by a desire to arrange matter/to thl (its far as . possible) tlio convenience of the sister colonies interested, an opinion that .supported by the proposals to include handicap events in the two days' sport ZdZ introduce a football match, in innovation m 5, °'i ",I'r-'-nHSSt 1 • If tho surmise bo corrGPt fit an ii. sooner tho Queenslandors are brought to m cognise the fact that tho fostorinf of ton* sport and tlio bringing together of th» foremost athletes of tlio soveraf cdont i do battlo for the honour of tlio colon* ihl represent are the first consideration, the bet 1 L r . y 11,0 threo othor associations in terosted have consented to a deviation the> dates set down by the conference held Sydney some eighteen months ago-New Zoa land falling in with the suggestion of tin juocnsland Association without demur, of. though it was recognised that the alteration Mn^ UgU u " ,?• aco out men a t » disadvantage by compelling them to go into trainmg in the depth of wintor, a stato of affairs that would h ? v .° .been . avoided by an adherenco to the original undcrtaking-and it is to be sincerely hoped that in the best interests of tho sport - tho Queensland authorities will now seo leu ' ; ? y clear to accede to tlw.re. &° fth ° S^ r od '. es - v Indeed > if >ey (la not C ° . so, tho remaining colonies will bo placed at a decided disadvantage, as it in more

than likely that they ivill be unabiet^Sjl thoroughly representative teams when'Sl extended .leave of absence is necessary 5 i there is also tho question oi increased dituro. Every tiny that possibly can S) bo saved, as time mil have an CM ' bearing on the representation of visito-jr HAMMERS, AND HAMMER THROWING. The question raised by the New ZcalWs Amateur Athletic Association as to th , • ■ of thin wire cablo in bammcr-throwin tho outcomo of a communication from Vp R. Martin, tho well-known Dunedin tliusiast, relative to the hammer u Ee j !. : l Madill, of Auckland, when he ostabljifcjv a fresh Australasian record at the last v ß * Zealand Championship Meeting at DunSw —is an extremely interesting one, and iT decision of tho Amateur Athletic Union ,} Australasia, to which body the matter K-' been referred by the amateur authorities j this colony, will bo awaited with conateiS; i interest. Recognising the important }3-' ins 011 hammer-throwing, and finding there is nothing in the rules of the JW?' Association to prevent the metal porliojtfS tho handle being of wire rope, and that record would pass if it had been achiovrf I in America, the Athletic Union, unlike iL*-" New Zealand Association, who submit ft! question for decision and add a preiutlUt resolution to tho effect that they do noU?v sidcr the hammer used was such as is conte ? plated by the rules governing this partial fieldt sport, apparently after mature S federation has decided to recommend SI the matter he left in oheyance until it n i be placed before tho councils of the variS Australian associations. Tho (J manner in which the executive of the Mml lias approached this important point *2?; their decision to seek the advice of the'affiljfe atcd associations on the matter denotes Bp tho governing body of amateur athletics ii - Australia is composed of level-headed ma men who are not inclined to rush hastily) ■' conclusions; and this fact in itself is Lj cieut guarantee that the matter will 1 thoroughly weighed before the finding announced. At the same time, I i think the union would bo likely to stiffs a blow to its dignity as the governing bodr. or shake the confidence of afHliatcci bo® in its ability to govern the sport, by in,;;, ing the opinion of the English Association on this knotty question— heads are if ways better than one, and although it by been pointed out that wo are quite capablj of carrying out the sport on this side of tin world without outsido assistance, it b ou m certainly do no harm to seek the 00-operatira and assistance of the governing body of ttj Mother Country in arriving at a decision * As pointed out by tho Australasian Unim the somewhat- vague rules of the Enffl Association on the conditions of hammer,' throwing gives little or no idea of what if contemplated in the way of a- handle, audi, ' I have not followed this particular b'rancS of the sport closely I do not feel - to express an opinion on the point, thond ' it certainly seems that the many clan™ effected in the form of the missile of gj, . years calls for some new and more defalk' condition being framed as to what ehali, ct shall not, constitute a hammer. In fa: gone by a lead head and cane or woods'? handlo was recognised as the correct Ilia i ; : at our championship meetings, and, infet ) right up to the last New Zealand gather™ feat Dunedin no departure had been mat Then we wero confronted with three jdj'-r" tinctly different hammers. There was tie old-fashioned hammer with the cane hands ' owned, I believe, by .R. Martin—a' to hammer with a fine metal handle ui swivel (allowing of more freedom in ft ' swing preparatory to delivery), just bro:^' out from England by Mendelssohn, a Canto-}' bury athlete, who had been attending ttj. • lego at Homo, and the missile used by Mall I with a handle of wire cable, with a swivel it ' tho lowor end fastened to an iron staple U | into the lead head by means of a piece i i copper wire. Where Madill got the iii V' from I do not know, though it seems ma' V than probable that lie has been watching ft' ; rapid strides made by our American cou-ii V in tho field sport, and finding that the nt' provements effected to the hammer were is no small measure responsible for the tear! smashing that has been going on, devised th handle used at Dunedin, retaining the spha cal head as provided in the English instead of tho torpedo-shaped head d which the Americans have been putting q , their records. That the hammer used 6 'it Madill possesses an advantage over tie a V hammer with tho cane handle, there caul X. no doubt, as tho introduction of the srii prevents any jarring when the throweri gathering momentum (in turning) prepa .. Tory to delivery, while the cable presti y less resistance to the atmosphere when tt f:'. missile is in flight. Tho Aucklander s? ; it is five to six feet better than tie handle, and I quite believe it, but -t!l question is, is wire cable permisaW, Madill is confident that it is. Us .