ATHLETICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11544, 1 December 1900, Page 6

ATHLETICS.

Had the weather been turned out to order, it could hardly have been more favourable than was the case last Saturday afternoon, when the 42nd carnival of the Auckland Amateur Athletic and Cycle Club was held on the Domain Cricket Ground. It was truly an, ideal day for a sports gathering, with little or no wind, and the track, with its springy turf, in perfect trim. The amateurs had provided a strong draw card in the shape of the meeting between M. M. Roseingrayc, the noted Irish hurdler, and G. W. Smith, Australasian and New Zealand champion, in a 120 yds invitation hurdle race, and this, combined with such favourable weather conditions, served to attract one of the largest and most fashionable assemblages seen at the club's sports for many a long day: in fact, carried one back to the eighties and early nineties, when the amateur : meet was one of the most popular outings j of the season. The sport was in every way i worthy of the day, there being hardly an J event on too programme that did not fur- I

= ' i ' ■ ' ; gggggj■» ! nish a close and exciting finish, the manag*. II ; ment excellent , and not a patron left the ■ " | ground but was thoroughly satisfied that he H or she had spent a most pleasurable after- ■ noon, the general pronouncement being that I better racing had never been witnessed on B the ground. After paying gatekeepers and I other incidental expenses on the day the B handsome sum of £231 2s lid (including* card 1 proceeds and entries), remained in hand H and it is anticipated that when the prize*. B money has been disbursed, and preliminary if expenses, such as advertising, ground rent etc., have been paid, the meeting Trill show a clear profit to the club of quite £100, the best result for years past. Coming to performers and performances the first event to claim attention is the 120 yds Invitation Hurdle Race, in which ! those two great timber-toppers, Smith arid ! Roseingrave, competed. As they crossed the j field to the starting point, both "were eagerly ! scanned, and a glance was sufficient to show that Smith was in the pink of condition though the Irishman did not impress quit* as favourably; he bore a well-trained an. pearance, but looked a bit on the light ride, and the general opinion was that he would i have been all the better had he tipped the 1 scale at about list, instead of about 10st 61b the weight at which he stripped. After a preliminary dash over the first fer.ee or two, by way of a warming up, the rivals shook I hands, and were down on the mark without, m mere ado. And then followed the greatest W exhibition over sticks ever witnessed in the W Australasian colonies, a magnificent battle » for supremacy while it lasted. At pistol- I;;j crack Roseingrave was, perhaps, the quickest 1 into his stride, but Smith was with him at ithe first hurdle, and thence to the fourth R fence there was practically nothing between them, for while Smith's greater pace on the fiat enabled him to reach the jump slightly I in front of his opponent, the Irishman ivtj always with him on the landing side, his magnificent fencing and the quickness with which he came down compensating for his want of pace. At the fifth jump the visitor had, if anything, a trifle the be'st of it, but with a supreme effort hi« plucky little opponent had ranged himself' alongside again at the sixth, and as the pair came to ground they could not be separated. Here, however, the great pace at which they had dashed down over the first few fences began to tell its t-.le on Roseingrave. and when the next fence was cleared Smith had inches the best of it; the inches improved to something like a yard at the eighth hurdle, and at the ninth. where Roseingrave rapped the sticks first jf with left and then with rifht foot, and then came down, the Auc»..ander was two yards to the good, with his man well beaten. Still going as strong as a lion. Smith cleared the last jump in faultless style, and breasted the tape in the great time of 15 5*., which is 2-ss. better than the previous be«t for Australasia (joint holders, Harold Batger and A. H. Holder, both of New Zealand), and only l-ss. behind the world's grass record, put up recently by the American won- i ( der, A. C. Kraenzlien. The time returned j was given by Messrs. G. Dunnett and F. ! I Macmanemin. official timekeepers, but un- s j fortunately the excited crowd, in their de- i sire to pay homage to the winner, rushed the 1 ground, jostling the third official timekeeper, 1 Mr. Geo. Read, who was thus prevented re- J turning his time. Mr. W. Dickey, a mom- ' 1 ber of the committee, who, at the request § of the club's secretary, checked the t:m<\ 1 returned the " go" as 15J.S-, with a watch I that did not record fifths. The watch was j| immediately handed over to the secretary, 1 and application will be made for the record, '\ though with what result it is hard to say. j It would certainly be hard on Smith should 1 he lose it, as there is no reason to doubt the correctness of the figures returned, as both ; Messrs. Dunnett and Macmanemin are ex- I; perts with the watch, and subsequent running—when the Aucklander from Vjyds bohind scratch won the 120 yds Hurdle Handicap in 16 3-55., and this after winning his heat in the 220 yds flat in 23«. from scratch, through a field—proved Smith to be doing a trifle better than 16s. It wag the pace that killed, and those who witnessed the race will agree that the Irishman was a beaten man from the sixth fence ; had he stood up the result would have been unchanged; if they ran again he would have to strike his colours to the Aucklander. A generous opponent, he admits it himself, the time was simply beyond him; he has not the pace on the 'flat to carry him to the end of the journey in the time recorded; but in all fairness to the brilliant Irishman I must confess to a belief that had ho been running a bit bigger he would have lasted ' better, -and there would not then have beta a great deal to spare at tho business end. He is quicker down over his jumps than Smith, wasting less time in the air, an advantage attributable in a measure to his greater length of leg. After witnessing .Saturday's race few will be found disputing Roseingrave's claim to be considered a great hurdler, fully up to tho reputation that had preceded him, while Smith's magnificent performance showed that he is oven, a more brilliant man than his warmest admirers held him. Both arc to be warmly congratulated. The big guns disposed of, 0. E. Hanson, winner of the Half, One and Three Miles Flat Handicaps, singles himself out as tho one to claim first attention among the others. All three races were run in. fair time, and the gameness and determination shown by Hanson, combined with his free style of moving, gave the impression that in him we have unearthed a decidedly promising distance runner. Kelly and Goldie also ran pluokily, but Tizard was rather disappointing, and has evidently seen his best day. In winning his heat in the 220 yds flat from scratch in 235., with a field of half-n-doaon to get through, our hurdles champion, Geo. Smith, must be credited with a very sound performance, while in the handicap division none of the sprinters shanod better than Heald, Williams, Fookes and Watson, the latter in particular always finishing strongly and with great determination. Our 440yifs crack, H. G. Thomson (scratch), had a big gap between himself and tho next man to cut down in the quarter mile, and a big field to work his way through, but even allowing for the disadvantage at which he was olaeed, did not run quite up to his form of former years, and, moreover, did not look , quite himself; not bearing thi bright look of a man thoroughly wound up. Another scratch man whose performance was a trifle disappointing was Anderson, the half-mile runner, who failed to gain a situation over his pet distance, and did not acquit himself as well as during last season, when I singled him out as the man to take McKean's place for the half-mile in future championship teams. Roseingrave must have derived some solace for his defeat in the hurdles by winning the broad jump later in the afternoon, clearing 21ft lOin in his second effort, and sstablishing a fresh record for New Zeal°ni!. Only once has this been equalled by a New Zealand amateur, the performer being Mr. T. F. Upfill, who, however, was unable to claim the figures owing to tho block required by tho N.Z.A.A.A. rules not being used at the take-off. Roseingrave, who lakes an unusually long run up to the jump, gathering pace as he goes, lands fairly and squarely on the block, and jumping higher than the majority we have seen competing at the field event, gives a peculiar little forward kick in flight which seems to lend fresh impetus to the jump. Though the performance ranks as a record for this colony, Roseingrave has done better than 23ft. Since last week I have heard from a friend of W. H. Madill's that there is a strong probability that the hammer and shot crack will not be able to accompany the Auckland championship team to Christchurch. Colin McAffer, the well-known amateur walker, and a membei of the A.A.A. and C.0., has been transferred to the Wellington branch of Messrs. Stewart Dawson and Co., and left to take up his duties in the Empire City during the week. Auckland's loss will be Wellington's gain, as McAffer is the present holder' of tho Australasian mile walking championship, and one who will in all probability yet prove himself equal to better things than he has accomplished in tha past. With proper attention to training, 7m. for the mile would not be much use to him. On Tuesday evening last a number of the champion's friends and admirers (Mr. F. H. Creamer, ox-champion walker of Australasia, in the chair) entertained him at a farewell " smoker" at the Rising Sun Hotel, in Newton, and at the leave-taking many good wishes were expressed for his future success. The A.A. and \J.C. must bo accounted fortunate in obtaining the sendees of Mr. W. B. Eyre as official handicapper, as nothing could have been more successful than that gentleman's efforts in connection with last Saturday's carnival, when the handicaps throughout produced great finishes. L. C. McLaohlan, the Auckland professional sprint crack, turned from Australia a few days back. At New York on October 8 Dennis Horgan, of the Pastime Athletic Club Grounds, put the 121b shot 55ft 9£in and the 161b shot 48ft 2£in, both world's records. The pre vious best with a 121b shot was 55ft 2in by G. R. Gray at Travers Island, N.Y., on June 11, 1892, while Horgan, at Quesnstown on Septembei 25, 1897, put the 161b shot 48fl 2in. Mr. L. A. Cuff, foi some years secretary of the N.Z.A.A.A.. and one of its founders, now in Tasmania, is to be married shortly. Tho famous American sprinter, M. M. Long, who created a world's record of 475. I recently for the 440 yds. was striding 7ft 6in ] for the first 100 yds. Then he gradually lesI sened the distance covered at each bound. I At 200 yds his stride was 6ft 9in, and at tho [ finish it was only a trifle over 6ft.

The Wellington A.A.C. have included three events for representatives' from public schools on tho - programme of the club's sports, to be held on December 15. Schoolboys seem to be claiming attention all over the colony now, and rightly so too, as it is to the schools that we Will, have to look for our runners of the future. The secretary of tho Now Zealand Amateur Athletic Association has written tho North Canterbury and Auckland Public Schools' Associations, suggesting"that they should f filiate to the amateur governing body. The South Canterbury Association has already affiliated, the fee being one guinea. The N.Z.A.A.A. recently refused, in flow of the terms of amalgamation of the Cyclists' Alliance with tho League of Now Zealand Wheelmen, a permit to the Richmond {Kelson) Athletic and Cycling Club to include amateur athletic events on their programme, because professional athlotic events wero to bo decided. Notwithstanding, for some reafon not easy to see (says the Christchurch writer " Vaulter"), tho chairman of the league (who is also a member of tho juricil of the N.Z.A.A.A.) stated at a meeting of his body on Monday that he would advise the Nelson Club to go on with their amateur events, notwithstanding the N.Z.A.A.A. % re final of a permit. This is a clashing of position with a vengeance. What is tho good of saying one thing to-day and doing another the very next? All that can bo said is that any amateur competing at a meeting not recognised by the N.Z.A.A.A. renders himself liable to suspension. At a meeting of tho Management Committee of the Auckand Amateur Athletic and Cycle Club on Thursday, Messrs. J. Campbell (sprints and hurdles), Sutherland (distance events), C. MoAffor (walks), and C. G. Laurie (jumps and polo vault), were selected to keep in training, with a viow of representing the club at tho New Zealand championship meeting, to be held in Christchurch on December 22. Both G. W. Smith (hurdle and sprint champion) and W. H. Madill (hammer-throwing and shot-putting champion) would, of course, have been included, but Smith had notified the committee that he intended taking a well-earned rest, while Madill, writing to a friend in Auckland a few days back, stated that there was but little hope of his being ablo to spare the time to make the journey South. In the absence of the club's top notchers, the prospects of bringing the championship banner back to Auckland were recognised as bring very remote, and this, combined with a desire to conserve the funds, prompted the management in their decision to limit the team to four, otherw.se Anderson, Hanson, ar.d Thomson would have claimed the attention of the committee.

Mr. A. A. Davis, who hi- been up-country on a visit, wired the secretary of the Auckland Amateur Athletic Club on Thursday, to the effect that A. W. Bell, the crack longdistance runner, was in training, with a view to the trip South with the championship team. On the form shown at the Exhibition sports here a ccuplo of seasons back, Pell would have been a hard nut to crack over tho distances, but as ho had failed to attend the club's Catherines when expected en several occasions, and was unable to pet away for the; Southern trip when chosen bfore, it was thought that the eommitteo would not bo justified in selecting him to tne exclusion of Sutherland and others, who hire performed consistently at tho club's nestings, for years past, and," therefore, claim consideration. While Bell's, presence would undoubtedly havo strengthened the team, it must hi said that tho view taken by the committee was a correct one, and worthy of commendation.

An old Auckland boy. Mr. W. F. Lnrkin, who for some time past has been an active member of the committee of the Wellington Amateur Athletic Club, writing under date of November 27, say?: —"Dear 'Lynx,' —The local Amateur Athletic Club are dointj their best to pull things together, having: had a bad year last season, and as we have 0110 or two very energetic officers, may do so. Our next meeting is fixed for December 15, on which date the Auckland hoys should be on their way to Christchurcli. Do you think you could pet the committee to arrange for the hoys to take part at our meeting. By so doing they would lose no time, and. as they would draw, it would be an immense help to our committee, as we are practically left to keep things moving. lam unable to say whether we will have any class runners this year, as we have had no racing yet. The telegraphed report shows you had a good meeting, and I suppose everyone ■was delighted at Smith's win." I have but little doubt but that the authorities of the Auckland Club will gladly do all in their power to assist the sister cub in the- direction indicated.

NEW ZEALAND AMATEUR ATHLETIC

ASSOCIATION. {by TELEGRAPH. —ft.ess association.] CHntsTCHVRCit, Friday. A meeting of the Now Zealand Amateur Athletic Association was held last night. 51. Eo?einsrave wrote stating that he would be unable to compete at the championship meeting unless his expenses were paid. It wos decided to ask the Auckland Association if IRoseingravo is a member of that club, *»nd the championship sub-committee was empowered to act in the matter. It was decided to ask the Permit Committee to reconsider the question of granting a permit to Richmond, of the Nelson Athletic Club. The secretary pointed out that it was un fortunate that the association had not received notice of amalgamation between the alliance and the league. It was stated that new rules, consequent on the amalgamation, were not yet decided upon.