BRITISH ATHLETICS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 9998, 15 June 1918, Page 11

BRITISH ATHLETICS

REFORMING THE SPORT PREPARATIONS FOR THE GOOD DA IB AFTEit THE WAR. i (From 0«r Special Correspondent.) ' ' '"' _ IiONINJiV, ''April io."--; Athletcis is the itret braacji ui »i*>rfc wuofl ia goiiitf to be put into toe Jieii- . ing PV>t anu relonned tor tno ijooU uijj tiiat wo are all looking forward to aitci tne war. Tne Auiuteui Asbociation lii«> aono splendid work in heipng to kindle utnietio entausaaam in army Eraiilms and in bringing toa sport to thousanus vviio used %g kni&tta through thedj spur** tune wifclwrtit any healthv intarest. Having made converts of the men as soldiers, ther hope to retain them' within - the ;:old,as civilians. So a special - com-" j mittee :haa been appointed to- draft' *i national eoheme which will take in the": men as ther are demobilised. It i* also hoped to devise means by- which th& more or less athletically trained youth on leaving school or college may be attached to some organised athetio association. The scheme aims to promote national fitness rather than to encourage men to specialise in any confined branoh of sport. The epecialist idea was favoured when it was found that England was lagging behind as ©onv petitors in the Olympic games, : but ■. it : has dropped because it has been conclusively proved during the war to be a badly founded prlnoiple. In the armv a man has been taught to ''play for the honour of the regiment" tp sink his personal ambitions in the interests of hia side. America, where the specialist has been cultivated to a greater extent than in any other country, has also been brought to this point of view and it now eeems oertaln that if ever the Olympic games are again revived thov will be oonducted on totally different lines. They will be made, national championships rather than individual championships. Tho personal success will be subordinated to the collootire success of a nation s represen- ' tativee.

That field athletios are in a stronger position to-day than before the war is indicated by the splendid support which is now given to the public • schools' ohampionships. These have just been held, and the entry was excellent, though Harrow, tho holders of the cup, were not represented. This, however, was solely due. to tho fact that so many of the school's competitors have gon© down and entered officer cadet battalions* or gone up to Sandhurst or Woolwich. In the absence of Harrow the ohampionship was secured by Rugby, mainly through tho fine running of B. A. Montague who won both the mile and the steeplechase.

fihould the professional footballer bo compelled to workf This Is one of the great questions whioh will have to be settled when the game is resumed after the war. Some time ago Mr J. O. Clegg, probably speaking on behalf of the Football Association, laid it down that no man ought to bo registered who was not prepared to undertake some useful work during the week. There was no place in the game for him. This broad principle is generally ' accepted, for it was nothing short of a scandal that men should be allowed to loaf around a ground and play cards in front of the dressing room fire for five days of the week under the pretence of training. AVorso than that, for four months in the summer they were in complete idleness, and at the same time drew full wages, which usually enmo out of the private pockets of the club direotors. Such a state of affairs, it is felt, cannot be tolerated any longer. It is bad for the majority of clubs, who cannot stand this never-ceasing drain on their financial resources, and worse for tho men inasmuoh as they grow up to idlo habits, and are left stranded without thp moans to earn their living when their playing days are over. But tho question is not easily settled. It is essential that tho olubs should be able to call on their men whenever they want thorn—sometimes in mid-week for replayed cup ties, and moro often on a Friday afternoon for a long railway journey wliioh cannot be undertaken on the day of a match.. Can employment be found under these conditions P Few masters will be willing to release a man whenever he makes the request—to play football. This is the difficulty, and it will be for tho authorities to find eomo way out of it, by doing away with all mid-week fixtures, and possibly be regrouping the clubs to shorten the railway journey*.