ATHLETICS AND CYCLING

NZ Truth, Issue 1001, 31 January 1925, Page 11

ATHLETICS AND CYCLING

Notes And Comments

(By "Starter.")

To run a hundred yards from the scratch mark m lOsec is a great performance, and Dave Paris succeeded m doing it m Hawera last Thursday week at the electric light meeting there. The performance was genuine; I was there, and saw it done. The track is fairly fast and has a good couch grass foundation. Paris won his heat m 10 l/ssec. The next fastest heat was 10 2/s sec and two .other heats were 10 3/ssec. The' final was set off to a good start and Paris fairly hurled himself over the distance and won by a couple of fecit. The second and third men, Maitland (Wanganui), 9yds, and Telfar (Wanganui), 6yds,, were the placed men m the 10 2/ssec heat. The timekeeping was genuine, and outside of this race the times recorded were only average, except m the 440, which was won by Maitland (Wanganui) from 35yds m 50 l/ssec. Hunter (New Plymouth) was second from the 30y'ds mark. The pace m this race was a cracker, so much so that such a proved stayer as Don Priestly (Wellington) couldn't see the distance out.

In the mile at Hawera, Don Priestly, the N.Z. University Champion, was on the scratch mark, but the handicaps were far too generous and Brewster (New Plymouth) finished first from the 130 yds mark, M. Clark (210 yds) was second, and C. Bayley (160 yds) third, the time being 4min 31sec. Priestly ran a very game i-ace unpaced and kept trying to the bitter end. His effort was appreciated by the crowd. Budd. (Wanganui), 10yds, was well out at the finish, but showed a nice style and should improve a lot yet.

The Hawera <Club is probably the most active little body of its kind, m New Zealand, and through the boundless enterprise and energy of its officials is reaping a measure of success that is well deserved. The club's electric light meetings are very fine indeed and the public are well catered for m every way. The officials cannot do enough for visiting athletes and they go to any trouble to please.

Up Wanganui way the opinion seems to have got abroad that Fisher is a champion hurdler, but I can name several m New Zealand who could easily beat him — Lander (Dunedin), Low (Canterbury), Whyte and Dunbar (Wellington) for instance.

Between Club Captain Benson and Secretary Mclvor the affairs of the Wanganui Club are looking up considerably and athletics ■ there are fast coming back into public favor. Properly handled and advertised, the New Zealand Championships should be a boon to the West Coast centre.

Leo Marter, of the Hawera Club, is a good starter, but Leo thinks he. would be much better if only he could get a starting pistol. • At present he is com-« pelled to use a shot-gun, which sometimes goes bang and sometimes only fizzes, thereby putting Leo, and also the runners, into a state of exasperation. A permit to purchase a starting pistol has been' applied for, but • no more has been heard of it. ' "Starter" assures the police that by hastening the issue of- this permit they will be doing the athletes, a good turn and also saving 1 considerable wear and tear on the starter's nerves.

• A correspondent writes from Canterbury as follows: — "We have plenty of running down here these days, the sprinters being very well catered for. We have the usual, Tuesday evening meeting and latterly 'on Wednesdays and Saturdays, the English Park people having been including an amateur sprint m their programme. The boys are coming along very well with all this running. Brownlee is m. splendid form and won the 100 yds on Wednesday from the mark m 10 l/ssec, repeating his performance of the evening before, when he won his heat at Lancaster Park m i the same time. If he retains his form, Jenkins, Tracy and Co. will have to look to.- their laurels. Carrick. is not properly wound up yet and should have a great show m the 120 yds hurdles if he coulrl be persuaded to make the trip to Wanganui. Another good boy here is a youth of 17 , named Murphy, who' is registering splendid times over the shorter distances. The centre have decided to run off several of the Canterbury Championships at evening meetings and the remainder at English Park m connection with the big afternoon meeting set' down for February. As the 220 yds and the 120 yds hurdles will be decided on Tuesday week tt looks as if Low must be m the:.hunt m about half a dozen events. In some quarters he 1j greatly fancied m the sprints. He ran 10 1/5 last year and should run a fine furlong. Those who have seen him m training are, of opinion that with proper coaching he would be the finest' quarter-miler ever seen, m the country. With stamina, speed and a great stride, a '48' quarter is not beyond- his powers. Anyway; as an all-rounder I don't think we have seen his like m- the Dominion. I wonder if any of your people will be down this way m February for our next meeting. I'm sure we could do with a -'few outsiders to give the meeting interest. As 1 far as the New Zealand Championships are concerned we have only a few up to the standard, and they are Low, Brownlee, Carrick, McHolme and Farrell. ' J>. H. Nalder is still about but is not running-. Batstone, our pole-vaulter, is, I believe, m Auckland. Bert Hall, a handy jumper and hammer-thrower, will wear West Coast colors now as he is m Hawera. Buckhurst is not m training and Lewis is etill out with his knee. As regards the Eteyeneaux- Cup, the C.A.A.C. have not a half -miler capable of doing 2.10 unless they dig up Chas. Taylor. Lewis being on the shelf, they would have to depend on Carrick, Maxwell and Barrell. . How are things in ' Auckland? One hears nothing of their champions, but they have good men m Griffin and Nesdale among others. We were all highly edified by the N.Z. Council's action m demanding that the medals be made m Wellington. : The. consensus of opinion down here is that if the medals were made according to specification it matters not that the local jewellers get the. order. As far as the visit of the Australian athletes is concerned, there is a feeling here that they are not of sufficient quality to warrant the expense. I'm sure that m the Dominion we have athletes that will, show them the way all along the line."

[Our correspondent seems to be misinformed about the medals controversy. The N.Z. Council did not demand that the medals be made m Wellington.- It was the Auckland Centre that demanded that they be made m Auckland and refused" to. get competitive tenders from the Auckland firms to. compare with other ifr.Z. ciuotationa. I liave every reason to believe that the Council would have had the medals made m Auckland if the Quotations had at all approached those received from other firms.— "Starter."] . „ A man is only as old as he feels, and the President of the Canterbury Cenr tre, who.' is also -a prominent light m Rugby football circles, was recently feeling very youthful, and a deal too sprightly for his athletic . friends who accompanied him over ■ the Milford Sound track. /They did the journey over and back; a distance /of 32 miles, m one day, climbing over the McKinnon Pass m 1 hour 52 minutes. Charlie led the way, and it is rumored that he still had a kick left when the party reached the. end of the journey at midnight. . ■ , '-.■ '.

A Canterbury opinion: A prominent Christchurch athlete writes to "Starter": "The trouble over the ladies' events is a good instance of the ability of some of the Council's delegates towards the advancement of athletics. Also, I intend asking my centre to put forward a remit to the meeting of delegates m Wanganui to have the walking events scratched off the list of championship events for points counting .for shield.- you knoar .why* Tie

trouble I saw m Adelaide, the trouble m Hobart and the beautiful exhibition at Dunedin last year convinces me that walking should be a sport on its own. I have never yet witnessed a walking race without trouble."

At Gisborne, D. Paris succeeded m defeating the N.Z. 100 yds champion, C. H. Jenkins, over a hundred yards m a , special invitation z*ace. Paris z'an well and was clear of both Jenkins and Paltridge (Gisborne) at the tape. However, Jenkins gave a taste of his quality m the 100 yds handicap, and, after running indifferently m his heat into second place, won the final m most convincing fashion m 10 2/5 sec.

The Oakley boys are riding well and made the pace very hot at Masterton last week. Cyril Flett could not head them on this occasion, but I am convinced that he has improved sufficiently to make the next "Wellington Provincial Championships interesting. Har r rison, of Wellington, has not yet r developed much judgment m racing, and judgment is an essential part of a rider's outfit.