ATHLETICS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23364, 2 December 1937, Page 5

ATHLETICS

By Amateur

FIXTURES " ' December 6, 13, and 20.—Centre’s evening meetings. December 11.—Dominion Empire Games trials, at Wellington. Athletic events at Otago Power Boat Club’s gymkhana at Tahuna Park. December 18.—Dunedin Amateur Cycling Club’s sports and special athletic events. 'December 27.—Roxburgh Club’s sports. January 15.—Farewell meeting to Otago athletes lor Sydney. February 5-12.—British Empire Games at Sydney. March s.—Otago track and field championships. SATURDAY’S MEETING The performances in the Empire Games trials on Saturday were extremely gratifying—-A. R. Geddes, H. J. Tyrie, T. Allen and R. G. Pilling being in excellent form. By covering the six miles in 31min 33sec, Geddes established the fastest time so far recorded in New Zealand this season, and time that was only about 30sec slower than that in which the last Empire Games event was won. With better runners to extend him and the benefit of additional training Geddes should acquit himself with distinction at Wellington and, if selected, he should make a good showing in Sydney against the Empire’s best. Tyrie showed that, in winning the 440 Yards trial in 50 4-ssec, he is coming back to the form that won for him the New Zealand title two years ago. . In fact, he is running better than ever before, and, if his foot does not spoil his final training, it should take Sayers (Auckland) and Broadway (Canterbury) all their best running to head him at Wellington. Tyrie, incidentally, equalled the track record of the, Australian Golding, and his time was one-fifth of a second better than the Otago Championship record. Allen had a fairly easy run in the Mile, which he won in 4min 34sec. In a week or two, and with better competition, he should perform well over this distance, although, of course, he is essentially a half-miler. Although Pilling was not jumping at top form, he was very impressive in the Broad Jump and the Hop, Step and Jump, and he may prove a “ dark horse ” at Wellington on . Saturday week. ■ In fact, it would not cause much surprise to see him wearing the New Zealand uniform at Sydney. These were the principal events on Saturday, but the other races were all well contested and highly interesting. NEWS FROM TIMARU ■ENTHUSIAST On the occasion of the Otago women’s championships the writer and also some officials of the Otago Centre were given to understand that Miss D. Strachan, who performed with such outstanding success in the sprints and the Broad Jump, was not receiving the attention in her home province that her performances merited. That this impression was gained by others at the meeting is borne out by the action of the Otago selector in including Miss Strachan’s name in his list of nominations for the trials at Wellington. That this promising young athlete is by no means receiving scant attention by the officials of the South Canterbury Sub-centre is shown in the following letter, received by “Amateur” yesterday:— “ Dear ‘Amateur,’ —My attention has been drawn to a paragraph in your column, stating that Miss Strachan’s performances are being: neglected by the officials of the South Canterbury Sub-centre, Evidently you have been misinformed, as this statement is contrary to fact. I am in very close touch with amateur athletic circles in Timaru, and can assure you that Miss Strachan’s performances have received a lot of publication. I might state here that so far. this, season she has had no outstanding performances in local competition, and needless to say those of us who are keenly interested in her , athletic career were very pleased to hear of her success in Dunedin. In reference to her nomination for the Empire Games, our sub-centre has had this in hand for some time, and about four or five weeks ago, when visiting Christchurch,, I called on the secretary of the centre and on Mr J. K. Moloney (selector) to find out what step's we had to take in connection with her nomination and also with Miss Oliphant’s nomination. We in South Canterbury have stressed again and again the performances of Miss Strachan and Miss Oliphant, but, as you know, in the past neither Canterbury nor Otago has been strong in the women’s section, and this side of the sport did not attract much attention in either province. Our Ladies’ Club is looked after very well, and bur only drawback in both the women’s and men’s sections is the lack of outside competition. We try to arrange coaching, and I had arranged for Tom Morrison to give some assistance to Miss Strachan, and as recently as this evening I have arranged with Phil Ward, the Otago field athlete, who is in Timaru, to come to our weekly evening meeting on Tuesday and give Miss Strachan some assistance. . I am pleased to say that sport is making progress in this district,, and to-day we have weekly evening meetings conducted by all the clubs affiliated to the sub-centre. We also conduct an inter-club scratch meeting every Saturday afternoon. The inter-club competition is arranged amongst three groups—the South Canterbury Club, the Temuka Club and four country clubs—Fairlie, Waimate, Geraldine and Pleasant Point. The most' pleasing feature of our sport is that the competitors take part in it just as they would in lawn tennis or cricket or any other sport, and are pleased to have the regular competition and weekly sport activities. No trophies or entry fees are considered, and practically, all our meetings are conducted on a points basis, members receiving a club badge if they earn a given number of points during the season. Our officials are a very fine lot, and when country meetings are on we have no difficulty in getting cars. Only last week we took out 40 officials and competitors to the meeting at Temuka. The North Canterbury Club has a a membership of close on 70, and many of the members, both women and men, make every effort to. attend country meetings. I am going to mention just one recent instance. Five of our senior members took part in our weekly meeting on Tuesday, attended and competed at the opening meeting of the re-formed Ashburton Club on the Wednesday evening, and on the Thursday evening took part at an evening meeting at the invitation of the Fairlie Club.

I would like to bring to your notice what a gpod circuit of meetings we have in South Canterbury during the holiday period, and all these meetings cater well for amateurs. On December 27 there are the Waimate and Temuka Caledonian Societies’ meetings, and on New Year’s Day the South Canterbury Caledonian Society’s sports. In addition to these meetings the St. Andrews Caledonia: 'Vhety will hold one on January 3. ram taking this opportunity of inviting any Otago athlete who may visit Timaru during the season to compete at any of our meetings. At the present time we are in the midst of laying out a new sports ground at Ashbury Park, right in the centre of the town, and only five minutes from Caroline Bay. We arc laying down a cinder track, and the ground, when completed, promises to be one of the finest sports grounds in the Dominion.—l am. etc., Timaru, November 29. Relay. CONGRATULATIONS The writer—and no doubt athletes in Otago will Join in with him—extends his congratulations, to that popular University athlete, J. M. Watt, on passing his final medical examinations. Now a fully-qualified doctor of medicine. Watt thus joins that select group of doctor-athletes, that includes Dr Porritt, the famous New Zealand sprinter; Dr J. E. Lovelock, and Dr J. J. Brownlee, ex-Otago sprinter and this year’s president of the Canterbury Centre—te mention just a few. It is to be hoped that Watt’s football injury will not prevent him from competing at the Empire Games trials or from later fixtures this season. Otago followers of athletics will always be Interested in the future of the ex-Nev/ Zealand University champion*

Congratulations are also extended to Mr E. C. Isaacs on his appointment as sub-manager of the New Zealand swimming team to go to the Empire Games. His appointment is fully merited, for he has done a great deal for numerous sports in Otago and in the Dominion as a whole. He will be a useful man for athletes as well as swimmers on the trip to Sydney. Under this heading, the writer also congratulates the Sports Committee of the Otago Centre on its optimism with regard to the selection of Otago athletes in the New Zealand team for the Empire Games. The committee decided on Monday night to hold a special “ farewell ” meeting for the Otago athletes going to Sydney. Such a vote of confidence in the ability of local athletes should give them fresh hope and inspire them to greater efforts at the Wellington trials. _lt is the committee’s intention to invite V. P. Boot, C. H. Matthews, and T. G. Broadway (Canterbury) to compete at the meeting, when the selected runners will be raced over odd distances. The committee does not wish any. of the chosen men beaten over the distances in which they will appear at Sydney. That would never do! NOTES The centre’s evening meetings will be commenced at 6.15 p.m. from now on. Post entries will not be accepted, and competitors must wear proper uniform. For the evening meeting on December 13 the programme has been slightly altered. The 75 yards for women has been changed to 100 yards, and a mile walk has been added to the programme. On December 18 the Dunedin Amateur Cycling Club will hold its championships. Included on the programme will be a special three-quarters of a mile event in which W. A. C. Pullar and T. Allen will appear. It is also probable that A. R. Geddes will appear in a special attempt to break the New Zealand 10-mile record. Other amateur athletic events will be a 220 Yards Handicap, 100 Yards Women’s Handicap, an 880 Yards Men’s Relay Race (4 x 220 yards), and a 440 Yards Women’s Relay (4 x 110 yards). A higher standard of performance generally was recorded at the King’s High School sports on Saturday. The meeting was efficiently conducted, and the events were closely followed. The outstanding performance was that of the senior cup winner, D. Sapsford. in jumping sft 4Jin, a remarkably good jump for an intermediate schoolboy and IJin better than his own record for the intermediate high jump at the recent Otago and Southland secondary schools’ championships. ATTENDANCE AT TRIALS There appears to be a feeling in some quarters (says the Sports Post) that there are certain athletes who will not be required to attend the national trials in Wellington on December 11; that the selectors consider them more or less as certainties for the Empire Games team and, therefore, will not desire to see them in action in Wellington. This, however, is not the case. .One of the selectors, Mr A. C. Kitto, stated definitely to the Sports Post last week that all athletes whom they consider worthy of a trial must attend the Wellington meeting. There are to be no exceptions. No man is to be chosen on last year’s form. The national selectors will naturally use known form as measured by capacity last season, together with recommendations by provincial selectors, to guide them in their choice of athletes to compete in Wellington, but form revealed last summer will npt be sufficient to ensure any man selection. Certainly the selectors will not lose sight of performances made last year should any athlete, who was outstanding the previous season, be beaten narrowly in his particular event at the national trials.

If any such athlete satisfies the selectors that he is not in top form, and they are sufficiently impressed to believe that with further training he would improve, then, no doubt, his selection will be recommended. But much can happen between seasons. Take the case of W. S. Bainbridge, of Auckland, who has just announced his retirement. Bainbridge won the New Zealand 220 and 440 Yards titles at Wanganui in 1935, the former event in the record time of 21 3-ssec. He was regarded in the light of this form as a possible OlymEic Games man for 1936. But what appened? Bainbridge failed to produce the same form again. It is conceivable that some of last year’s “cracks” might similarly fail to perform up to their reputations this summer.

Whatever they might have done last season, athletes in the running for places in the Empire Games team must prove to the satisfaction of the selectors that they are the same efficient men and women this year. Any “ up-and-coming ” performers must be given the same opportunity as those with established reputations, and they can only be given this if they meet the champions on common ground at the national trials. The selectors appreciate this, and that is why they desire to see all possibilities in action. That is the only way they can estimate fairly relative ability. The selectors realise that it Is unfortunate that athletes will have to be somewhere near top form on December 11, and still be required to produce similar dash in February, but the early submission of nominations to the New Zealand Olympic and Empire Games Council leaves no alternative. .

Some athletes have stated that they will not be in form by December 11; some have hinted that they may not compete at the national trials. But the selectors will expect them to. After all, if those who were knocking at the door of championship honours last season are struggling to get somewhere near their best form for the trials, then it is only reasonable to expect that the acknowledged champions must do the same. EMPIRE GAMES TRIALS If everything pans put as planned and anticipated, and with the weather also in tune, the national trial meeting, to be held on the Basin Reserve on December 11, promises (says the Evening Post) to bring together some excellent talent and provide a good measure of sport, keen competition, and a high standard of performance. The meeting is to be controlled by the Wellington Amateur Athletic Centre, with the president (Mr A. C. Kitto) directing operations, and the purpose of the trials is to enable Mr Kitto and his co-selector, Mr J. K. Moloney, of Christchurch, to run the rule over candidates for places in the New Zealand team to go to Sydney for the British Empire Games in February next. , . The programme for the meeting has been drawn up by Mr Kitto on behalf of the Wellington Centre and provides for a continuous series of events from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Not all the events will be national trials, of course, a number of handicap events having been included. At the present juncture the number of trial invitation events listed is 19, but if found necessary extra trials will be included. _ It will be noticed from the list, for instance that a hammer throwing event has not been included, the reason being that beyond J G. Decide, of whom nothing has been heard in Wellington lately, it is considered doubtful whether New Zealand has any candidates up to standard for this event. There is. of course, M, R. Spillane, of Otago, but unfortunately, he does not come into the reckoning because of the Empire Games rule debarring reinstated professionals. The list of trial events is as follows:—100 Yards. 220 Yards, 440 Yards, 880 vards. One Mile. Three Miles, Six Miles, 120 Yards Hurdles, 440 Yards Hurdles, Broad Jump, Hop, Step and Jump, High Jump, Pole Vault. Javelin Throwing, Discus Throwing, Womens 100 Yards, Women’s 90 Yards Hurdles. Women’s High Jump, Women’s Broad Jump. x . So far as the six miles event is concerned. it has been suggested that this take place on December 13, the Monday following the meeting, at 5.30 p.m. and the Wellington Centre has asked the other centres for their views on this proposal. If the other centres are agreeable, it has been suggested that the event be held at the Hutt Club’s meeting at Lower Hutt. The Otago Centre, by the way, has advised the council that the holding of the six miles on the Monday would not be suitable, as it would prevent Geddes from competing.