ATHLETICS. NOTES BY AMATEUR.

Otago Witness, Issue 1994, 12 May 1892, Page 31

ATHLETICS. NOTES BY AMATEUR.

A meeting of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association was held last month, when the following reinstatements were made : — A. W. Williams and H. E. Williams (Manawatu), Charles F. Day (Napier), J. F. _ Manning (Palmerston North). W. Crawford (Christchurch) was requested to apply again in October. An application from J. M'Phail (Auckland) was held over pending receipt of information from the Auckland Amateur Athletic Club.

A letter was read from Mr Herbert, hon. secretary of the English Assopiation, extending a hearty welcome to the New Zealand representatives, and stating that the English A.A.A. would allow the New Zealand Association to affiliate. Mr Croxton, hon. treasurer, reported that the total subscriptions towards the trip of the New Zealand team to England would be sufficient to meet the expenses, and that some additional ones were still coming to hand. It was resolved to publish a complete list of the, subscriptions. At a meeting of the New South Wales A.A.A. held on April 6 it was decided to postpone the championship meeting, which was to have been held on the 14th May, until the 24th September. "<- A three-miles match has been arranged between J. Kibblewhite, the famous Swindon runner, and H. A. Heath, who has made such a name for himself in Southern cross-country circles this winter.

At the Clare College sports, Cambridge, H. Le Fleming, the president, cleared sft 7£in at the high jump, and he soon afterwards appeared in the 120 yds Hurdle Race, where he got home in the splendid time of l&£sec. A tug of war competitor has died from the the effects, it is said, of the struggle he took part in a little while ago in-Darlinghurst, Sydney. The Dunedin Amateur Boating Club executive are getting up an amateur tug of war competition to start on the 24th May, with the object of raising fun.ds for the building of a new boat shed. The competition will be confined to teams representing athletic, cycling, boating, gymnastic, football clubs, &c, and each member of the team must be able to comply with the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association's definition of Bn amateur. The* prizes will be 10 gold medals for first and .10 Bilver for second. ■ • The opening of the .South Canterbury Amateur Athletic Club's annual "sports took place on the 4th inst. The weather was fine, and the track in good condition. The first event on the programe, putting the stone, was won by C. E. Smith, with a pufc of 30ft 2£in. H. A. Robinson threw the cricket ball 94yds 2ft, Postlethwaite being second. In the 100 yds N. L. Gurr was first, and E. A. "Robinson second. Time llsec. W. J. Philp won the Pole Jump, clearing Bft 3in. Gurr had another win in the Half Mile, and finished about syds in front of Rees. The time, 2mii. 1 2-ssec. was very good. W. Toshack pulled off the Onemile walk in 7min 52sec. Postlethwaite had an easy win in the 120 yds Hurdles in^.7 2-ssec. In the Quarter Mile flat Gurr scored his third victory, with G. Strachan second. .Time, 53 4-ssec. Postlethwaita cleared 20ft s£in in the- Long Jump, the second man, Hassal, doing 18ft 9in. In the Steeplechase, distance about one mile and a-half, the prizes for which were given by the ladies, C. G. Rees won easily in 9min 57sec, C. E. Smith being seoond. The next event was the 250 yds Flat, which was annexed by Gurr. This being his fourth win for the day. Strachan was secomd; and the time was 28 l-ssec. A Boys' Race of 150 yds was won by Holmes (Waitaki High School). The last event for the day, a 600 yds Handicap, was won by Rutherford 40yds in 75£ sec. Whelan 35yds was second. Rees and Gurr also started in this race from scratch, the former getting third place. His time for the distance was 79sec. The second day was handicap day, and with the assistance of starts the second raters were enabled to win most of the events. Whelan with 60yds won the Half Mile in 2min, Rutherford 40yds being second. Gurr scratch managed to get the lead once, but Whelan was too good for him at the finish, The 150 yds Flat was won by Hayward 9yds in 15 3-ssec. J. Ford 200 yds won the Two-mile Walk in 15min 49 l-ssec. In the 440 yds Hurdles, F. W. Fish Byds was first, L. Matson 15yds second. Time, 66 3-ssec. The 250 yds was won by Sumpter 18yds, Hayward 15yds second. Time, 26 4-ssec. Rees won the One Mile in 4min 49 3-ssec. Sumpter scored another win in the 120 yds Flat, with 9yds start, in 12 2-ssec. Postlethwaite carried off the High Jump, clearing sft lin. In the 440 yds Flat, Bowie 45yds was first, with Matson 18yds second, the time being 52sec. There was a Two-mile Flat Race, in which five of the starters had the limit handicap of 440 yds ; and Feilden, one of the five, won the 'event in 9min 55sec. There were also decided two bicycle races, an Official's Race, and 100 yds Consolation.

The race for the 10-Miles Amateur Championship of England took place at Stamford Bridge, London, on March 26. There was a big entry, but rather of the ragged brigade, so much so in fact, that in the absence of W. H. Morton, who won in 1891, long odds would have been freely laid on two men, Thomas (Ranelagh Harriers) and Heath (South London Harriers) against the field. The latter was said to be nothing like fit enough for a journey of the description, and that considerable pressure had to be exercised to induce him to come to the post. Be this as it may, he stood not the slightest chance against Thomas. It was a case of Eclipse first and the rest nowhere. The little Ranelagh man did not stay long with his field, but went right away from the first, and even, tually won by nearly a lap in 93min 25 X*sseo, a grand performance, which has only been twice beaten in the event, but the day was all in

favour of fast running. Heath was certainly second with 54min 27 4-ssec, but on this form cannot have the slightest chance against Kibblewhite in the three-mile match at the Oval. Wade (Leeds Harriets) was third, Randell (Finchley Harriers) fourth, and Pearce (Birchfield Harriers) fifth. There were 22 starters, and of these nine gained standard medals for finishing inside 56min 30sec.

On the same day the Ten-mile Scottish Championship-was decided. The starters were Carment Mackinlay, Smith, Hume, Hunter, Addison (E.H.), and M'Morrow (W. of S.). From the start it was evident that the race lay between Addison and Hunter, who kept making the pace throughout, the former latterly winning by about 40yds, followed byM'Morrow and Smith, a lap and a lap and a-half behind respectively. The time given was 56min 57sec, which is much slower than all the former records, although the race was run under perfect weather conditions.

H. Curtis is a claimant for records for walking at the next meeting of the English A. A. A. Record Committee, as follows : — One mile, 6min 36sec ; two miles, 14min 2 2-ssec (July 4, 1891), and 14min 2 3-ssec (April 5, 1891) ; eight miles, lhr lmin 6 l-ssec (July 18, 1891). The walking of Curtis, the amateur champion, last year was one of the leading features of the athletic season. He established these three new records on three successive Saturdays. At the same meeting G. B. Shaw, the old New Zealander, will make the following claims for records : — 300 yds hurdle race (3ft in height), 36 3-ssec, May 20, 1891, at Sheffield, in sports of Hallam C.C. ; 300 yds hurdle race (hurdles 3ft 6in in height, race run on cinder track), 39 2-ssec, July 18, 1891, at sports of Salford Harriers ; 440 yds hurdle race (10 hurdles of 3ft in height, race run on cinder track), 57 l-ssec, August 12, 1891, at Douglas, Isle of Man, in sports of Douglas Harriers ; 440 yds hurdle race (hurdles 3ft 6in in height, race run on grass), lmin 2sec, September 3, 1891, in sports of Brighton A.C. (same time as achieved by Shaw at Christchurch, New Zealand).