NOTES BY AMATEUR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2669, 10 May 1905, Page 58

NOTES BY AMATEUR.

Taking a line through the poor attendffoces at the athletic meetings in Melbourne jand Sydney, where Shrubb and Duffey com-t-peted, it would appear that amateur ath- : pieties in the Commonwealth is in a bad \mxr when even world's champions fail to The Scottish athletes A. A. Cameron and L<x- H. Jobnstone, who departed from New ftZealand recently for England, were in Sydftney a few days ago, en route for the Home '^Country. While in the Harbour City the /athletes were engaged by the Fitzgerald of circus fame, to give four performances at the circus. During one of the {performances Cameron is said to Slave put the 161b shot a distance of . "48ft lOin, which, if the put is correct, Ttedipses Ralph Rose's record of 48ft 7in. I In reply to a professional runner named Patrick _I have received the following comtnunication from L. C. M'Lachlan: — Dear {Amateur, — In a recent issue of the Times 5e pedestrian signing liimself W. Patrick j iaccepts what he terms my challenge for fcßso or £100 over a distance of 100 yds on v any tract in Dunedin. Now, lam not - Vware that" I have been throwing challenges jbroadcast. Anything I have issued of that Mature of recent date has been over three fiifitanoes — namely, 100, -120, 150 yards — and pas special reference to one man — C J. - "Morris. Mr Patrick does not state whether —^heVhas deposited any amount as a guarantee - jof His intentions. - Mr Patrick is to -me an quantity on- the "path," and I Yam rather sceptical as to the genuineness jOf the "defi." A deposit, say, of £20 wit'i j jronby Mr Patrick as a guarantee that busi- j Hness is meant might help to dispel the idea- j

!.tha,t the man .and money are illusionary. — "ii am, etc., L. O. M'Lachlan, Invercargill, May 2, 1905. . 4 The Australian press is not quite unanimous over the result of the International

'200 yds run at Concord, Sydney, on Easter 'Monday. There appears to have been a 'difference of opinion between the judges, kme declaring that DuSey won by a touch, that Barker breasted the tape first. One Sydney paper declares Duffey won by ihalf a yard. The race was declared a "dead heat between Barker and Duffey; , half a yard away. The time was )losec. The American declined to run off. ! .In connection with the Easter festival of the Stawell Athletic Club, C. A. Mac- ■ .ienzie, "of Mount Gambier, won the Easter [Gift, a Sheffield- handicap of 130 yds. The "event is of lOOsovs; first 70sovs, second . .20sovs, third ldsovs. Mackenzie started joff the lO^yds mark, winning" in 12sec. This Wakes Mackenzie a speedy sprinter. ,\i Though not so brilliant * star in the athletic line as was C. B. Pry in his 'varsity |days, J. -E. Raphael, the cricket and_ Rugby international blue, is evidently a good alljround man, for" at St. John's College (Oxford) sports the other day he won no fewer „ xhan "five events — viz., 100 yds, llsec ; 120 yds J BEEurdle Race, 17 2-ssec; Quarter-mile, 53-4-ssee; Long Jump, 17ft 3£in; Weightjputting, 31ft 6in. •• v The harrier season is in full swing, and ithe roads and hills are being taken posses'pion of each Saturday by large packs of j 'determined runners. The. practice is, I jibelieve, *a growing one to finish up with afternoon tea; generally, "indeed, the -team •-.xxras from ; the house -of Jsom& interested

'supporter, who gives the club an invitation. ,iWhile these invitations aTe very enjoyable 'and pleasant, it is wise to limit the number jtin-the- season. The sport -is apt to come in a certain amount of ridicule ii every

sees a list of reports in which the'"afternoon tea largely 'figures. Besides, in jthe interests of the runners, it is questionable whether a meal immediately after a -lone run is advisable.

\ The Five-mile Invitation Handicap, which created confusion at the Sydney Cricket '.'Ground on April 15, was re-run on Wednesday, April 1. It ended in A. H. Shrubb ■winning by 40yds, R. Shiver, 3min 35seo, ibeing second ; and A. Wood (2min 50sec) about _ 20iDyds away third. Shrubb's time .was 25min 4'3-sseo, easily an Australasian a-ecord, the previous best, belonging to G. (Blake, of "victoria, being 27min +3 7-10 see. "It was only 31 l-ssec outside his world's „ amateur record of 24min 33 2-ssec, so that .the -performance was a splendid one. The ."official timekeeper, supplied the following Jiimes by Shrubb for the intermediate distances-. — -.One mile, 4min 42 3-ssec; two aniles, 9min 45 2-ssc (N.S.W. rcord) ; three railes, _JL4min 52~3-ssec (N.S.W. record); Sfour miles. 20min 0 3-ssec (Australasian re?eord); five miles, 25min 4 / 3-sseo

|(Australasian record). Shiner's per--lormance was a good — one, his actual time Being 28min 48see. *H._ C. Grindal, who was regarded as the ■most difficult "man Shrubb had to beat, "did Tiot start, nor did Murray, who was dedared the winner on, April 15, or Hunter, •Jwho Teally won. JBy the Melbourne express train on EasIter Monday evening Alfred Shrubb and lA.rth.ur Duffey. the two famous athletes, jnrhoee doings in Australasia for the past jfew months have attracted considerable attention, left Sydney for the southern capital. There they caught the R.M.S. Ophir for (England. ~A big gathering of athletes saw *hem off. Both said they were sorry their stay in Sydney has ended. Of their tour Ihey spoke enthusiastically. Regarding the ■men he had competed against, Duffey had the greatest opinion of Barker, the. Sydney University crack. "He is," eaid the American, "the best runner I ever saw." Duffey was so impressed by. Barker's showing that he asked to be furnished with all his The Tefusal of Duffey to *erun the 100 yds Scratcfi Race at the Sydpey Cricket Ground, and to run off the dead Iheat on Monday" at Concord, created the "impression (says a Sydney writer) that the JAjnerican was frightened of the University Sack. Barker was always willing to race Jhis great rival. The honours of the contests between the pair rest with Barker. •He beat Duffey in the only 100 yds race 'definitely decided, while the American gowned Barker in a 60yds scratch race, ]$fter having beaten the pistol. . At a general meeting of the Gore Mariners it was decided to send a team of )eighfc man to Inrercargill, where a scratch Jbeet race- will bo held between teams from jfche. two Invearcargill clubs and the Gor£ Jteam, the first eight raeiv horn© to repreTserit Southland against Otago at Invereargill on June- 3. It has also been decided to hold a club Tace from Charlton 'to Gore, on May 17, for trophies donated ■fay Dr Matthews and Mr Montgomery. The Gore club has lost a good man in "Mr Bust, who has besn transferred to E^gndale. Me Bust jviU contio.ue to run

with Gore Harriers whenever possible. Mr C. L. Smith lias been elected secretary in his stead.

In order to keep amateurs before the public in Southland, the Invercargill clubs intend to put on two races at each of the interproviiicial football matches. The Gore Harriers are apparently ahead of the Dunedin clubs. Their officials in the Charlton-Gore Road Race are to be conveyed over the course in a motor oar, in order that they may be able to view both the start and finish of the race. The tcur" of the world's champions, Shrnbb and Duffey, came to a conclusion in Sydney on Easter Monday. The English distance runner was in good form, winning the Two-mile Handicap off scratch in 9rnin 44 l-ssec, and the Three-mile Invitation Raeo in 14min 54 3-ssee. The American sprinter caused a sensation in the 100 yds Interne tipnal Race, which is thus described by a Sydney paper: "The 100 yds International Scratch Race saw Duffey actually going when the report of the starter's pistol broke the stillness. Nigel Barker was after the American immediately, but Rowley remained on the mark. Meanwhile the responsible ofnoiil cried out to the flying runners, 'No start,' and managed to stop Barker 15 or 20 yards away, but Duffey, at his top every yard, bounded over the course, evidently completely oblivious of the fact that he was running alone, and snapped the thread) at the finish in 10 l-ssec. Duffey appeared surprised when tcld of what had happened, and vowed he never heard the startar's voice. The race was ordered to be re-run two hours later — a poweir which the rules of the Australasian Amateui Athletic Union give the man with the pistol in suoh circumstances, and it is also left to his discration whether he shall bring the starters back — evem though the weapon may have exploded — if the start appears to him an unfair one. It is somewhat remarkable that Duffey broke away at the first bend 'into position. Duffey refueed to toe the mark -gain for the same event, and the two Sydney oracks, Barker and Rowley, consequently would not go out. The damper that this contretemps oast upon the proceedings was intensified through a similar occurrence- further on. The final of the 60yds Handicap saw Duffey repeat his offence of earlier in the day, but the respo.ifiible official did not call him back, therefore the result remained unquestioned." Upon receipt of the cable results of the New Zealand Championship meeting, an "Expert" wrote thus in the London Sporting Life: — Shrubb's defeat in the New Zealand Mile Championship is the topic of the hour. Until we have further news, it is impossible to explain it. for his win in the Four-mile Handicap the same day shows that he was not altogether out of form, although the- time (20min 39 l-ssec) was slow enough. To be beaten by 40 yards in 4min 27 2-ssec suggests that there was something wrong in the running of the raoe, and it is not the first time Shrubb has been beaten in this way at one mile. The 'truth is, that his forte is staying, and not pace, and if he ever does show wonderful time at a mile it will be through his staying powers. He can go a quarter at nearly his top speed, and stay on for five miles, but given a slow run mile, there 'are half-a-dozen men in London who would hold him on the last lap. His confrere, Duffey, won the 100 yds Championship m 10 2-55&3, very poc: time for New Zealand, which- has seen lOsec beaten many times. Probably the weather affected the times. We very much doubt the of including handicaps m championship meetings especially if the prizes are— as> is generally the case— out of all proportion to the value of the championship medals. An old-time American sprinter -and a latter day "coach" and athletic instructor named Fred Stone has been giving his views on modern athletics. He asserts that " footracing, either in the form of sprinting or long-distance running, has reached its highest perfection." Not since 1879 has there been a single improvement in form, and if any records are lowered in the future it will be due, not to form, but to mere superior ability. Running has reached its zenith, but the field events, such as hurdling, jumping, pole-vaulting, and throwing the weights have a brilliant future before them. With the exception of the crouching position at the sta.rt, no permanent change has been made since 1879, and, even the crouching start is no better way of starting than the straight-up, knees-bent, ready-to-go style. It was introduced solely for the sake of amateiir sprinters, and was brought into active use "by the colleges because there were so many novices at the game there. The idea of the crouching start is this: It serves only to steady the sprinter. It does not offe. a position to him for a faster start. With amateur sprinters the old method of starting was a hard one. They were naturally nervous, and it was hard for them to_keep balanced. By the crouching start they get a better chance to steady themselves. This is the only reason -why it is now so popular. Nearly all the shorter distance world's records were made with the standing start. The crouching start is one of the few innovations that have lasted. It has been a benefit in that it helps the amateurs and novices and those new to the game. Professional runners, amateurs, trainers, and coaches have worked on the stride, starting, finishing sprint, ways of touching ground, etc., but there is nothing new. Way back in 1879 the sprinting game was perfected. So it was with the longdistance game. What records have been made since that time have been only the fruits of this perfection of form. I do not say that the records are lowest now. No, they may even go still lower. But it will be with the same form. I regard the American college athlete to-day as far superior to the amateur athlete of any other country in the world. England is probably second to us. But they will not beat us. Why? For nearly a dozen different reasons. First, they have not got the training or coaches in England that we have here; second, they don't know how to train. Then they would not train if they did know how. Tliere are many other such reasons. But the greatest is that they have not got the coach or trainer. It makes all the difference in the world who the trainer is. Here in America we have got a dozen that are head and shoulders above any in England- There is Mike Murphy, of Tale, who undoubtedly stands alone inthis-line. Then there is Graham, of Harvard; Tim Robinson, of Princeton; Fitzpatrick, of Wisconsin; and Stags, of Chicago; and they are all exceptionally good men. When the London Athletic Club gent over its All-Eng-land team to compete against our AllAraerican team in 1904, the Englishmen did not win a single first. It was due to Mike Murjjhj. There were Englishmen yi £hat

London team who could have won firsts. The material was there, but Mike Murphy's ideas and handling were too many for thorn. That was, to my mind, the greatest gathering of he world's athletes that was e\cr seen."