ATHLETICS

Otago Witness, Issue 3864, 3 April 1928, Page 52

ATHLETICS

STORMY CENTRE MEETING. ALLEGED UNSATISFACTORY HANDICAPPING. An unusual occurrence took place at the meeting of the Otago Centre, N.Z.A.A.A., last evening, when the president (Mr E. L. Macassey), the vice-president (Mr P. VV, Breen), the sports secretary (Mr H. T. Emmerson) and the handicapper (Mr VV. H. B. Hobbs) tendered their resignations. The trouble arose out of a discussion on the question of the alleged unsatisfactory handicapplug which had been in evidence in receut sports meetings in Otago, and the ball was set in motion when the following letters were read :— The Secretary of the Civil Service Club wrote stating that at a meeting of his committee, held recently, ho was instructed to bring under the notice of the Otago Centre the extraordinary handicapping in the lolay race lieid during the evening sports meeting of February 25, in which his team was asked to concede the folowing ridiculous handicaps:—Anglican No. 1, 85yds; Caversham, 160yds; Anglican No. 2, 6Ol>yds. According to the handicapper s own handicaps they should have been: Caversham 33yds, Anglican No. 2 94jyds. In the medley race at Carisbrook previous to this the handicaps were as follows:— Civil Service scr, Anglican 15yds, and Caversham 25yds. This race was won by Caveroham with Unsversiy second and Anglican third. For winning that race Caversham had had its handicap increased by 75yds, and for finishing third Anglican had been given another 70 yards, which on the face of it was*the most ridiculous handicapping ever heard of in Dunedin. A team of world s champions would have had absolutely no chance of winning from the scratch mark, and m view of this he was instructed to ask that either the race be rerun with reasonable handicaps or that the points awarded in connection with the race be not counted for the Barton Relay Cup. The following communication was received from Mr B. R. MKernan:-—“At the sports meeting held by your centre on February 25 the centre handicapper placed me on 140 j’ards in the Mile Handicap. vet when the handicaps appeared my mark had been altered to 120 yards, from which mark I started. Since the meeting I have been informed by one of your officials that Mr Macassey and Mr Breen penalised me 20 yards in this event. As this information was given me too late to enter a protest, I would be obliged if you would explain this extraordinary conduct on the part of those gentlemen, which is contrary to the rules of any athletic body.” Mr R. Swinney: How did MKernan know that his handicap was altered? The Chairman (Mr E. L. Macassey): He was on the 120 yards mark when the handicaps were declared. Mr A. Melville: Did Mr Hobbs bring M'Kernan’s handicap back? Mr Hobbs: M’Keruan started off the 120yds mark after I had placed him on 140yds. I want to know-why he started off 120yds. I did not change the handicap. The Chairman: I told you the handicaps were altered, and you agreed to the alterations. Mr Hobbs: Only to the cycling handicaps. The Chairman: Tell the truth! I told you the handicaps for the mile had been altered. Mr Hobbs: I did not know the mile handicaps had been altered. In another race the handicaps of R. A. Malone and H. J. M'Kenzie had been altered, and M'Kenzie. who had been placed on the 64yds mark, started off 84yds and won easily. I knew the cycling handicaps had been altered, but 1 was not notified with regard to the running and first noticed the alterations when I was posting up the handicaps. The Chairman: As far as we are concerned the handicaps have been unsatisfactory; Mr Breen: I think we want to do the fair thing in the handicapping and give every man a fair spin. Mr Breen quoted the visit of the Australian athletes, stating that the handicaps were such that the local men did uot stand a chance A Member: What has that to do with ■Mr M’Kcrnau’s letter? .

Mr Breen said that M'Kernan started off the 55yds mark in the half-mile and won. The question of rehandicapping him had been discussed and it K was decided to out him on the 120yds mark in the mile race in question. At one meeting off 45yds L. Wood had run a mile in 4min 26sec. which had worked out at about 4min 34sec for the full mile, and at a succeeding meeting he was asked to give M'Kernan 140yds, though the latter had done the distance in 4min 42sec. Mr Breen went on to refer to' other alleged inconsistencies in the handicapping, some of which, he said, hid been very annoying. He considered that the handicaps were absurd and on the night of the relay race Mr Hobbs toid him that his team ought to win. He replied by saying that it would be no credit to it off the mark it was on. E had heard the Civil Service men discussing the handicaps unfavourably. With regard to M'Kernan, he had won two firsts and a second and he did not see that he had causa for complaint. Mr Hobbs: On whose authority were those handicaps altered? 1 am handicapper for the centre, and I would like to know. . The Chariman: You say you did not know that the handicaps were altered? Mr Hobbs: I do. The Chairman: You accuse me of telling a falsehood. Mr Melville: His word is as good as yours. He says he was not consulted. What we want to know is: Is the handicapping to be .carried out by the handicapper or by a select committee of the centre? We want' to know who is_ to do the handicapping, and we are going to find out before we leave to-night. Mr Hobbs: When I asked Mr Macassey for the handicaps for the relay race he had made certain suggestions, and I let them go. The Chairman: The whole trouble is that you made a mess of the handicapping, and now you want to throw the blame on someone else. Mr Hobbs: The blame has been-wrongly placed on my shoulders, and I am not going to be the scapegoat.

Mr Breen: Mr Emmerson came to me and asked if Mr Macassey had spoken to Mr Hobbs with regard to altering some of the handicaps. Mr Emmerson and Mr Macassey then went to Mr Hobbs, but 1 was not near enough to hear what races they were referring to. Mr Melville: You mean that you cannot vouch for the fact that, the handicaps were w ».i regard to running? Mr Breen: Yes. -Mr &lelv l ille ‘hen moved—“ That Mr M. Kernan be written to explaining the position, that Messrs Macassey, Breen, and Emmerson had taken it upon themselves to alter the handicaps, and that the centre disapproves of any interference with the handicapping by the handicapper.” The motion was seconded by Mr E A Bastings. The Chairman: That is a vote of noconfidence. Mr Melville: It is nothing of the sort. It means that the centre disapproves of interference with its officers. It is no business of Messrs Macassey, Breen, and Emmerson to interfere with the handicapping. If the handicapper i 3 no good, drop him, but this - “ hole in the corner ” method is unfair. Mr Hobbs has been attending to the handicapping quite satisfactorily up till now, and I think his resignation should not be accepted. Mr Macassey has enough to do to attend to his own duties without interfering with those of Mr Hobbs. Mr Suckling then moved as an amendment —‘‘ That the action of Messrs Macassey, Emmerson, and Breen be endorsed.” The amendment was not seconded. The Chairman: The cause of all this trouble is that one club is always standing out for itself alone. Mr Melville: Arc you referring to me? The Chairman: Yes, I am. Mr Melville: You are getting a bit deliberate, are you not? You accuse my club of starting all the trouble, and you Mr Hobbs his handicapping is unsatisfactory. I have never received a challenge like that from any man, and I won’t take such a statement from you. The Chairman: Well, you can take it from me now. Mr A. T. MTndoe: I regret very much that this trouble has arisen, and also that the discussion was not taken in committee. I will move—“ That the latter portion of Mr Melville’s motion with regard to the action of Messrs Macassey, Breen, and Emmerson be struck out.” I think in the interests of the sport this should be done, as the clause amounts to a motion of noconfidence. We have been getting on very well together up to the present. Mr Melville: What are you crawling under the table for? Mr MTndoe: I’m not crawling under the table. I’m only sorrj’ that the question has been so discussed. Mr MTndoe’s amendment was put to the meeting in the form of a motion and carried. Mr F. J. Rolfe moved as a further amendment—“ That a letter be written to M'Kernan stating that tho three gentlemen mentioned had taken it upon themselves to alter the handicaps for the race mentioned, and while the centre disapproved generallv of any interference in the work of the handicapper, it considered that the occasion was justified The trouble with regard to the handicapping this year, he continued, had been the rise in grade of the men who were running, and the difficulty could be overcome by regrading. The amendment was carried. Mr E. A Bastings By that you are whitewashing an unconstitutional act and creating a dangerous precedent. Mr Emmerson thcrrlendered bis resignation as sports secretary, and was followed by Mr Breen, who resigned from the vicepresidency The Chairman: After what has occurred to-night. I am not going to stay with the centro a minute longer. I resign. After further discussion, it was decided that the letter from the Civil Service Club be received Mr Hobbs tendered his resignation as centre handicapper, and it was accepted. Mr MTndoe moved —“ That the resigna tions of the president, vice-president, and sports .secretary be held over till next meeting.” Tho motion was carried. Mr R. A. Malone was' appointed handicapper for the remainder of the season.

THE OLYMPIC GAMES.

FUNDS TO SEND SIX REPRESENTATIVES. WELLINGTON, March 27. Though the chances of sending a rowing teain to the Olympic Games seem rather remote at present, it appears that there are sufficient funds to send six other- representatives to the Games, stated the chairman (Mr H. .tmos) at a meeting of tire New Zealand Olympic Association to-night. The organisers’ report showed that £530 had been collected to date. Exception was taken to the criticisms that the campaign for funds had been extravagant, too late, and too ambitious. The Chairman (Mr H. Amos) stated that when the appeal concluded he would visit the centres and explain why certain action had been taken. From a publicity point of view the money could not have been better spent. THE CANADIAN TEAM. OTTAWA. March 30. The Canadian Olympic team sails for on July 11. In rowing it is planned to send eight, four, and double scull crews. Joe Wright, the Canadian champion, will scull with Jack Guest in the doubles. ANOTHER CONTESTANT FROM AUSTRALIA. SYDNEY. March 31. With a steady increase of the Olympic Games appeal fund the Olympic Council has added Bonnie Merling (swimmer) to the list of those who are being sent.

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION. WELLINGTON, March 27. Notification was received today by the secretary of the countil of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association that at a meeting of the executive of tho Amateur Athletic Union of Australia and New Zev la.nd the following delegates were appointed to represent the union at the conference to lao held in Amsterdam in Juiy in - connection with the International

Amateur Athletic Federation;—Messrs D. ». Carter (Queensland), V. Horniman (Now land) '' a es) and Dr Porrit t (New Zea-