ATHLETICS

Southland Times, Issue 19720, 28 November 1925, Page 19

ATHLETICS

(By “Observer.”) Entries far the big professional championship meeting, to be held on December 29 and -30 on the Caledonian Grounds, Dunedin, under the auspices of the Otago A.C.C., close on December 11. At this meeting, the biggest held in the South Island, £435 is to be distributed in prizes. Athletes who are considering a sports circuit during the Christmas holidays will be interested to know the dates of the following meetings:—Edendale, December 25; Balfour, December 26; Mataura and Lime-

hills, December 28; Ryal Bush, December 29, Browns, December 30; Tuatapere and Waikaia, January 1; Riversdale, January 2. As its share of the proceeds of the All Gold Art Union, which proved such a success, the Invercargill Amateur Athletic Club will receive the useful sum of £250. This money is to be invested by the trustees and the interest, though it will not amount to very much, will be extremely useful to the club. Intending competitors at the athletic meeting to be held shortly at the Exhibition at Dunedin will be w&U advised to send their entries immediately to the Director of Amusements, as the closing date, December 5, is drawing near, and there is very little likelihood of an extension of time. The logs for the axemen’s events are now being cut at Tuatapere. Entries for the 100yds and 880yds at the Otautau sports meeting, to be held next Wednesday, are quite satisfactory and the ability of the competitors promises some interesting races. A good programme of running, bushcraft and dancing events will be run off. Among the competitors are R. C. Morgan, A. G. Harrington, W. A. N. Allison and G. Nichol. On December 28 the annual meeting of the Mat aura Athletic Society will be held, and present indications point to a highly successful day. Altogether £250 will be distributed in prizes, the Sheffield being worth £25, the 15-inch underhand chop championship £23 and a silver cup valued at £lO 10/-,' the 15-inch underhand chop handicap £l7 and the mile cycle race £l4. A good list of field events will also be decided. Entries for the woodcraft events close on December 4 and for the running events on December 11. For the annual Tuatapere sports on January 1 a particularly attractive programme of bushcraft, running, piping and dancing events has been arranged, including two clay bird shooting events, for which the first prize in each case amounts to £5. For the 15-inch underhand chop handicap £47 10/-, together with a handsome gold medal presented by Messrs F. R. Plumb (America), will be the prize money. Runners are also well catered for, six events being set down. The Sheffield is worth £23 in prize money. Nominations close on December 10. Joie Ray, the famous American mile runner, has announced his ott-repeated intention of forsaking the track for the rope arena. ‘‘Chesty,” as he is better known in the States, was, before his break into athletics nearly a dozen years ago, a boxer of no mean ability, and is said to have kept up his practice with the gloves. Even so, Ray will find his 30 odd years a big handicap in the ring. His last race was a special two miles handicap, in which he met Willie Ritola, the Finn, and a small handicap field at the Knights of Coldmbus indoor meeting in New York. The race proved a fiasco so far as Ray was concerned, Ritola finishing an easy winner in 9mins 27 3-ssecs, Ray being fourth over 100 yards in the rear. “BURNING UP THE BOYS.” OVER-COMPETITION AT SCHOOL SPORTS That the keenness of some boys at school sports meetings frequently does them a great deal of harm physically is a wellknown fact and has been demonstrated time and again by medical authorities and others. At the recent school sports meeting at Rugby Park, zeal to win the coveted championship again outstripped discretion and many of the children, after running in three or four events, were quite exhausted. This was, regrettably, very noticeable among the girls, several of whom ran in three or four sprint events which had several heats. However, it is rather late to bring up this subject now, and one can only hope that in future meetings the school masters, who are really responsible for this state of affairs, will restrain the children, particularly small girls, from entering for more than one or two events. The New Zealand Council has refused to sanction athletics for even grown women and this refusal must stand with doubled force in the case of young children. The danger does not lie so much in the muscle strain than in the excessive call on the heart and other organs. It must be little consolation to an athlete crippled by a strained heart to know that in his younger days he was champion at such and such a distance.

An unwise step by the Southland Boys’ High School sports body was the holding of a three-mile race in which it was practically obligatory for every boy not physically fitted for the event to enter. Due discretion was of course used, and boys reluctant to enter for any reason were exempted. The fact remains, however, that even if compulsion was not used boys of very tender years were persuaded to run and very grave harm may have been done. Even if a boy were in perfect health > hard run for three miles is enough to harm the strongest constitution.

In this connection an Australian writer states: —Now that the period of school sports has again come round it may be opportune to question the advisability of setting too great a task on the youthful aspirants for athletic honours. lam particularly referring to the under-age contests in the school programmes. It is frequently seen that a boy of immature age has competed in and probably won, three events in an afternoon, and he is praised for his efforts and his grit if it be a hardfought race. It is noted also that boys of under fifteen years are often asked to run a mile race, and one case recently has come under my notice of a boy not much over ten years of age competing in and gaining third place in a contest at this distance. I unhesitating claim that this should never have been allowed. Another case is a boy at one of the recent public school meetings who long before the finish of the mile was staggering all over the track and eevntually collapsed. It was anything but edifying, and, although a boy may apparently recover quickly and the harm done not show itself at the time, the effect will “come home to roost” sooner or later.

As far as I can see the final decision rests with the sports masters and school committees, and it should be laid down that the under-age events should not be too strenuous and that one boy be not allowed more than one race, or at the most two, according to his age and soundness. The combined public schools, I note, have reduced the 300yds under fifteen to a 220yds. I do not wish to imply that what I have written is general and widespread, but there have been enough cases to warrant the matter being given an airing. The Athletic Association does not accept for membership any boy under sixteen years of age, and has the right—and has exercised such—to refuse an entry from a lad for an event which it considers he cannot encompass. The aim of athletics and kindred sports should be to fit a boy out physically for his life’s work, and not to produce a hero of a hundred contests. Even with the strong boy it is doubtful whether too early a development of his powers is beneficial. In some cases I have known this to retard the growth of boys.