ATHLETICS

Southland Times, Issue 21897, 24 December 1932, Page 13

ATHLETICS

, COMING EVENTS

(By

“Bystander.”)

December 26: Edendale Sports Society’s annual athletic gathering; Drummond Athletic Club’s annual sports. December 27: Limehills Athletic Club’s annual sports. December 28: Mataura Evening Sports Club's meeting. December 31: Wairio Athletic Society’s annual sports. January 2: Tuatapere Axemen’s Athletic Society’s annual sports; Port Molyneux Caledonian Society’s annual sports; Waikaia Athletic Society’s annual sports. January 3: Riversdale Athletic Society’s annual sports; Kelso, Greenvale and North Glenkenich Caledonian Society’s Jubilee sports. January 7: Winton Athletic Society’s annual sports. January 14: Otara Sports Club’s annual fixture. January 18: Lumsden Caledonian Society's annual sports. January 25: Browns Athletic Society’s annual sports. February 25: Otago track and field amateur athletic championships at the Caledonian Ground, Dunedin.. March 10 and 11: New Zealand track and field amateur athletic championships at Christchurch. March 17 (tentative): Balfour and Longridge Caledonian Society’s annual sports. Wairio Sports. For its eighth annual sports meeting the Wairio Athletic Society has selected Saturday, December 31, as its date and has drawn up an attractive programme of cycling, running, whippet racing and field events. The gathering will be held on the Wairio racecourse commencing at noon and, given fine’ weather, an ideal picnic outing should result. Nominations for the 100 yards maiden, 75 yards, 135 yards Sheffield, 220 yards, 150 yards hurdles, 880 yards, one mile flat handicap, one and two miles amateur cycle handicaps, and one and two miles open cycle handicaps, close with Mr J. A. Forde at Wairio at 8 p.m. today. Handicaps will appear in the Southland Times on Friday next, the 30th. The sports will be wound up with a dance in Gardner’s Hall at night. Cautious Pro’s 135 yards Sheffield Handicap: entries. 1,2, 3. Won by a narrow margin, inches separating second and third. Time sec. This is what the public will be reading in the newspaper accounts of professional sports meetings shortly if the pro runners carry their cautious policy much further. Not long after they got going this season they approached “Bystander” with a request that their handicaps be omitted from the reports lest their chances should be prejudiced at the coming country sports circuit. Now they have made a similar request in connection with the times recorded and the next step will probably be in regard to their names. What a hard man Mr Wally Murdock, junior must be! WITH THE AMATEURS INVERCARGILL AND ST. PAUL’S CLUBS. Followers of local amateur athletics have been treated to some fine sport lately, some outstanding , performances on the part of both Invercargill and St. Paul’s Club members being witnessed last Saturday afternoon at the Mayor’s Christmas Fund benefit meeting and again on Thursday evening at their combined fixture. Weather conditions on both occasions were ideal, the tracks at Rugby Park in good order and the times returned by the runners very fast. As keen as the proverbial mustard, the members of both clubs have been training consistently well of late and the benefit of the expert coaching freely made available to them has been reflected in their performances. Let them keep on in the same way and Southland should have its best representation yet at the forthcoming Otago track and field championships. A. C. Derbie, of the Invercargill Club, is particularly fit at present and has impressed very favourably on recent turnouts. In the first heat of the 100 last Saturday afternoon he and Pierson staged a good race, the latter beating him to the tape by a short mar-

gin. It was in the final, however, that Derbie moved the spectators to a high pitch of enthusiasm for, off a 2yd. mark, he romped home in 9 4-ssec. Even allowing for the fact he beat the pistol, it was a very creditable performance. Thursday evening as a result, found him scratch man and he was unplaced in both the 75 and 100. Over-eagerness at the start got him into trouble and he received a warning for breaking. It would be just as well to lose that bad habit now, for a runner cannot get away with it in Dunedin.

While on the subject of starting the work of Mr J. Holloway, jun., in this respect calls for special mention. He has proved a capable “man behind the gun” and, quick to recall breakaways, has earned the respect of the fields under him. The start in the first heat of the 75 yards on Thursday evening was as good as one could ever wish to see.

C. W. Pierson, the Invercargill Club’s speedy sprinter, has been showing glimpses lately of the form which won him so proud a name in bygone seasons. In the 100 yards last Saturday in which he came third, he was conceding 2yds to Derbie, the winner, and syds to E. O’Connell, the second-placed runner. He was again scratch man on Thursday evening, coming second in his heat and subsequently the final of the 75 to G. Henderson. The St. Paul’s Club runner had a start of 6yds on him so that it says much for Pierson in that he reduced the leeway so substantially. In the 100 at the same meeting he came third in his heat, but failed to get up among the finalists. E. W. Fish proved the hero of the hour at last Saturday afternoon’s meeting, winning both the 220 and 880, and in addition carrying off a special trophy for the amateur athlete gaining most points' at the meeting. (Actually he shared this position with W. Pickford who, by winning both the mile novice and two miles amateur cycling handicaps, also became eligible for the trophy.) In securing his wins Fish proved himself an athlete of no mean ability, his judgment in particular being very sound. At Thursday evening’s fixture he won the 440 in similar fashion. As a matter of fact he started off rather on the slow side and it was only over the final stages of the journey that he revealed his strength. In T. Pickering, who was also on the scratch mark with him, he had a worthy foeman and the duel these two fought out provided great sport for the few but enthusiastic spectators. Fish proved the fitter of the two in a strenuous run down the straight and gained the victory by a narrow margin.

G. Mcßurney, of the St. Paul’s Club, is deserving of recognition for the spirited manner in which he led the field for a good part of the way in the 880 on Thursday evening. The effort was too much for him and, passing the old stand, he was overhauled by several others runners of whom a clubmate, L. Roberts, finished first. E. Moyle, of the Invercargill Club, ran into second place fairly strongly. Another smart performance the same evening was that of W. Atley, the St. Paul’s Club runner winning the 100 in a close finish. He came away at the end with a great burst of speed. The field events have been attracting a fair share of interest lately and it seems as if the local clubs have some first-class exponents in the making. D. McDonald, of the Invercargill Club, was scratch man in the high jump last Saturday and cleared sft. 2in., sharing second place with G. H. Boyes and L. Tyne to both of whom he was conceding handicaps of 6in. Mcßurney with a handicap of sin. and a height of sft. 7in. was first. McDonald’s performance, however, was eclipsed by that on Thursday evening of H. Canning, a club-mate, who with a handicap of 4in. cleared sft. 7 J in. It was a good effort and the spectators showed their appreciation in no uncertain manner.

In the shot putt last Saturday G. H. Boyes was first with a handicap of 3ft. 6in. and a distance of 32ft. lOin. On Thursday J. Purdue, of the Invercargill Club, showed that his hand had lost none of his cunning when from scratch he threw the missile a distance of 35ft, 4in.

J. Loudon, also of the Invercargill Club, was prominent in the broad jump the same evening when with a handicap of Ift. he cleared 20ft. B£in.