ATHLETICS

Southland Times, Issue 22499, 8 December 1934, Page 19

ATHLETICS

SOUTHLAND AND ABROAD.

(By

“Searchlight”).

Now that the committee in charge of the Royal show Evening Attractions has consented to put on two events for professional runners next Wednesday evening, it is up to athletes to turn out in full force. The events will not be counted for the circuit handicapping. Evening Sports. Rugby Park: Wednesday, December 19. (Final official meeting). Holiday Circuit. Edendale: December 25. Balfour: December 26. Limehills: December 26. Mataura: December 27. Tokanui: December 28. Tuatapere: January 1. Waikaia: January 1. Port Molyneux: January 1. Riversdale: January 2. Kelso: January 2. Otara: January 3. Wairio: January 5. Gore: January 9. The final official evening sports meeting to be held by the Southland Athletic Sports League will take place at Rugby Park on Wednesday, December 19. It should act as a pipeopener for the sterner work ahead. Probably no sports society in New Zealand has a longer record than the Port Molyneux Caledonian Society, which will hold its 72nd annual sports on New Year’s Day. The sports are held on the picturesque grounds at Wilsher Bay and are the mecca of athletic enthusiasts in West and South Otago. Over £l5O in prize money is being offered for this season’s sports. Bushcraft events are a particular feature at this‘meeting.

Ralph Metcalfe, the famous negro sprinter of Marquette University, U.SA., won a 100-metre race in 10 3-10 sec in a meeting of American and Japanese teams at Osaka, Japan, a few weeks ago. Metcalfe’s time equals the world’s record, first set by Percy Williams, of Canada, four years ago, and equalled, two years ago, by Eddie Tolan, American negro. Edendale Sports.

Athletes will soon be fixing their eyes on the Edendale sports on Christmas Day—now just a little over a fortnight away. Cash prizes and trophies to the value of £136 are being offered for a total of 28 events. These are: 12 track and field, four bushcraft and 12 piping and dancing events. I notice that Mr Ellis Sutton has been appointed referee. This is a wise move, and the right man has been found. The track will be in better order than ever this year as energetic men have been working on it now for some weeks. Consequently there is a splendid sole of grass on it.

Flanagan and Preston to Meet Mention has already been made of the probability of D. Flanagan (Christchurch) and _ Wally Preston (Auckland) meeting in distance events during the Southland athletic sports circuit this season. I have received a note from Mr R. A. Marshall, hon. secretary of the Edendale Sports Society, saying he expected Flanagan to be doing the circuit again this year as he had received a letter from the runner to that effect. Flanagan is well-known in professional athletic circles in Canterbury and is quarter and half-mile champion of New Zealand. He distinguished himself on the track here last season. Less is known of Wally Preston, but the following interesting letter should be enlightening:— “Dear ‘Searchlight,’—l read with interest the extracts from a letter written by Wally Preston (Auckland), published in your athletic column, regarding the Southland circuit and the possibility of measuring strides with D. Flanagan, of Christchurch. Just in case Southlanders are a little in the dark as to the ability of Preston on the running track, I think I can safely tell you that he is a very experienced campaigner. Comparatively little is known of him in the South Island, but in the far north he is a prominent and popular figure. His favourite distance, I believe, is the mile, though I understand he is capable of very good performances over the half also. If my memory serves me rightly, Preston a few seasons ago ran the mile in the vicinity of 4.20—a performance which few can claim in these parts. “It might also be of interest to local athletes and athletic followers to know that Preston made his presence felt in some big races in Australia not so very long ago. I am not at all surprised that he should be keen to race against Flanagan. Should he come south, Preston, win or lose, will not regret his journey and will be welcomed by all Southlanders. —I am, etc., Joe Hardy.”

As a “Stop Press” item, I can now announce that Wally Preston is definitely coming down to compete during the circuit. This good news was contained in a cheery letter I had from him yesterday. He is arriving in time for Tuatapere; from then on he will take in all the meetings. The unofficial evening meeting to have been held at Rugby Park last Wednesday night was postponed because many runners were ill and others were working. The official meeting should be a good ones

Fast times were recorded in a number of events at the annual Rakaja Sports last week. Flanagan distinguished himself by winning the mile off scratch in 4min 23sec. This shows that he is running well up to form, for the sefcond and third placed men were off 90 and 80 yards respectively. Among the results I noticed that a certain G. Flanagan came second in the half-mile off scratch. I do not know whether this is a misprint or whether the runner is a brother of the man known to Southlanders. The 880 was run in two minutes dead—another good effort. The Sheffield was run in no better time than is achieved in the south, P. Wellsmore (4yds) winning in''l3 1-5 seconds. The 220 was a fast race, the winner (off five yards) taking 23 seconds. G. Wellsmore won the 440 off 12 yards in 51 3-ssec.—another good effort. L. G. Fleming fell in the second heat of the two-mile cycle and broke his collar-bone.

Gore Official Meeting. A feature of the Pioneer Club’s official meeting at Gore on Monday evening was the presence of the Gore Brass Band. The band turned out in full force, looking smart in their bright uniforms, and enlivened proceedings considerably. The public did not attend as well as usual, but the night was dull and cold.

The outstanding performer of the evening was Milne, a member of the Pioneer Club, who won the 75 and 100 yards events. He is a good stamp of athlete.

Fred Thompson, who competed at intervals during the circuit last year, won the 220 without difficulty. He is at the'top of his form at present. H. Bolt is a promising boy. Aged about 18, he hails from the Gore district, but is going away over the Christmas holidays. He will be a contender for Sheffields in a year or two. Norman Forbes ran well throughout in the half-mile, proving that he has not “lost his dash.”

The relay races held at official meetings have all been most exciting, and Monday night’s event was no exception. In fact it was one of the best of the season. It was won by the Pioneer Club, Mataura being second and Rugby Park third.

The “Fastest Human Living.” Bound for Melbourne where he will compete in the Centenary world’s professional sprint championship in March next, Eddie Tolan, the coloured American champion, was a through passenger by the liner Monterey, which arrived at Auckland from Los Angeles last Saturday. Tolan, who has been described as “the fastest human living,” was among the outstanding competitors at the Olympic Games in 1932, winning for the United States the 100 metres in 10 3-10 sec and the 200 metres in 21 l-ssec. He

is also the holder of the international amateur record for 100 yards in 9Jsec. He turned professional a few weeks before leaving America. The world’s sprint championship will be contested over four distances —75, 100, 130, 220 yards. The races will be held on specially prepared tracks at the Exhibition Oval on March 5 and 12. Since the Olympiad Tolan has not done much running. His principal opponents will be the Victorian, Austin Robertson, and W. McFarlane, the famous Scotsman. The later broke “evens” when victorious in the Edinburgh Handicap ■ (Powderhall) in 1933, his time being 12 l-2sec for the 130 yards. Officials and Professionalism.

It can be taken for granted that nothing further will be heard of the amnesty which the majority of the New Zealand Amateur Cycling Association was in favour of granting officials who have had no association with professionalism since 1918 (writes the Wellington correspondent of the Auckland Herald). The National Olympic Council, to which the Cycling Association is affiliated, has given voice to the opinion that officials of amateur sports bodies in New Zealand should themselves be amateurs and it is clear from the tenor of this that an amnesty would by no means find favour with the Olympic authorities.

It is, therefore, now proposed that the organizations interested in retaining the services of these officials who are not bona fide amateurs, that is men who have been reinstated on making the necessary application should now take steps , o ensure their qualification by themselves applying for reinstatement. This would smooth away the objections of those professionals who refuse to make personal application to the amateur ranks on the ground that their recent work for amateurism should entitle them automatically to reinstatement.

One thing troubling Tolan at present is the fact that he will only have -eighteen days to get ready for his opening race in Melbourne, although he had been assured that he would have three weeks. He is anxious to create a favourable impression in a country which has earned a name for good sportsmanship. He did not venture an opinion as to whether he could accustom himself to racing on a grass track instead of a cinder track, although, as he said, his ability to beat great athletes like McFarlane and Robertson will depend greatly on the form he can produce on the grass. THE AMATEURS TOPICAL TATTLE. Fixtures. To-night: Evening meeting at Bluff. To-night: Drummond Evening Sports. December 11 and 13: Amateur events at Showgrounds after Royal Show. December 15: Ryal Bush Branch I H.A.A.C. December 18: Evening Meeting, Rugby Park. December 25: Drummond Annual Sports. December 26: Annual sports, Waipiata. December 29: Annual sports, Cromwell. . January 1: Sports meeting, Alexandra. , January 2, 3 and 4: South Island field events Training School, Oamaru. January 16: Evening Meeting, Rugby Park.

The Bluff Club is holding a sports meeting to-night at the Port;

An evening meeting is also being staged at Drummond to-night. The programmes for both the Bluff and Drummond meetings promise a good night’s sport. Intending competitors this evening are advised to pack dancing pumps along with the spiked shoes for a dance will follow after each meeting. W. Miller, the St. Paul’s junior, is nothing if not versatile; besides competing regularly on the track he is also a good breaststroke swimmer and broke a record in that event at a recent swimming carnival. Mill, who performed so well in the sprint events on Tuesday evening, learned his running at McGlasham College, Dunedin. With training he should be well to 'the fore in future meetings.

A. Branford, who won the 220 yards at the sports meeting on Tuesday night, displays promise of being a really good sprinter. He has been performing well in the 100 yards events this season (his first on the track), but if his performance on Tuesday can be taken as any criterion, the furlong would appear to be his forte. The team of Canadian schoolboys made an auspicious start to their New Zealand tour by defeating a team of leading Wellington athletes. In only one event, a high jump, did a Wellington man get first place, the Canadians •collecting the major honours in every other case. The results speak for themselves:—loo yards: H. McPhee (Canada) 1, A. Zizis (Canada) 2, W. Savage (Canada) 3. Time, 10 2-ssec. 220 yards: H. McPhee (Canada) 1, A. Zizis (Canada) 2. Time, 22 4-ssec. 440 yards: M. Limon (Canada) 1, L. Fleming (Canada) 2, S. Smith (Wellington) 3. Time, 50 2-ssec. 880 yards: R. Mitchell (Canada) 1, T.-Ferris (Canada) 2. Time, 2min 1 4-ssec. 120 yards hurdles: J. Loaring (Canada) 1, J. Phillips (Wellington) 2. Time, 16 2-ssec. Throwing the Javelin: E. Wares (Canada) 152 ft 6in 1, A. Adlum (Wellington) 148 ft lOin 2, Broad Jump: S. Richardson (Canada) 23ft OJin 1, J. Phillips (Wellington) 20ft lin 2. High Jump: T. Crowe (Wellington) 6ft 1, R. Jansen (Canada) sft Ilin 2. When it is taken into account that there was a strong wind blowing and even the sprints were run into the teeth of it, the figures recorded become outstanding. Ron Stewart blossomed out as a hurdler on Tuesday night, his win in the 220 yards event, though popular, coming as a complete surprise. Polson, also from scratch, put up a good showing and appeared to have the race in hand, but Stewart’s finishing sprint proved too much for him.

To win the favour of the public is proving difficult for the local amateur athletic body, but it blundered badly in its “courtship” on Tuesday night. There was a fair number of spectators present (for a sports meeting) and they appeared to be enjoying the pro-

ceedings, but . This “but” was to be heard on all sides. The plaintive wail went up “these races are exciting, BUT why aren’t the winners announced?” The grounds for this complaint are obvious and the committee responsible should rectify the matter at future meetings.

That popular athlete G. McCorkindale had a run of bad luck at the sports on Tuesday. From one and ahalf yards in the hundred he went back a yard for breaking and became the first victim of the new rule which provides that a yard be forfeited after the first break. In the furlong he was even more unfortunate. From scratch he was running a fine race and was just getting through the big field to settle down for the sprint home when another competitor crossed in front of him. McCorkindale would probably have got through at the expense of this other competitor, but sportingly forfeited all chances of winning in case he spiked the straying one in so doing. The secretary of the Drummond Amateur Cycling Club, Mr G. H. Millow, has sent me the programme of his society’s first annual sports meeting which is to be held on Christmas Day. The list of events is most attractive, runners especially, being well catered for, while valuable trophies are being given for every event. Details are as follows:—100 Yards Maiden, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/-, third 2/- (entry 1/-); Half Mile Cycle Race, trophies, first 15/-, second 10/-, third 5/(entry 1/-); 100 Yards Handicap, trophies, first 20/-, second 10/-, third 5/(entry 1/6); Boys’ Cycle Race, 14 years and under, trophies, first 5/-, second 2/-, third 1/- (entry 6d); One Mile Cycle Race, trophies, first 20/-, second 10/-, third 5/- (entry 1/6); 220 Yards Handicap, trophies, first 15/-, second 7/6, third 2/6 (entry 1/-); 75 Yards Ladies’ Race, trophies, first 5/-, second 2/6, third 1/- (entry free); Two Mile Cycle Race, trophies, first 30/-, second 15/-, third 7/6 (entry 2/-); One Mile Handicap, trophies, first 20/-, second 12/6, third 7/6 (entry 1/6); High Leap, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/- (entry 1/-); Hop, Step and Jump, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/- (entry 1/-); Long Jump, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/(entry 1/-); Men’s Stepping 100 Yards, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/- (entry 1/-); Ladies’ 50 Yards Step, trophies, first 5/-, second 2/6 (entry free); Sword Dance, under 8 years, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/- (entry 1/-); Highland Fling, under 10 years, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/- (entry 1/-); Sailor’s Hornpipe, under 16 years, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/- (entry 1/-); Seann Triubhais, under 16 years, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/- (entry 1/-); Irish Jig, under 12 years, trophies, first 10/-, second 5/- (entry 1/-); Piping. Marches, Novice, trophies, first 15/-. second 7/6 (entry 1/-); Piping, Marches, open, trophies, first 20/-, second 10/- (entry 1/6). A 440 yards open handicap, not listed on the printed programme, is also to be staged. Entries for the running and cycling events close with the secreary oh Thursday evening, December 20. All other events are post entry. From the Drummond Amateur Cycling Club comes another good programme for a meeting to-night. If all sports clubs were as progressive as Drummond there would be no need to fear for the future of amateur athletics in Southland. Reports have reached me that public interest in sports meetings is very keen at Drummond, while the standard of competition ensures that the public is not disappointed. The programme to-night contains the following running events:—loo yards handicap (first 10/-, second 5/-, entry 1/-). Boys’ race, and 440 yards handi-

cap (first 10/-, second 5/-, entry 1/-). An attractive list of cycle events is also included while the Highland dancing section promises to be an evening’s entertainment in itself.

INVERCARGILL CLUB NEWS.

The club was well represented at Tuesday evening’s meeting and it was a pleasure to see such large fields competing in all the events. Several new members are showing excellent form, especially the Mokoreta contingent. These country members show gratifying keenness in travelling nearly 50 miles to compete at the local evening meetings. This should be a lesson to some of the city runners, who appear to find it difficult to walk a few blocks to Rugby Park. This apathy has not been much in evidence this season, however, and keenness has been the keynote of the activities thus far.

To-night the Bluff branch are conducting their first evening meeting and there is promise of fair support from the city clubs. Bluff have had to arrange the meeting at rather short notice and entries for all events will be taken on the ground. The club is conducting a dance later in the evening. The Bluff meetings have invariably been good and it is hoped that 1 to-night’s meeting will be the forerunner of a successful season. The entry fees are the same as those charged for the local meetings. The Ryal Bush branch will hold their second meeting on Saturday evening next. The programme is as follows: 100 yards, 440 yards, mile, shot putt, javelin throw and hop, step and jump, all handicap events. The Ryal Bush meetings need no. recommendation, their enjoyable nature being well known to all Southland amateurs. Entries close on Thursday next. It is a matter for regret that the club will be unable to send a team to Drummond to-night. This club, under the secretaryship of Mr G. Millow, is running successful and well-conducted meetings which merit the support of amateur competitors. By a re-arrange-ment of dates it is hoped to avoid a clash of meetings in future and runners will thus be free to support the Drummond meetings. A very attractive programme, details of which appear above, has been arranged for decision at the Drummond annual sports on Christmas Day. The Public School Sports.

The following account of the interEmpire public school sports held recently in Melbourne appeared in the Australasian:—

The Canadian boys showed themselves superior ,to their opponents. Canada, like its neighbours, the United States of America, pays more attention to the development of its boys in athletics. Its elaborate coaching methods and its superiority in tracks makes the standard of school athletics in America very high. Every school has its cinder tracks and facilities for jumping and field games unknown to the schoolboys here, and in Dr A. S. Lamb, a native of Ballarat by the way, the director of physical education at Magill University had a man who knows all about athletic sports, and his advice and coaching were invaluable. His boys had the advantage of age over the Victorian and New Zealand boys, but it was a handicap to them to have to rim on a grass track, especially one so slow as that on the Melbourne fround on Friday. It affected their running and jumping materially. Perhaps the most interesting event on the programme was the high jump,, in which R. Jansen (Canada), adopting what is known as “the western roll,” was opposed by K. O. Evans, who follows the old straight-away method. The theory of “the western roll” is that as the jumper has to clear the bar he should not have to lift the body higher than is necessary. Evans, jumped erect and had to lift the upper part of his body feet over the bar. Jansen, with his roll, has his body horizontal, and thus has not to lift his body so high. On the performance Jansen was jumping under new conditions, for he is accustomed to take off from a footing of cinders and clay quite hard, though soft enough to take his spikes. Jansen has frequently jumped over 6ft., but Evans has never got as high before. It was a splendid contest, and each cleared sft in. As they could not be separated the bar was lowered inch by inch until Jansen cleared it at Bft 83in and Evans failed. Officially Jansen won at sft BJin, but both cleared 3in higher. In the long jump Sam Richardson, the negro boy from the Continuation School, Stevensville, .was expected to do great things. He won the British Empire broad jump in London this year, but he was able only to tie with E. R. Letcher, of Wesley College, at 22ft sin. So much had been said of him that one expected great things of him. Possibly the turf instead of a cinder and clay take-off affected him, for he did not seem to leap high enough, nor did he gather his body together as we have seen great long jumpers do. Letcher was much in this respect. Again the tie was not allowed to stand, and in an extra jump Letcher cleared 21ft 51 in and Richardson 20ft Olin. Why these ties should not be allowed to stand passes comprehension. They do not run off a dead-heat. A race in which the Victorian boys triumphed was the half-mile, Kelvin Brosnan, the Xavier champion, winning. His success was largely due to the judgment of Pearce, the Wesley College boy, who broke up the field of the first lap. It was a good bit of ‘team work.

The Canadians were easily superior in the sprints, H. S. MacPhee winning the 100 yards and 220 yards in great style, and M. N. Limon, running in perfeet style, gained the 440 yards in good time. J. W. Loaring showed himself a skilful exponent of the straight-leg style in the 120 yards hurdles. The New Zealand boys were generally outclassed, but P. G. McLauchlan and F. E. Watt, despite a physical disability, ran first and second in the mile race respectively. They were all triers and will learn much from the meeting.