ATHLETICS AND ATHLETES

Taranaki Daily News, 17 January 1931, Page 6

ATHLETICS AND ATHLETES

’ TARANAKI CHAMPIONSHIPS TO-DAY’S GATHERING AT ELTHAM; NEW PLYMOUTH’S STRONG TEAM. FORM AT CLUB CHAMPION SHIPS. (By “Acron.”) i The interest of. amateur athletic enI thusiasts will foe Up on the * Taranaki provincial championship meeting at Eltham to-day, and the success of Taranaki athletes throughout the Dominion and the particularly high standard attained by the province in the sport will assure a large attendance at the gathering. Probably never before has amateur athleticism proved so popular with spectators in Taranaki. Improved conditions and strictly enforced regulations have all tended to raise the standard, thus providing keener and cleaner sport. It is a great pity that 'Stewart Black could not attend for the sprints, and the meeting will be the poorer for his absence. However, .Hamilton (Stratford) and Prince (Eltham) should make matters interesting. Prince knows his Taumata Park well and the sprint contests sjiould provide great finishes. ■ With Boswell and Rose in, the mile and Rose and Brown in the three miles the New Plymouth Club appears to have a second-to-none chance in these events. Rose is a star of great magnitude, but, just watch young Brown and see what time the brilliant *‘R.A.” will be required to do to win! This event should be the prime attraction on the programme. > “Oran.” Gilmour will need only to reproduce his best form to give the •hurdle events a big shake, but he will need to do better than .he did in the New Plymouth championships last week. He won, but there was nothing in the victory to enthuse over! Newall •(Hawera) will keep him on the qui vive,* while New Plymouth’s second string. H. L. Thomson, must be regarded with some respect over the quarter. Thomson strikes “Acron” as one of the most promising boys at the northern end of the province. . . The age of perol, nd doubt, is responsible for the decadence in walkers and the art seems a lost one in North Taranaki. Hawera’s entries, Wills and Griffin, will have matters' all their own way, and what. should be one of the most interesting contests on. the programme will consequently lapse into. a poorer exhibition of the heel and toe •branch of the sport. . ... Empire champion Stan.; Lay would win the javelin. throw even wearing a starched shirt and a bell-topper, but'the minor points will..,be, .hard to pick up. The/discus also looks like an, easy money proposition for him. Ritter and Sullivan may. do as well as any others in these events. New Plymouth appears to hold a strong hand in the jumping and pole vaulting with George Sullivan as the star artist. Newall and Gilliver. may keep him 'busy in the high jump and the vault, .but New Plymouth will be, extremely disappointed if Sullivan does not rise to the occasion.

Lon Heatley’s. form this week was good and, at bis 'best, this boy would hold a mortgage on the half and one mile events. “.Gundy” Reed is expected to shine, over the three miles, and J. FGilliee is a consistent performer. The presence of. the New 'Plymouth, trio should make the contests wjth the southerners worth watching. . Heatley loves bends even as a broadsiding expert does. The two relay races will not-be hard to. win if New Plymouth takes the big money. There will n.ot be any Stewart Black to make up the impossible leeway over the final piece of-the journey. Miss A. O’Byrne is the choice of the New Plymouth ladies’ team, but the southern artistes are very speedy and seem to have the best of the deal' in these races.

The,, banner contest should . be extremely keen and it looks as if every point will be needed. The southern ■forces will be somewhat divided and that is where New Plymouth will find a counterbalance for- its weaknesses. However, Rose, BrOtyn, Sullivan, Heatley and Gilmour will be the mainstays of the team and, with their representation, New Plymouth SHOULD win the coveted trophy. But,, then, anything may happen and that is the factor that makes the sport ,of athletics so interesting.

MOVEMENTS AT NEW PLYMOUTH.

Out of the Taranaki championships will arise patriotic but heated discussions over the possibles and probables for the Wanganui-Taranaki centre championships to xbe decided at. New Plymouth on January 31. With high hopes of a trip to Dunedin for the New Zealand championships ih’e following month, talent will be provided in abundance. Then there is that inter-club banner to urge on the representatives of various clubs. There is material to benefit arising from a banner competition at such a gathering as the West Coast championships,. inasmuch as the selectors are given an opportunity to decide upon the centre team for the Dominion championships. Thus it will be possible for one club to have three competitors in anv one event if the calibre warrants a tilt at the representatives of the larger centres. New Plymouth has yet to succeed in the banner competition, though the club was runner-up last year. Local conditions will favour the New Plymouth team this year arid it will have no excuse if. the title again slips from its fingers. Confidence is not a reliable criterion in these matters, but if the coveted trophy does not come to New Plymouth the expensive electric lights adorning the Pukekura Park sportsground will scarcely pierce the gloom that, will overcast the club members.

New Plymouth should be able to field a particularly strong team for the mile relay at the end of the month. The value of correct exchange of batons should be considered more seriously than has been the case. A cursory examination of the records of club nights this season would suggest, in “Acron’s” opinion, a good team including Boswell

, or Hunter for the 880 yards, Pankhurst, Perry-Keene or Hill for the 440 yards and Gilmour and Black for the two 2.20’5. Mr. G. H. Weir is the club’s sole selector for the centre championships and it may be found that he thinks on similar lines. Favourable comment has been made earlier regarding H. L. Thomson’s promise as a 440 yards hurdler and the championships should find him in top form. “Oran.’’ Gilmour $t present holds the centre title for that distance, but thia year he will find A. J. Derby (Wanganui) one of the hardest to beat. When H. J. Brown carved out the three miles at the-New Plymouth club’s championships on Tuesday night in 15 min. 29 3-ssec., cutting pratically 12sec. off the centre record, he showed an additional improvement upon his already excellent form. Of course, if he bumps up against R. A. Rose in that event it looks, at this stage, decidedly improbable that he. will.carry the day, though a wonderful race should be provided. This, pair may meet .to-day, but, whatever the result may be, it is to be hoped that “Brownie” does not over-train in the interim. C. N. Boswell suffered a bad attack of nervousness in the three miles on Tuesday night, though it must be admitted that Brown was several classes above him over this distance. Boswell is a good type of middledistance runner, however, but the half mile and one

mile should suit him better. The same applies to V. Hodgson, but one must congratulate these boys upon making up a field owing to the scarcity of longdistance runners in the club. ;