GERALDINE SPORTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 18 March 1927, Page 6

GERALDINE SPORTS.

YESTERDAY’S GATHERING. Refereo, Mr Jas. Lvsaght; judges: running, Messrs G. Jilissett, D. Hatton, G. Coulter and R. Mclood; cycling, Messrs E. E. South, J. W. Macdonald, H. Thompson, J. Lack; music and dancing. Mr A. E.' Evans; iield events, Messrs W. Mason, Austn, Lysaght, Ik Lysaght an J. Brophy; chidrcn’s races, Messrs C. Ray, W. Shearer, H. Turner; timekeepers, Messrs J. Mcllroy, W. .Williamson, and D. .Macdonald; result hoard stewards, Messrs L. Hayes, G. G. Knight, and L. Grieve; voucher stewards and l lap scorers, Messrs H. W. Williamson and A. J. Rurlnester; starter, Mr JL R. Mac-

donakl; assistant starter, Mr Stock; competitors’ Messrs A. J. Bell, i:'. J. "Wood, B. Logan, W. Hamilton, J. Barrett, It. Cliff, A. Willoughby, Allan Macdonald, J. McNamara, Jock Macdonald, J. Stevenson, J. Lorimer; piping and dancing stewards, Messrs A. Macdonald, G. Martin and J. W. Miller; quoits stewards, Messrs J. Gillies, L. I’. Scott, "W. Eathonio and It. Itichards; oval steward, Mr Janies .Bennington; handicapper, Air G. Tozcr; lion, secretary, Mr J. "Kennedy. The forty-ninth annual sports field under the auspices of the Geraldine St. Patrick’s Sports Association were held in the Geraldine Domain yesterday in ideal weather conditions, there boing brilliant sunsfiine, and little wind to interfere with the events. There was a fair attendance of spectators, including a number from Timaru. it is regrettable, however, that the attendance at this function seems to be falling olf each year, as the sports arc really well worthy of more public support. Yesterday was the weekly halfholiday at Geraldine, and with this advantage to local people it would be thought that the sports would naturally be a good place co spend’ an afierlioon’s enjoyment. Although tlic-re was no holiday in Timaru, a la:go number of Timaru competitors and enthusiasts made the journej' to Geraldine, and not one regretted the trip. As is usually the ease a first class programme was presented by the Association, and mot with the full i i yrovai of both competitors and .spectators. | That the programme received the lull consideration of the officials is nocdkss to state. The Geraldine Association is fuvnr.rrvl tv-IHi n minmli.ton rmimvivl

for their zeal aaul ability, and under the capable directorship* of Mr J. Lysaglu (president) and J. Kennedy (secretary), everything was conducted in a most business-like way. No sports meeting is complete without- a band, and m this respect proceedings were enlivened with. music from the Geraldine District Silver Band under Bandmaster McDonald, and the Temuka Pipe Band. A very unfortunate incident took plnce during the iinal of the two-mile Bicycle Handicap, resulting in It. Underwood of Timaru, being seriously injured. The linal in this event was a spirited race. Underwood, who was travelling very fast, passed the post in second place. He had just flashjd by when his cycle skidded and the rifcler was tin-own heavily to the ground, and also dragged for some yards .dong the hard asphalt track. Underwood was conveyed to Timaru Hospital, where on examination it was found that he had broken a collarbone in two places, beanies his legs and arms being severely lacerated. There was a certain amount of misunderstanding in the mile bicycle handicap iinal. Owing to a mistake on the part of the officials in ringing the last lap bell before its time, several of the riders pulled up, while others completed the course. After

somo consideration tho committee decided not to run r.he race again; but to abide by the first placings. The cycling portion of tho card was perhaps tho most popular department of tho sports tins year. In all races good entries were received. Tho appear*• nnee of W. Mackie \ Christchurch), and C. Parker (New Plymouth), and several other northern riders, helped to make the card • attractive. Mackie romped home in the half mile event and was not troubled in the straight to win from H. JJurnsiJe, another Christchurch rider. Mackie repeated his performance iii tho two mile event, but this time his win was not so easy. He showed good judgment, however, in trailing Ward, the loader around the back, and then at the last minute jumping out and snatching the verdict. Ward made up for his mistake in the mile event, however, and; although Parker, who )iud been periorniing! consistently throughout the afternoon, was strongly fancied, the limaru wheelman scored a popular win irom Parker. Good cycling was witnessed In the mile and a half-event which also fell to Ward, with Willmott second and Parker third. Ward took advantage of all opportunities, streaking from behind the back and Passing Willanott, who was leading 'the field. In this event Mackie threw in the towel after lie had completed about two rounds of liis boat. Although the entries were disap-

pointing in the running events, the sport was quite goo;!. The programme was commenced with a 75 yards handicap, which was carried oft by P. Keenan. The principal event on the card, tho St. Patrick’s Handicap, of 130 yards, was won lor ,the third year in succession by It. D. Cameron, who beat Keenan by about a loot after a very good race. Cameron also put up another very creditable pcrforfniuice ire the. 120 yawls hurdles, but, although there were only, three • competitors, ho had his work eiit out. to defeat tile, St. Andrews runner, D;i Tate.: ; A'though there wore three heats, consisting of fifteen runners, set dp.wu for the ,220 yards Git wens’ Handicap, only peven went to their marks, and the race was run straight out. This was popularly won-by the Timaru man, C. A. Brown,, who defeated Tate by a yard. Brown gavo another creditable showing in 'the 440 yards, and led the field all tlic way to win comfortably from C. Garven, who beat Tate by about a vai'd fob second p’ace. A .runaway victory was secured by 11. Mfthan.’of-.Timaru, who kept up a most unusual pace throughout tlic 880 yards. Mahan made the going very fast from the gun, and ho was an easy winner from Tate, wlio put in a strong sprint towards the end. Booth, tho scratch man, was some distance back in third place. ‘ In the jumping events good sport was provided. Tho high jump was carried off bv Gr. Shaw from scratch. • The long jump was won by D. 'Tate, who performed very well Hi rough out the day. Tho other- jumping event, the hop, step and jump, resulted in another win for Shaw, who from scratch was an easy w:’J ler with 41 ft 6jin to his credit. In tlic dancing section the ontries were well up to standard, and some first class events were got off. At the eone’usion of the sports, Mr T. 1). Burnett (M.P; for Tcmtika),

presented the Dr. Paterson challenge; cup to D. Tate .with _ ten points, and the cup for the St. Patrick’s Handicap to R. Cameron, who, having' won the cup throe times in succession, is allowed to retain it. In presenting the trophies to the winners. Mr -Burnett congratulated them on their Meritorious performances. Mr Burnett,yglso cave out tho two medals presented by M" Piper to the winners, of 'the ‘bovs’ "■yes,. Cheers'- were given for th#-‘ . winners. ' ... : ’ . Results'were as foPovrsr?- -••-.• : RUNNING.-. 75 YARDS HANDICAP; £2, £l, 10s.—First. Heat: , P. Keenan (sivds) i 1, C. Voss (Tydfil 2. IVqn by a foot. Time, 8 3-ssec. Second Heat: F. Cain 1 "' , vds) 1, J. Quaid (6jydsX 2. IV°n

by inches. Time, 8 3-ssec. Final —• P. Keenan 1, C. Voss 2, F. Cain 3. All started. The place-getters fought a fair race until about ten yards from the tape, where Keenan’s final burst won him the race by two yards, half a yard between second and third. Time, 7 4-ssee. 130 YARDS ST. PATRICK’S HANDICAP ; £O, £2 10s, £1 10s.—First Heat: F. Cain (s£yds) 1, O. Voss (10yds) 2, 11. T. Hornbrook (7yds) 3. Tho only starters. Wan by inches. Time, 14 2-ssee. Second Heat: 11. D. Cameron (sJyds) 1, P. Keenan (B£yds) 2, C. A. Brown (6£yds) 3. Only starters. Won by a foot. Time, 13 4-ssec. Final —Cameron 1, Brown 2, Hornbrook 3. A good start saw Cameron soon catch tho leaders. A close race resulted, however, inches Separating tho placed men. Time, 13 2-ssec.

120 YARDS HURDLES; £2, £l, ■los. —R,. D. Cameron (scr) 1, D. Tate (scr) 2, D. Shaw (3yds bhd) 3. Cameron jumped cleanly all the way; won by a yard, with Shaw two yards back. Time, 17 2-ssec. 220 YARDS CITIZENS’ HANDICAP; £2.105, £l, 10s— C. A. Brown (10yds) 1, I). Tate (syds) 2, R. D. Cameron CTyds) 3. Seven starters. The field was bunched rounding the bend, until Brown spurted and won by a yard, with the other placed men clcse up. Time, 24 l-ssec. 880 YARDS HANDICAP; £3, £l, 10s.—II. Mahan (50yds) 1, D. Tate (syds) 2, G. Booth 1 (scr) 3. Mahan set a hot pace for the start, and commencing the last lap he went all out. He managed to stall off a challenge from Tate, and won by about five yards, some yards separating the third man. Time, 2min 7sec. *

440 YARDS HANDICAP; £3, £l, 10s.—C. A. Brown (12yds) 1, C. Garven (14yds) 2, D. Tate (scr) 3. Eight started. Brown ran strongly all the way, and wen hv about two yards from Garven, with Tate close up in third place. Time, 53sec. 130 YARDS (Bovs 16 and under). — I. J. Waldie 1, D. McDonald 2, J. Brenton 3.

220 YARDS (Boys 12 and under)'. — C. Wilson 1, T. Thomson 2, T. Woods

440 YARDS (Boys 15 and under).— G. Dunn 1, J. Brenton 2, R. AVnldie 3. CYCLING. HALF MILE BICYCLE HANDICAP; £2 10s, £l, 10s—First Heat: W. Maekie (scr) 1, R. Hopkins (80yds) ‘2. A good finish. Time, Jmin 4 4-ssec. Second Heat: C. Parker (13yds) 1, E. Fitzgerald (25yds) 2. Won easily. Time, lmin 2 4-ssec. Third Heat: R. Underwood (45vds) 1, H. Burnside (30yds) 2. A close finish. Time, lmin. 2.4-osec. Final —Maclde 1, Burnside 2, Parker 3. Maekie took charge, at the commencement of the last lap and was an easy winner. Time, lmin 2 l-ssec.

ONE MILE HANDICAP; £3, £1 10s, 10s. —First Heat: C. Parker (22yds) 1, F. Ward (35yds) 2, PI. Burnside (45yds) 3. Seven starters. Won by a length. Time, 2min 13sec. Second Heat: R. Underwood (80yds) 1, R. Hawke (130vds) 2, J. Bullivant (60yds) 3, W. Cassidy (l4syds) 4. Won easily. Six started. Time, 2min 12sec. Final— Ward 1, Parker 2, Burnside 3. A mistake in ringing the bell before the last lap caused some- of the riders to pull up, while others completed the course. After some consideration the officials decided to abide by the placing?. It was a clcce race between tho placed men. Time, 2min 23 l-ssec. TWO MTLE ST. PATRICK’S WHEEL RACE: £5, £1 10s, 10s.— First Heat: F. Ward (6oyds) 1, H. Burnside (85yds) 2, W. Willmott (55yds) 3. R. Munro (235yds) 4, W. ffamlyn (225yds) 5. Seven started. Won by a wheel. Time, 4min 47sec. Second Heat: C, Parker (35yds) 1, W. Maekie (ser) 2, J. Bullivant (95yds) 3, R. Underwood (130vds) 4. Nino starters. Won by a length. Time. 4min 55 l-ssec. Final—W. Mnckie 1, R. Underwood 2, F. Ward 3. All started. At the fourth lap the field bunched, and the pace became very slow. The commencement of tho last lap saw Parker and Ward go round the back with Underwood in the lend. Maekie came up from the roar, and was close behind the leaders. On rounding the bend for home a spirited race saw Maekie snatch the verdict from Underwood, with Ward close Up. Time, smin ]-ssec. I) MILE BICYCLE HANDICAP; £3 10s, £1 10s, 10s.—First Heat: F. Ward (50yds) 1, AY. AA’illmott (45yds) 2. O. L. Burnaud (45vds) 3. AV. Cass'dv (200vds) 4, R. HaWke (180vds) 5. Eight started. AVon bv a wheel. Time, 3 min 36sec. Second. Heat: O. Parker (30vds) 1, H. Burnside (70vds) 2, W. TTa'mlyn (lODvds) 3, E. Fitzgerald (COvds) 4. Six starters. AA 7 on hv three lengths. Time. 3min 28sec. Final—AA r ard 1, Willmott 2, Parker 3. The field bunched at the fourth lap. maintaining a stendv nace. Commencing the last lap AA’iUmott went out, followed hv AA’ard and Parker. AA 7 nrd made a Croat race of it when entering the straight, winning by a length from AVillmott. with Parker a length away. Time, Smin 24 3-osec.

FIELD EVENTS. LONG JUMP HANDICAP; £l, 10s.—D. Tate (lft 9in) 18ft, 1; P. Keenan (9in) 17ft 10in, 2. Seven competitors. HOP, STEP AND JUMPr_£l, 10s.— D. Shaw, 41ft 6.Jin, 1; G. Ellery (15in) 39ft 3in, 2. Six competitors. RUNNING HIGH JUMP; £2, £l. G. Shaw (scr) sft 4in, 1; H. Hornbrook (4in) sft 3in, 2. Five competitra's. QUOITS COMPETITION; £2, £l. J. Hency 1, Metcalf 2, .

PIPING AND DANCING. (Judge—Mr A. Evans.) BAGPIPE MUSIC, Strathspeys and Reels; £2, £1. —Robertson 1, Guthrie 2. . BAGPIPE MUSIC, Marches; £2, £l.—Robertson 1, Guthrie 2. .BAGPIPE MUSIC (Mr T. D., Burnett’s special).—Robertson 1, Cargo 2. HIGHLAND FLING (boys and girls under 10) ; medal, 5s. —May Dm can 1, Peggv Waters 2. HIGHLAND FLING (boys and girls under 14) ; medal, ss.—Hazel McKay 1, Frank Taylor 2. Highland fling (bo ys and girls under 16) ; 15s, ss.—Nancy Drew 1, Hazel MeK*y 2. HIGHLAND FLING (boys and girls under 12); medal, 5s. —Fi’ank Taylor 1, Mav Duncan 2. SWORD DANCE (boys and girls under 18); 15s, ss.—N. Drew 1, H. McKay 2. ' IRISH JIG (boys and girls Under 16) ; 15s, 5s. —N. Drew 1, Frank Taylor 2. SEAN TRIUBHAIS (boys and girls under 16) ; 15s, ss.—N. Drew 1, H. McKay 2. SAILOR’S HORNPIPE (boys and girls under 18); 15s, ss.—H. McKay 1, N. Drew 2. IRTSII FOUR-HAND REEL; £2, £l-—H. McKay, Z. Williams, M. McKay, N. Drew, L. Richardson equal 1.