COMING EVENTS.

Observer, Volume XVI, Issue 953, 3 April 1897, Page 5

COMING EVENTS.

April 10— Kuaotunu Athletic Sports,

The Auckland Rugby Union have, I understand, made a profit of close on £600 .daring laatjaeason. ' Teddy ' Reynolds will compete at he Wanganui A. A. and C. Club's meeting on Easter Monday. The New Zealand Rugby Union proposes to establish an annual North v. bouth Island match. The New South Wales Rugby Union have adopted the alterations recently made in the rules of the game by the English Rugby Union The annual meeting of the Auckland Rugby Union will be held at the Metropolitan Hotel on Tuesday, 13th April, at 8 p.m. Mr E. D. Hoben, the ex hon. secretary of the New Zealand Rugby Union, was married to Miss Bagge, of Wellington, at Sydney on March 2nd. In the annual report of the N. Z. Rugby Union, comment is made upon the uniform gentlemanly behaviour of the Queensland team whilst in New Zealand, W. Gardiner, the well-known and popular skipper of the Parnell Cricket Club, has accepted an engagement at Westport, and left for that port on Monday. A London cable message states that the Oxford University eight covered the course for the University boat-race in 18min 30sec, which establishes a record for the distance. 'Trident' in the Sydney Mail is responsible for the statement that C. Chapman, the single-scull champion of New Zealand, will take up professional rowing after the New Zealand Championships. The secretary of the New Zealand Cyclists' Alliance, in reporting upon the recent championship meeting held at Wellington, strongly recommended that a time limit should be fixed for all championship races. The Wanganui A.A. and C.C.'s autumn gathering has been fixed for Easter Monday, and efforts are being made to induce outside cyclists, including E. Reynolds, of Auckland, and other cracks, to visit Wanganui and compete. Time did not permit of the match North Shore 'A ' v. Ponsonby being played right oat on Saturday, and the former thus win by 40 runs on the first innings. This victory gives North Shore the second junior championship Licensed Victuallers met with their first defeat of the season on Saturday, when Gordon 11. beat them by 6 runs on the result of the first innings. In justice to the victuallers, it may be mentioned that they were not represented by their full strength, having four substitutes engaged. Forbes, of Egmont, won the Five Mile Cycling Handicap at the Wanganui meeting from Hunt and Barker — all three starting from scratch. Forbes accomplished the - distance in the excellent time (for a grass track) of 13 mm 21 3- sth sees, and has evidently improved since he appeared in Auckland. The North Shore Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club struck a streak of bad luck in the matter of weather far their autumn carnival, held on Saturday last. Nevertheless; the meeting was very fairly attended, and should more than pay its way. The management of the meeting was admirably carried out by Mr W. Wynyard, the acting hon. sec, and officials, but the state of the weather and of the track naturally militated somewhat against the enjoyableneßS of the sport. However, the club have every reason to be satisfied with the measure of success achieved under extremely adverse conditions.

The annual general meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union will be held at Wellington on 24th April. Cycle facing evidently pays the successful ones. In 'eight days ending Match 6th, Bill Martin won nearly £120 in prizes. At latest, advices Rosemgrave, the Sydney Champion hurdler, was still lying in Bt. Vincent's - Hospital suffering from typhoid fever. I Words of wisdom from the famous | little Welshman, Jimmy Michael : — ' The best way to win and ride races is with the legs, not the tongue.' The League of New Zealand Wheelman has appointed Mr E. Nordon as its representative— or as they somewhat grandiloquently term it, 'consul' — in Auckland. At Hawera, on March 19th, A. B. Barker of Christchurch, won the One Mile J eague Championship of New Zealand, and also the Hawera Wheel Race, distance two miles. At the Wanganui Cycling Club's Meeting," held on' March ISth, F. Hunt, A. R. Barker, and A. C. Forbes tied for first place in the big (3 distance) handicap with 6 points each From Australian exchanges I gather that Lesna's great forte is ' pace following.' In this respect he is described as an ' artist,' and moreover, the quality of his pace-making is far and away ahead of anything previously seen in Australia. Tommy Roberts finished third in the 120 yards Hurdles at the Shore, but was not placed by the judges, the committee having decided not to allow him to compete in consequence of a letter written by him to the secretary, in which certain statements were made in reference to the handicapping of the sprint events The committee of the Auckland A. A. and C. Club have suggested to the N. Z. Association that representatives of the Colony be sent ' 'ome ' to compete at the I Athletic Carnival to be held in connection ' with the ' longest reign ' celebrations. The | names of Holder, Beynolds, and Bennett, ! the Dunedin runner, have been mentioned in this connection. The International Board (says the Referee), having declared the receiving of a testimonial by Mr A. J. Gould, the Welsh skipper, an act of professionalism, the International Rugby match between Wales and Scotland has been declared off. The Union of Wales treated the affair as an insult to their captain and to themselves, and rightly, we think, declined to play. A Mr Brook, of Christchurch, has made a bat from New Zealand woods. The blade is of willow and the handle of a certain New Zealand wood which the maker claims has more spring in it than cane. 'Dark Blue.' in the Press, is told that several of the best batsmen in Christchurch have tried the bat and pronounced it a first-class driving one. An excellent programme of sports has been arranged in connection with the Thames United Foresters' Fete to be held at Parawai on Easter Mcnday. Included amongst the foot races are two events for amateurs, but all cycle events are to be run under the rules of the League of N.Z. Wheelmen. Entries close at the Metropolitan Hotel this (Saturday) evening at 9^p.m. The New Zealand Rugby" Union have received intimation that the following penalty clauses have, at their request, been added to Law II: -'If any player or team wilfully and systematically break any law or laws for which the penalty is only a scrummage ; (2) wilfully and systematically cauaed unnecessary loss of time.' The firet of these clauses is undoubtedly aimed chiefly at the practice of wilfully ' throwing on,' and, like the latter, which is more general in its application, was much needed in New Zealand, at any rate. A New South Wales paper says T. White, a well-known pedestrian and jumper, has invented a wonderful chainless bicycle. White, who is an engine fitter by trade, claims that hie invention is far ahead of any description of chainless machine previously known. Friction is said to be reduced to a minimum. The power is produced by a wheel surrounded by discs, which is let into another with segments, and a 9in circular case, dust proof and air tight, covers the lot. The force is duplicate, so that each foot works on the power. Another feature is that the wheel base is reduced from the usual 44in or 45in to 37in, which is in the direction of making the cycle not only less liable to turn a somersault, but oviates the waste of force which, as at present applied, tends to drive the front wheel against the ground instead of forcing it forward. The idea has been patented, and if, as the enthusiastic inventor says, an ordinary rider may cut out a mile in from Imin 25aec to lmin 40sec, a revolution in cycling, second only to that brought about by the pneumatic tyre, may follow.

They say the Mahaki beat the Thetis the other Sunday. The Thetis Tnust Barely be getting very alow. .A very., large. field *stai*ed in the race for all comers on Baturdav afternoon, bat they did not all finish. The Volunteer had a day out in the Yacht Club race on Saturday. Plenty of leading and running r and soon had a big lead. A number of yachts fetched up in Matetea Bay on Sunday mdrning, among them being the Ida, Matangi, Rita, Thetis and Volunteer. A race for a sweepstake has been arranged between the Undine and the Yum Yam, and will very likely come off next Saturday. Cheap excursions will be run from Auckland and Coromandel in connection with the Thames Foresters' sports on Easter Monday. B. Stone, who was leniently treated by the handicappera, accounted for the 100 yards maiden and the 75yards -handicap at North-Shore. The 120 yards and 300 yards handicaps at the Shore were both won very easily by J. Scott, who started from 13 and 25 yards marks respectively. A. A. Brook was the hero of the cycle event at the North Shore meeting. He won the one mile, ran a dead heat with Dexter for first place in the 3 mile, and finished third in the 5 mile. J. McKean appears to have put up a great performance in the 1,000 yards Handicap at the Shore meeting. The official time of the winner is returned as 2min 19 2 ssecs, and as McKean was, at the outside, five or six yards behind, he must have got well within D. Wood's New Zealand record of 2min 24 2 -sth sees. Judging by the enthusiasm* displayed at the numerously attended annual meeting of the North Shore . Football Club held last week, there is every prospect of the marine suburb being well represented on the football field during the coming season. In passing, I note that Messrs Cameron and Breen, who have both proved themselves capable and energetic offcers, were re-elected secretary and treasurer, respectively. 1 W. M. Service, Queen-street, has a Humber bicycle with the Simpson lever chain, on view. This chain holds all records from i of a miie to 6 days/and is ridden by such noted riders as Lesna. Linton, Platt, < Belts, Chase, Johnson, Michael, Huret, Corre, Edwards, Green, and E. Hale.