TEAM FOR OLYMPICS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 63, 14 March 1936, Page 4

TEAM FOR OLYMPICS

. ATTITUDE OF AMERICA ! WILL NOT CHOOSE FAVOURITES. PAST RECORDS WON'T COUNT. I Past records, even if they’re world: 1 marks, won’t mean a thing in the eyes, ■of the American Olympic Committee ; vv>hen the nation’s track and field stars 1 compete this summer for places on the team that will go to Berlin. Before sailing for Germany and the winter Olympics, Avery Brundage, chairman of the committee, frowned, upon proposals that such outstanding I stars as Glenn Cunningham, Bill Bon- 1 t'hrun, Jesse Owens, Ben Eastman, Jack Torrance and Keith Brown be awarded ; places on the team on the basis of their ; past performances. Tihat proposal al-. I ready has been discarded by lhe com-i niittee in the interests of absolute fair-; ness, Brundage revealed. “There’s some argument, in favour of I such procedure,” he said, “but it; would only lead to more trouble. Where could we draw the line if we attempted | to be arbitrary about the selections’ We would be charged with favouritism,! in the first place. If some of the stars wc picked in advance failed to come| through in the Olympics we would i never hear the last of it. ‘‘The only fair thing we can do is conduct the tryouts, as formerly, with the Olympic selections based on actual performances in the final tests. Some instances may justify giving a star ath-, leto the benefit of the doubt, if a close decision or extenuating circumstances I are involved. We want to send over | the best possible team. But we can’t! and won’t play favourites. There’s too | much dynamite in that.’’ Brundage also predicted that the I committee would be able to finance full, American participation in the summer i games. Since it was definitely decided j to support the Olympics, there has been j a good response to appeals for financial • support, in some cases from “sources! not anticipated,’’ and the committee is going ahead with plans to have the' United States represented by the maxi- ' mum of three athletes in each track i and field event as well as in all the! other major events. AUSTRALIA’S INTENTION ATTENTION TO RECORDS. I I FIDELITY BONDS TO BE S|G.\ I<l>. I Selection ol the Olympic team, to be j shortly made in Melbourne, will be go\-! ; erned by close adherence to Olympic. I J standards, in lhe different spheres of! competition, that is, those chosen will bo understood to possess reasonable • prospects of equalling Olympic, records.! Many could not have had this quulilica- i tion in past teams. If, as may be expected, this idea; strictly governs the adjudicators, the l Australian team should not be very numerous. But what it may lack in numbers will be made up by quality. The actual numbers, of course, will be governed by finance as well as i liabilities of the candidates. Those! chosen will have to enter into a fidelity i bond to remain amateur for two years after the Games. This bond was frac- j tured by Bobby Pearce, whose case was ! exceptional because he was no long:: residing in Australia. In view of what happened at different times in the past the fidelity bond i> a provision on which the Australian council is to be congratulated. It ;> a move to restrain those who accept all the honours of Olympic representation from becoming professionals. Moreover, it is something done to safeguard amateurism that no other nation has adopted. ■