EVENING SPORTS.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIV, 18 December 1926, Page 11

EVENING SPORTS.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. All the events received very good entries and good contests were the result. ■Eleven entries were received for the mile handicap, seventeen for the 880yds handicap, twenty-two for the 75yds handicap, eleven for the long jump handicap, and twen-ty-six for the 220yds handicap. The mile handicap was productive, of a good contest. The scratch man R. Hillary, who came second, started at a good pace which he; maintained well throughout, gaining on the leading men all the time. Most of the other competitors remained in a bunch till 300 yds were to go when K. Giles broke away at a fast sprint closely followed by R. Hillary who had caught up, F. F. Simp son coming next. Giles withstood a challenge by Hillary coming round the bend, and passed the post about a yard in front of him. F. F.

Simpson came in a few yards behind the second man. The final of the seventy-five yards handicap was a particularly good race all the competitors, numbering about seven, finishing close to-geth er R. Deacon (31 yds) securer! first place by a small margin from J. H. Russell ilvd;. St. Patrick’s and the Waimate District High School vied for honours in the school boy's relay race, St. Patrick’s gaining the verdict by . a small margin. Each section of th.', race was keenly contested, and the last pair got their batons practically simultaneously. A good deal of excited barracking characterised the finish of this race which was dons in the good time of 56 2-5 sec. In the final of the 220 yards handicap, the winner, A. H. Malcolm (6yds) gained steadily on the leaders from the gun and won by a fair margin. The field of eight was well strewn out. Very little separated the second and third men, C. E. Matthews and E. H. Bishop respectively.

The 880. yards handicap was run at a good pace right through. Two hundred yards from the finish Giles set off at a sprint which, however, he could not sustain, and R. Seaton passed him running strongly to win by a couple of yards. Giles slack ened more when just on the post but just managed to secure second place. The long jump handicap went to B. Whelan by only two inches, A. F Hayman, the second man, jumping a good 17ft 2 inches which, with his handicap, made him 18ft 5 inch es against Whelan’s total of 18ft. 7.in (hep 18in.). The third man registered a total of 17ft. Ilins.

The novelty event consisted in a 75 yards race going backwards. This provided a good deal of amusement, some tripping and turning somersaults and others going right off the track. Practically all the competitors entered for this race which provided a large field and added to the confusion.

The efforts of the officials, who gratuitously rendered their assistance, materially helped to make the meeting the success it was. Although thery were a few break-aways no false starts were recorded, a tribute to the efficient work of the starter, Mr F. A. Kennard. Mr R. B. Cameron made an able time-keep-er, and the public were well-inform-ed of the results by the records secretary, Mr L. C. MeLauchlan.

The placings of the judges, Messrs .S. I. Fitch, E. Travers, J. Menzies, A. J. Hoskins, A. Hawke, 1 and L. Smith, met with general approval, and the energetic work of the superintendent, Mr L. J. Collins, in getting the competitors on the mark, added to the expedition with which the events were got off. The close finishes were indicative of the excellent work done by the handieapner, Mr Mcßae, Timaru. The prime mover in the organisation of the sports was Mr L. J. Col--1 lins, himself a well-known performer on the track, and the successful results of his efforts to encourage amateur athletics in this district, must have been pleasing to him indeed. No doubt the unqualified success which the meeting proved to be will make him feel he has been well repaid for the large amount of work and time he has given, to the promotion of the sports. The work of Mr Collins did not end with the promotion of the sports. More than

that, he secured the support of the the masters of the Waimate Schools who promised to find competitors for the various events. With the organisation of the meeting completed, Mr Collins next set about the preparation of the running tracks and spent many hours in the measuring off of the various distances. Amateur 1 runners in the district owe a deep debt of gratitude to Mr Collins for his efforts to encourage and foster amateur athletics in Waimate.

Mr Collins expresses his sincere thanks to all those who aided him in his efforts, especially the masters of the schools.

It is hoped that the proceeds of the sports will be sufficient to pay the expenses of bringing to Waimate the large contingent of Timaru runners who so kindly lent their assistance with the object of making the meeting a. success both financially and otherwise. Several donations were given by local people towards the trophies for the various events, for which the promoters of the meeting express themselves as deeply grateful.

It is hoped that amateur athletics will become more and more popular in Waimate, and with the desire of attaining this end, it is probable that meetings similar to that of Thursday night last will be held frequently during the season.