ATHLETICS

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 377, 14 October 1897, Page 6

ATHLETICS

[By

Vigilant.]

THE AUSTRALASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS. The long-talked-of Amateur Athletic Championships of the Antipodes have come and gone, and the honour of premier colony of the Australias, held last year by Maoriland, has passed into the hands of the cornstalks —the athletes of New South Wales —who won six out of the fifteen championships, New Zealand being second with four, Victoria third with three, and Queensland last with two. But before dealing with the gathering itself —the bare results of which appeared in my last weeks’ notes, but on which want of space forbade me touching at length — 1 have a word or two say anent the preliminaries. Firstly comes the great inglorious mistake of the selection committee, in failing to include amongst the ranks of the New Zealand contingent the champion 100yds sprinter of the colony, Patrick, of Wellington. Here they blundered badly, though the why and wherefore of their action has never been disclosed, and as far as I can see, never will be. As I have before said, there is not one amongst us who can understand how they came to pass over such undeniable claims as those put forth by the sturdy little Wellington representative, who at the last meeting of the New Zealand Championships clocked the phenomenal time of lOsec in the 100yds Championship, and ran brilliantly in the 250yds. It has been suggested in some quarters that lack of funds was in some measure responsible for their action, but this can hardly be reconciled with the inclusion of second raters such as Rhodes — truly an emphatic denial to the reason advanced. Then, again, we are told that they considered Holder a man equal to do battle in the events for which Patrick should have been nominated, but even though he is undoubtedly a good sprinter, this cannot be said to hold water, as no man could be asked to do the amount of work thus thrown on the shoulders of the Wanganui champion—an almost superhuman task —and least of all by gentlemen who must have been thoroughly alive to the amount of work that such an undertaking would entail. Therefore, the reasons advanced are shattered, and we still remain in the dark as to why the Wellington man was not included. Next comes the blunder of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, that of failing to make proper arrangements for the management of the team. They appoint Hawthorne, of Wellington, manager of the team, and we find that he cannot reach the scene of action until the day set down for the opening of the championship meeting. Recognising their error, they then appoint Mr Selig acting manager, and news from Australia states that that gentleman cannot look after the team, as he is not residing at Botany, where the contingent is quartered for training purposes, thus leaving the men free to do just what they liked, and what they—or at least some of them —seemed to like was to throw care to the winds and have a good time instead of attending properly and thoroughly to the important duty of assidious preparation, so badly needed after the sea voyage. I do not blame Mr Selig for this state of affairs, for I believe, had he been originally appointed to tbe important post of manager, and accepted the same, he would have carried out the duties to the uttermost. But as matters stood, he had other duties to attend to, one being to participate in the conference of athletic bodies, and therefore could not look after the team. The Association, however, cannot be allowed to escape so cheaply; they have blundered, and blundered badly, too, being entirely to blame for this unsatisatisfactory state of affairs. Where was that foresight and acumen that should be the leading trait of those in authority, a body who rule tbe destinies of amateurism in this colony ? Aye, where indeed ? Well might we feel dissatisfied with their bungling, and certainly our faith in their ability to conduct the functions that pertain to such an important body have been shaken to the very foundation—in fact, received an irreparable blow. To the N.Z.A.A.A. we look for an answer and an explanation, though I certainly cannot see how they can give us anything in the way of a satisfactory explanation, in the absence of which I would urge the clubs of this colony to move in the matter of the removal of the headquarters of the sport to some other centre —say Wellington for preference, as more central. Without further reference I will pass on to the New Zealand contingent. When the trip was first mooted our hopes ran high, for with such athletes as Low, Bennett, McCormack, Creamer, Holder, and Patrick in our midst our prospects of carrying off the honors wore a roseate hue, in fact our chance read second to none. However, as time progressed and we found that Low, Bennett, Mac Cormack, and Creamer could not go, and that Patrick had not been chosen, the glass fell considerably and the prospects of success began to look more gloomy every day. Then we were apprised of the fact that the all-round ehampion of the colony, A. H. Holder, had been seized with the prevailing epidemic influenza, and that with no light hand, right in the midst of his preparation. We were by no means reassured when Holder reached Auckland on Monday, the 20th, aud passed through by the Westralia with the Auckland members, for a glance at the Wanganuite showed plainly enough that he was not the Arthur Holder who had run so brilliantly at the New Zealand Championships, and, with a sea voyage in front of him, could not be expected to properly pull himself together by tbe time of the meeting. The next thing we heard, or, I should say, saw was the remarks of

the Herald's special correspondent in Sydney, who stated that the members of the team were “ on their own,” without a guiding hand or head to look to their training, which, together with the absence of the above-mentioned champions, told its own tale. And that tale to anyone with a knowledge of athletic matters was as plain as the proverbial pikestaff—the prospects of the N.Z. team were completely shattered, that is to say so far as the retaining of the proud position of premier colony of Australasia was concerned. And so it has proved. Yet, despite this fact, it must be admitted that there were men amongst them who would not fail to do tbeir duty to the colony. I refer to Holder and Wilson particularly, a pair of conscientious men who, even under the adverse circumstances referred to, could be relied upon to do their utmost to fit themselves for the task that lay before them, and battle bravely against overwhelming odds for the honor of their colony, and this I certainly believe they did. Passing on now to the championships, I must, before going into details, congratulate the New South Wales athletes on their successes —Rowley and Laidlaw in particular —for the brilliant manner in which they battled, and successfully too, for the honor of their colony. They (the Welshmen) were sadly handicapped by the loss of their undoubted champion (Roseningrave), who a week or two before the gathering injured his knee and was compelled to act as a spectator, no doubt much against his will. Had he been a competitor instead of an onlooker, the Cornstalks would have undoubtedly scored a greater victory, as I am now perfectly satisfied, on information received from the Other Side, that the ex-Irishman is the finest 120yds hurdler south of the Line, besides which he would have put together fresh records in the high and broad jumps, and probably would have proved himself equal to measuring strides over the 440yds hurdles with the star of the island colony, Holder, at his very best. Taking the most notable events in their order of merit the performances of Rowley (N.S.W.) and D. Wilson (Auckland) may be bracketed together as the features of the meeting. The brilliant Welshman has without doubt established himself the present sprinter of Australasia. Firstly, he carves out the 100yds in lOsecs on a track, judging by cabled reports, that was anything but favorable to record breaking, the weather being atrocious, a time that has only been once authentically—l say authentically advisedly, as Hempton’s 9jsecs is not officially recognised — defeated, and that was the world’s record of 9 4-ssec, conjointly held by Hempton, McPherson, and two other famous international champions, B. J. Wefers and J. Owens, the Yankee wonders. Patrick, of New Zealand, equalled the Welshman’s time over this particular distance at the last N.Z. Championships held in Auckland, and a race between the pair would be worth a bare-footed pilgrimage to witness, but I should not care to pit them over the 100yds and 220yds, that is to say as far as the New Zealander is concerned, for even though he proved equal to reaching the tapes in the shorter distance with the N.S.W. rep. I do not credit him with the ability to catch the judge’s eye on terms with Rowley over a 220yds course, which, as cabled, was cut out by the Welshman in 22 2-ssec, or 2-ssec over even time. All the more remarkable is Rowley’s performance from the fact that he had to make all his own running in this latter event, which I quite believe would have been compassed in, say, l-ssec better time with anything like determined opposition. Let me here say ihat I am quite satisfied that “ Prodigal’s ” weakness for his own is more than justified, and should I at any time have the pleasure of being brought into contact with that well-known authority on athletic matters I shall most gladly hand him over the “cigar” I certainly owe to him Rowley is the champion of the Southern Hemisphere. And now a word for Wilson, who was sent across as a substitute for F. H. Creamer to represent Maoriland in the heel-and-toe events. The sturdy Aucklander — who I understand would have gone across had he not been chosen as a member of the team —has placed to the credit of New Zealand two of the four events won by this colony, and that by the most brilliant exhibition of walking ever shown by an amateur in the Colonies. Firstly he compassed the mile in 6min 41isec, which is only 1 lOsec behind A. Brady’s (the ex-amateur) Australasian record, and, to the credit of the Victorian representative, Barrett, may it be said, only just reached the tape a yard to the good, after a splendid battle. This he followed by knocking 14 3-ssec off F. H Creamer’s thre-mile record, reaching tbe end of the journey in the grand time of 22min 37 l-ssec, and comfortably beating off all opposition. All who have watched him for the past two or three years agreed that he was full of promise and a man likely to give the best in the Colonies serious trouble ere long, but I hardly think that one of us would have predicted his clockings on the other side would be such as to proclaim him Amateur Champion of the Auetralias. Such, however, he undoubtedly is, and when he reaches us —which I believe he will before these notes appear in print—l shall be amongst the first to grasp him by the hand and congratulate him on his success, and if I know anything of F. H. Creamer, the ex-champion, he will press me very closely for this honour, as he is a true sport. Holder —who was beaten in the 120yds Hurdles by Laidlaw, a N.S.W. colt, of whom I never before heard, in 16 l-ssec, and won the 440yds stick event in 62sec, after a dead-beat with this new aspirant to hurdle fame in 60 4-ssec, besides running second in the 440yds flat, won by Campbell in 52sec—did quite as well as I expected of him in his condition and under the altogether too severe tasks imposed upon him, and with these remarks I shall allow his doings to pass, for even as it is I fear I shall be rated by Australian writers for having endeavoured to excuse his downfall. This, however, I hope will not be the case, as 1 believe my confreres will admit that he was not quite himself. Hori Eruera, as had been expected, won l' e Pole Jump very comfortably, none of the men on the other side being equal to better than 10ft,

which the Native exceeded by 10£ inches. This,, however, is still If inches below the Australasian record of lift |in.

McKean, who it was generally believed would prove an excellent substitute for Low in the Half-mile event, failed sadly to justify the high opinion we held of him as a half-miler, and was without doubt the most disappointing man of theteam. At the last New Zealand Championship meeting, when not in anything like the condition he was when he left by the IVestralia, he did better time than that credited to Campbell (2min 2 4-5-sec),and though not timed by sufficient watches to constitute a record, is also said on good authority to have run the half-mile at one of the Friendly Societies carnivals here last year in a trifle under the even time, besides having knocked out all previous 1000yds clocking at North Shore. Evidently, he completely lost his head on the other side, as the cable states that he rushed away to the front from the sound of the pistol and held his advantage until within a couple of hundred yards from home, when he fell away beaten. The same lack of judgment which has ruined his prospects over and over again on this side, but which we erroneously thought he had got rid of, caused his downfall.

The conference of amateur athletic bodies held in conjunction with the Championships, and towhich Messrs L. A. Cuff and Selig were the N.Z. representatives, have concluded their deliberations; Amongst other matters it was decided that amateurs may compete in the following games with professionals :—Baseball, cricket, football, handball, golf, lacrosse, tennis, quoits, racquets, and hockey. It was resolved to renew the Australasian Championship Meeting between New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and New Zealand, the first meeting to be held at Brisbane, in September, 1899 ; the second in New Zealand, in January, 1902 ; the third in Melbourne, in 1903 ; and the last in Sydney, in 1905. The conference adopted the following events and standards as the championship programme : —looyds flat, 10 l-ssec; 220yds flat, 22 4-ssec; 440yds flat, 52sec ; halfmile flat, 2min 2sec ; mile flat, 4min 32sec ; three miles, 15min 30sec ; 120yds hurdles, 16 2-ssec ; 440yds hurdles, 61sec ; high jump, sft 7in; long jump, 21ft; mile walk, 7min ; three-mile walk, '23min 15sec. It was resolved that no colony be allowed to start more than three men in any running, walking, or hurdle event. The sub-com-mittee of the conference reported in favor of sending a team of six men and a manager to Great Britain at a cost of £9OO, which the several colonies are to be asked to contribute. The names of the proposed team have not been disclosed, but each colony will be represented. Ultimately it was decided to remit the proposal to the various associations. A standing committee, consisting of Messrs Coombs (New South Wales), Cuff (New Zealand), and Parkinson (Victoria), was appointed to take the matter in hand. If the scheme is accepted the team would leave about the end of February. On Monday morning, at 2 a.m., Messrs D. Wilson and Hori Eruera, members of the N.Z. athletic team, together with Mr J. Marshall, president of the Auckland Amateur Athletic Club, who went across to witness the championship competitions, returned to Auckland by the s.s. Tarawera. They report a good trip after the first day out, and are all looking hale and well. Holder, Martin, and McKean, of the New Zealand team, are staying in Sydney for a week or two to have a thorough look round before returning home.