ATHLETICS AND CYCLING

Chronicle (Levin), 12 March 1946, Page 8

ATHLETICS AND CYCLING

NOTES AND COMMENTS LEVIN CLUB'S OPEN MEETING The Athletic and Cycling Club's season in Levin was brought to a close on Saturday, with the grana victory sports nxrure heid on the Levin Park Domain. Aithough the committee of the club has not decided finally on the quesuon jdI not hoiding any more meetings this. season, a "Chroniele" representative in coversation with various oiftcials of tne ciub on Saturday eame to the concmsion that this meeting 'would- be the last, as tne lighting probiem will not aliow of any night meetings being run after 7 p m., and a fuil programme would not be able to be put beiore tne public in the short ume avaiiabie, 60 the local club would be wise in curtailing its activities untii^ the spring, when wrch full iigntmg facilities the usual popular programme of events wili be able to be staged. , Some of the finest athletes to grace any track in New Zealanc. competed on Saturday, and aithough there was a large atten- | dance of the public, representative of the Horownenua aistnct present, in the views oi this writer there should have been more. The officials of these amateur clubs get no recompense for the time and work expended to arrange a meeting such as was stagea on Saturday, and a larger attenaance wouid have oeen mosc heartenmg to the local club,8 who wouid have realised that the work th'at they are domg to build the youth of this district.into a fine body of young men both physically and morauy had the support of every man and woman. With 30 events caraed and several of them having to be run in neats, a fine afternoon's sport was witnessed. A fine performance was put up by D. Treseder irom tne Hutt Club in winning the 880 yards open handicap in 1 min. 59-4/5 sec., and his finisning run was exceiieiit. W. Hodges, Otaki, witn a handicap oi 8 yards prevailed over the rest of the field in the final of the 100 yardo open and his time of 9-3/5 sec. was good. It wouid be interesting tc cornpare the time put up by Hodgei if he had started Irom scratch with that of the New Zealand champion who run the 100 yards in 10-1/5 sec. at Wanganui the previous Saturday on a track not so fast as the Levin : one. The world record for the 10s yards is 9-,2/b sec., wniie the fastesi time for "the 100 in New Zealand is : Q A /P; spf

Another Otaki representative, H. Gordon, ran well in the final of the 220 yards open uo uown representatives from Victoria College, Paraparaumu, and Kiwi (Wellington ) in the smart time of 21 2/5 sec. He also won the 440. Gordon has been a consistent perlormer at club nights this season and further successes are in store for this popular l runner. The open rniie saw a gooo i field face the starter and A. G. Oozens of Palmerston North put up a good performance from 50 yards to, cut the distance out in 4 min. 29 sec. Cozens has run well this season and to win the J ubilee Cup (presented to the club by Mr. C. N. Womes) is a wefi-deserved rewara ior this consistent performer. Last year's holder, K. Galloway, Feilding, ran a creditable second but was not good enough on the day for the winner. ! The " local ladies kept Levin Club's colours flying, Misses Cameron and Lang racing well to win t.hP 75 and 100 vards respectively.

These two young ladies, along with the Misses Prendeville, have performed well at various fixtures this season and it was pleasing to see them prove better on the day than the representatives from other clubs. It is to be hoped that next season wili see a larger number oi the fairer sex competing under the colours of the local cluo, thus allowing them to nominate a team | for competition among sister clubs. Among the. juniors C. Walker, Levin, ran the 100 yards from a handicap of 5 yards in 10 sec. to win the race from Foster, a Kiwi Club representative, in a close finish. Foster who started from the same mark, ran well, but Walker, who has seldom been out of a piace this season, was in fine form. The final of the 220 yards junior handicap provided a thrilling finish. A. Lee from Shannon, who runs in the" Levin Club's colours, from 26 yards quickly jumped out and led tne field into the straight, where P. McMinn challenged strongly, but when it seemed as though he had caught the leader, Lee put on an extra bit of speed to win comfortably in the good time of 22-5/5 sec. Paraparaumu's representative, G. Clunie, ran an excellent race to down the opposition in a close finish in the junior 440, while Fifield, of Palmerston North, ran a nicely judged race to collect the field and annex the 880 yards junior.

A feature of the meeting was the large fieids that faced the starter in the cycle races. With 3 heats in the half-mile open "event some cl'ose finishes and excellent riding was witnessed, and iry the final a great race resulted with N. Allen, Wanganui, getting the decision, while another Wanganui lad proved the victor in the onemile open, Rodgers, a Feilding representative, put up a good performance to win the junior half-mile and three-mile cycle races, and rode excellently judged races to gain the verdicts. The afternoon's sport was brought to a close with the 5mile "A" grade cycle handicap for the Hickson cup. Among the scratch men A. H. Allen rode^well. but H. Pidell from 190 yards proved the victor out of this large * field.. Among the Levin entrantS N. Parker was the most impressive and next' season more should bp heard of this promising young rider. i In the course of his remarks at ' ' \

the presentation of trophies the president (Mr. Cribb) thanked the athletes and cyclists for their attendance, and remarked upon the good sportsmanship displayed by all competitors. "We have had a most successful season," continued Mr. Cribb, "and if we can get the support of the general public in the same measure as the business i people of Levin have supported us we will stage bigger and better meetings next season, and draw the best athletes and cyclists in New Zealand to our open meetings. It may not be gerierally known, but the business people of this town have provided all the trophies competed for to-day, and on behalf of the club I say a big thank you to them. It would not be fitting to close my remarks without paying a tribute to the members of the St. John Ambulance Brigade, who are always with us, and who, like ourselves, do a job because they realise that they are providing a service which is appreciated. To the Boys* Training Centre, on behalf of the club, I must pass a vote of thanks. as they spent Friday afternoon on the ground preparing for to-day and sweeping the track. Their attendance as competitors during the season has been appreciated very much. Last, but not least, I must give thanks to the proprietors of 'The Chroniele' for the manner in which they have fostered our club during the season, and the publicity they have given the affairs of athletics and cycling in the Horowhenua district," concluded Mr. Cribb.