ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 918, 10 September 1910, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

.A-TERRIBLE INDICTMENT. . (Bi Hercuei.) October S.-fGrahd Athletic Carnival,, in aid of- Boys' Institute (Athletic Park). The Cancer on English Sport. Under the heading "Abuses of Athleticism" ; the English "Athletic News" pub-lishes-a. very trenchant, articlo .on the present state of affairs in amateur athletic cir'cles in the Old Country. If tho writer is", correct in his strictures, and ho'appears ;to,be quite, sure -of his ground, it : is not unlikely that he has put his finger'on the cause ;.of the reputed declino of athletics in England. He openly accuses the officials of the E.A'.A.A. -and -.N.C.A.A., the two loading governing bodies, of not only tolerat-' ing betting and "'crooked" running, but also, in: certain , cases, of actual participation in',, these offences. Unfortunately spaco does;not permit of the publication of the article in full, but the extracts which are appended will show its purport. • ' '-, Scathing Denunciation. ■ After his introductory ■ remarks, which embody his allegations, the- writer gives specific instances as under •—What' then is the obvious: state of affairs ? - Surely that tho amateur athletic meetings of tho North aro rapidly becoming betting gatherings; that; save, on the matter, of courage to stand in;their true colours the meetings are quite on a par with pedestrian fixtures. The ring of bookmakers is.there just the same, and at the evening gathering of Broughtoh Harriers the other-.,: night and, at the M.A.C. meeting.on tho' following evening there was wagering without; let or hindrance. At I'allowfield, as a matter of fact, a couple of half pressed runners vaulted: the fence, ami for a time joined tho throng of spectators!. It. was a .pretty, sight,, and ftw remarked upon by .many.-. \ . "Again,'at a Yorkshire meeting:attended i by-N.CA:A. judges: and other officials,- the other day the athletes kept up constant communication with their friends lir the betting There was the old-fashioned cxchango.of hats—l- daresay .my readers.. know, what was contain-ed-,in 'the leather liifing so carefully ex- 1 amined by theninncrs and their friends' —and nobody paid tlie slightest heed.. A man who' ran awfully well in the furlong darted, to,;the rails, gave 'the. office' to a--friend,''whose immediate step was to have a wagering.transaction,with aleeds bookmaker-rthese gentlemen' are noVadays the keenestof. the keen oh Saturday: after-' noons, and -may the gods help amateur sport when they take a financial interest in it." ■■■',•-' "-..

Has' it Corria ;to: That? _-Then;;the.. officials' are;; dealt 'with. 'Ticre is another instance of how things ai'B;being done. A' meeting will .'take' place in, Lancashire in a few days under » neither.; of. the N,A.U. nor of 'the A.A.A./ One of the primohands in •it's promotion—the. jpromotion of_.a ' professional, meeting—is a man woll known in amateur-::athletics-I mean, A.A.A. ath-letics.-;-.;You;wjll:.not find his name on the'progra'mnie, but; I made , a; Jekyll and Hyde; discovery in an advertising letter. ..What is this man's rear position ? Kemember this story of the organisation °l, ,an'.'/oUtslde' meeting is not a little Jp.ble,concocred to make this article merely sensational. It is a fact;. and I can prove it. All-the dodges of professional-ism-are being tried under tho very.-noses of the officials. There are club officials who are interested in professional, runners, and who are backing amateurs attached .<o their own ;dubs.. T am. not ulono in the, possession of /this information. It is pretty well known. Yet there is not a word uttered by way of protest. Why?" Why indeed! . I expect some day to see the listo. erected, at, the- meetings and the'pncea defined so-that he who runs may read. This;is not 'hyperbole. '.It is .the truth, and I. defy.' anybody to deny it. Kunners are/kept and travelled about the country/by "gaffers"/just the same as is the case'with the professionals.: I witnessed acquaint sight the other day in Yorkshire. ■:-• "Gaffer" and ,lad, within .a yard of me, were planning a', story to be, told' to the h'andicapper, whereby tho starts'.of. the runners: might be influenced. The'runner-moved ofl to-carry 'out the ■instructions, when the .- mentor said, "Here, take your bag and let me get out of/sight! •':, Just let/him think you'vo come all'tho way on your, own!" Then he 1 dived towards the competitors' tent.

"0, Cleanse These Augean Stables. All thiß,.from a paper of-the' athletic standing of'.the "News", is, very serious indeed—how "serious can hardly-be imagined. ~'.One,aim picture the' avidity with which, it will be seized upon by. the American sporting papers, in view of the highly moral..attitude taken up by English. Authorities over the much-deoried "professional methods" of the American amateurs, and the offence which the allegations in the English press .gave the Americans'at and-since the last Olympic games..- "Muck-raking" is to-be deplored, but, if. the' fearless stand taken by the. "Athlohc \News".writer leads to an exhaustive inquiry,, and,, if.necessary, ,a cleansing of the Augean stable, which he depicts, then will the "muck-raking" be justified. ' And, surely—after -so straight and terrible an '• indtotment—the authorities will insist <m uueh 'nn inquiry./ . ■■■"•- ■■'.'■;":-■■ ■-

Wellington Harr.lers. Quito a goodly number of runners turned up nt Lyull Bay on Saturday last, in order to take part in the Wellington Harriers' weekly run. It was so genial nn afternoon that the opportunity, afforded hy the run, "to commune with Nature face to face," was too good to be missed. So the. club attendance-book showed a better tally. than for some weeks previously. ./Flat going was selected for the run, which was held along Lyall Bay beach and over the football fields and golf links at Miramar. 'A race between the captain's and vice-captain's teams was set down for decision on' the syllabus, and, although the latter was unable to take part in the run himself, ho sorted out half a dozen men to do battle for him against the elect of the captain. ' The race was over the last ten furlongs of tho course, which was practically the full length of the/beach, and resulted inHhe teams tying after an interesting raco and some good finishes, which provided entertainment for the numerous "bench-combers" present in the vicinity. Rowberry, of tho vice-captain's team, reached home first, ten yards ahead of Wilton; who was twenty yards ahead of Bonnctt. Points were gained as follow by the respective teams:—Captain's team: Wilton 2, Finn i. Power and Salelc (dead heat) 5$ each, Meal 10, and M'uir 12; vice-captain's team: Rowberry 1, .Bennett 3, M'Dowall 7, Johnson 8, White 'j, M'Neilly 11: total, 39 points in each case. Runners who were not selected for either team held a "go-as-you-please" run-in. .• ' The rendezvous for to-day's run is at Island Bay. ''•.'■■'.' The Brooklyn Men, : For the third successive week tho Brooklyn men 'held their run from Miramar North' over ' tho iive-milo championship

course. The run was a straight-out training gallop, and thoso. who wished wore given the opportunity of covering the full distance, without, fear of the brake being applied by means of the whipper-in whistle. Nevertheless the majority were content to remain-in a bunch and pull up for an occasional "breather," although the "cracks" (Murray, Don, and Hodson) kept a full-head of steam on throughout, thus putting in a serviceable winding up to their training for tho classical event at Invorcargill on Wednesday last. The pack will run to-day from To Aro Baths.

Ten-mile Handicap. v Members of both harrier clubs should note that entries for the ten miles lnterClnb Handicap, to bt> held under•' tho auspices of tho Wellington Harriers, at Miramar, next Saturday, close to-day with the secretary, Mr. C. Lambprg. The annual teams road race will in all probability nvnntuato on Saturday, October 1," over tho usual course of five miles round Oriental and Evans Bays for Harrier Club members only will be included in tho programme of the sports meeting to be held on the Athletic I'nrk in aid of tho Boys' Institute. The distance for this race has not yet been decided on.

Thß Coming Big Carnival. • .„' Through tho courtesy of tho hop. secretary "Mercury" -is enabled to publish an'advance programme of tho big'.combined Athletic carnival at the Athletic Park, on October 8, in aid of the Boys' Institute I'und. This meeting will, provide.fche opening gathering of .the coming season, and the list of events will show, that it will be :worthy. of' the occasion! The'events are to.be: IOOy.Is. boys', race (post-entry); 880 yds. .relay (open to teams Of four : from any recognised amateur athletic body);. harriers' race (distance ■to be decided); boys', half-milej walk; tug-'of-war (teams of eight and, n captain); .place-kicking competition (four kicks); Rugby, lacrosse, Association, hockey,, and basket-ball'exhibitions.- Entries, except for; the relay and tug-6f-war events, which aro ss. pei team,, nill cost competitors the' usual Is., and are to close on September 28, and tho excellence and variety of the fare and the cause to be benefited should insure a full measure of support from our athletes. Cross-Country, Championship.

, Details , of' tho big cross-country 'fixture,, wtfn by Otago on .Wednesday last, 'rtili be'given next week. At. the timo of. writing only the Press Associatipn re-, port: is available, 'hut" by next Saturday; "Mercury!"-- will be in possession of aspectator's account, and the contest: wiltthen be fully'dealt.with/