ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1162, 24 June 1911, Page 13

ATHLETICS.

HOME CLIMATE UPSETS WOODGER. W. A. Woodger, who, the cables announced, will be unablo to compete at tho Festival of Empire Sports, has been unable to get used to the climate since his arrival in England. Writing to his brother (Mr. Bert Woodger, of,this city), under dato May 17, he said:—"l seem unable to get used to the climate, and feel anything but fit at present, but hope to improve. Half of every day now is taken up in training, and-everything is a trouble. ■ However, I am sticking to it, and hope, to be all right when the final day comes. The nearest ground to where ho live is Tull'nell Park, but tho track there is very bad. Whoatloy and I went (hero for about a week and u half, but now wo go to the Crystal Palace every day. It is all right (here, but such a long way off. We go in tho afternoons, and, if we leave home at 2 o'clock, it is about half-past seven before we are back again. . . . It is a good track—cinders —but a trifle soft as yet. After being used to a grass track, running on cinders comes very strange. I don't like it a bit. There aro three or four sprinters in England, who arc all reputed lOsec. men, so that the best ono or two out of these should bo good. I will probably bo starting in a 100 yards Invitation Scratch Race at Crewe on Juno 17, a week before Festival Games. [The cable has since stated Woodger did not start.] They say all tho champions run here. Ramsdale, the American, and Patching, from South I Africa, are both expected to run. I believo Pitching will bo running in tho Festival Games also, and they reckon he is faster than Walker. Opie seems to bo running better than ever he did in his life. ... Whoatley, Champion, and myself went out to Catford Bridge on Saturday afternoon, and saw the Blackheath Harriers' annual meeting. There were also several Kent county championships' run off. Most of'the times were good, notably the 100 yards championship, won by D'Arcy in lOsec. The entries for all the events over here are always very large. On Saturday there were a. lot of scratchings for the mile, and then there were 74 starters."