ATHLETIC SPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1315, 19 December 1911, Page 7

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

RATHER A MUDDLE. OVER THE CHAMPIONSHIPS. A SUDDEN CHANGE. Surprise, sudden mid serious snough, wa3 tho first feeling experienced by tho members of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association who went during tho week end to inspect tho progress being made in tho preparations necessary to put the Athletic Park into shape for tho holding of tho. Australasian Championship moeting thereon next week. They found that somo of the long summer growth of grass had been mowed—and not very woll mowed—and. that nothing else had boen done. The tracks had scarce bwm roughed out, and tho surface was so . uneven that it seemed to them very doubtful whether tho cxpondituro. of any time and labour would put tho tracks into condition fit for . a championship meeting. They therefore took steps to secure another ground, and tho only other ground which soanied to them suitable was tho Basin Reserve.. They sent, in to the City Council an application for permission to use the ground on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 26 and 27, and for the right *.o chargo for admission on those days.. This application was submitted to as many oi the members of the Reserves Committed as could bo tound, and they all agreed that it ought to be granted. It was, therelore, to all intents and purposes, certain that the Busin would be available. Such was the position when tho association met yesterday afternoon to. decide wnat must be done. The president (Mr. A. MaiTj-att) was in tho chair, and there were aisn present-. Messrs. E. L. Chatty, M. H. Oram, J. C.. Cusack, J. Crouch, B. iiridge, T. W. LarHin, J. Thompson, and B. A. Guise. The president explained why it had been Bbv..=ary to"sumnion a meeting suddenly. I'rom what he bad seen he'was satisfied that it would be absolutely impossible now to get the Athletic Park into ■ condition. It had teen arranged with tho trustees' of the park that the ground should be put in-order for a sports meeting, that" the work should be dono'to tt« trustees' order, and that the association should pay an agreed price for tbo ground. The..association nad relied unon that contract being fulfilled, but absolutely nothing of any consequence had. been done to .the ground... The question for the meetins to decido was whother the association would hold the sports on the Athletic Park, or arrange for some other ground. Tho Basin Reserve could be procured, but there was this objection to'it, that the tack was not a good one owim* to the undulating nature of the surface. However, the 100 yards had been, run on it in 10 .seconds dead, and the mile had been, covered faster on it than ever-be-tore on any track in New Zealand by any amateur except .Shrubb. Ho had been advised that it was still po--.'ible to get tlie.AtbJctic Turk tracks nut in good order by rolling:, and top-dressing them, but he was still doubtful. Other members agreed llwt it was impossible to hope to hold the sports at the Athletic Pork. It was suggested that an effort, ought to be made to secure, the College ground on account of the sujpsrjority of the tracks there, but the proposal was ultimately rejected on the f-iisting-voto the'chairman, and it wa* decided to secure the Reserve. Several objections were raised to the Bas:n as a sports'ground, the principal being that, it would be impossible to pet a smooth circular path there oivinsr to the lumpy surface. Others, however, thought that rolling with a heavy, roller, combined with careful. top-dressinj;, would put. tho track in very fair condition. The most 'serious' objection ■•' to ' the' ground: was that it happens■ to slope about two , feet from £outli to north, and the 100 yards and 120 ; hurdles' times would therefore "not be recognised as records if the races are"rnn as usnnl from south' to north. As someone said, however, "tho probabilities aTe that there will probably be either a howling .northerly dr . an eciua Iy hiwimg - southerly blowing, which would equally put all posfcibls rewd runs, out of the question. It was decided in any ovent to run the sprint races from north to south, so that the track should not prevent records from being established ■ ; • .