THE WORLD OF SPORT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 13, 23 December 1911, Page 16

THE WORLD OF SPORT.

ATHLETICS.

6- ■ (BT "Mibcbbt.") • CHAMPIONSHIP FORECASTS. Ifeccmb'or 26' and 27.—Australasian Araa"teiir. Championships (Basin Krame). 1012. " _ ' ' J&nuarV. I—Wairarapa Caledonian >Sor ciety'j Sports (Masterton).; amateur ' : events.January -I. —Wellington Whcfelers' Club, . .. ..'Athletic Park; amateur events. January 6—Atickland• A.A.C. JamirtryV' 17—Karori A.A.C. Evening . • Meeting.' . January Caledonian _So--ciety,. at. AVanganui; all running •• events.'amateur.' ' January 27—Civil Servico A.A.C. Sleeting. Basin Reserve. ' . February Provincial . . Championships.. . .'• • February 21-New Zealand Championship "...Meeting, fiivereargill. • February 28—Manawatu A.A.C. Meeting (Palmcrston North). rrhe : Momentous Days at Hand. Xpit Tueod'ay ami Wednesday will bo momentous days in the history of Australasian amateur athletics. Then will be seen' tho representatives 'of New Zea/- ' laid battling to rata,in for the Dominion its proud'position'as holders of the Australasian championship shield, against the elect of tho Australian States. Tho present gathering is the -tenth of tlin scries. The first- was held on tho Melbourne . Cricket-Ground, .on November 9 and 11. 1903, and honours went to New South Wales, whose representatives . fcorcd 7 wins; Victoria bcing'secomUwith 5; and New Zealand third, with-it wins. \t' the-Mxt meeting,' however,.'-which was liol.<l -..at .'Lancaster Park, New Zealand had a runaway victory, winning 11 of tho events, -New South Wales ,gaining- _ 3 •■wins,' and .Victoria 1. Since thou New Zealand representatives lnivo been victor-ious-oh.'fbur.'. occasions, viz.': At Brisbane in''lßo9, at Auckland in 1901, at. Ilobart in -190S, aiid at Brisbane in 1909. New ■Zeiilnjid up to tlio present has von. the Championship Banner 011 five, occasions, as: against, thro© times ■ by. ; New South Wales; and one© by Victoria.. - On tlio-present occasion it looks as though, the Dominion should add another ' victory' to - this-:list.- Wo are being; represented: by our full , str.enstli-with perhaps tho. one exception of W. A; WoodgOTj- the, .present, Austealasian '• sprint champion;'.'who . is uflfortUnaWy; prevented .througK . reasons/previously set' forth from,,defending his titles., ■ In his stead we have Ronald Opie and as-tho margin of difference between thesa twain .is so slight—if' difference thiiro bo iit;. all-.—-that: it canniit honestly.' b<>. said' that; our .chances '* are;.weakened .by.-his absence, -.regrettable though it isi- ■ New: "Zealand, is nn lier defence:, on- a battle-ground of hesr'.own choosing .withcveiything in her '-favour and, if .-Fate wills'.-that victory, .shall, not conie...Jie(r way, : . thei;o. can -.bo..'.nt>..excuses: coining— ' ■ it will bo because .sho has be^n'beaten oii.' her -..laijrits—"only., that , and /nothingmore.". ■ • Opie.and Those Who Meet.Him. At this stage it naturally-falls to' the lot of tho athlcticrscfibo'' to.-niake the Tisoial foreeas.t. In thp. present instance this, task, so fm* ; as the sprint svents are coniiDrned, must'bo. trickled w-ith tropidntion; In "the 100 yards—always tho blue ri.bahd .qveut of 11. gatherjiig 'of this natuKHTthere' iv ill be, engaged no fewer than four-'of-the visitors, who have, been credited with even time. . These are J.BurtOn and J. A.. TroupJ of Victoria, P. T. Bedmond, of New South Wales, and .W. T. Itonv/ick, of Qneon'slahd. Against-this doughty qnartet New Zealand's hope rests in j'onald Opie, whose bost championshin performance is. his 10 l-lO&ec. of last March in Christchurch.In the recent; tests for tho Victorian team; Barton beat'-Troup and Ellis (dead . heat),-by a yard in 10 seconds, on a track dropping a. foot, anid. w.ith a slight help- ' ing Wind, and Mr. -Basil Podkinson, tho Vio/s :• manager, estimates, this margin to lie ahout -tbn difference between th«m;aS a general thing. Burton is an ex-champion of New South, Wales, and so can bring .plenty of experience to bear; aud f'Mercm-y". looks to .him to battle out tho'final with Opie, who is improving fast, on his last Saturday's showing. Burton, by the .way, strained a muscle in the abovemoritioned and was unable to start in,-tho 220 yds. final. So far there-has -been no opportunity of tellfing how it will stand a severe gruelling. vjhe. Quintet in tho 220. Aa for the 220 yards, tho issue seems to "bo between tho same qnintet, with Ellis, , of Victoria, and Trevor Francis, of Queensland, each likely to cauSe a surprise. The last-named is a veritable infant prodigy, of whom more anon. In ilio Victccian "tests," Troup won from Kllin and Fay in -22 3-s—Burton did not (.start on. account of his "sprung" musclo. has a 23 second mn to his credit, 1 and Opia, as wo know, hold 3 tho New 'Zealand Tscord of 22 seconds dead, /Therefore, the New Zealand representa•tive is nominated as No. 1 choice for the £20 yards. Company in tho Quarter-Mile. The 140 yards is even harder to deal iiwith. Tho most'prominent of the nominations are I;. 11. Kelly, l A. D. Elli; Wictotia),. -W.; F.. Parkinson (New. SouH Walos), Trevor .Francis (Queensland), ant W. G. Harding and E. Opio (New Zea Jlajid); . - -,This is great, company, and takes nt 3'ittle sorting oat.. Kelly ha,s 51isec. h iliis credit, Parkinson ,is said by tho "Eef eree", to-be the'best: middle-distance run ■ner, barriri? Nigel.Barker,;that ever rat jfor Sydnby University. "Trevor Francis ii ,n . wonder,, no less. : ,On -September 2, ii ; a-school meet, he Tan.slsee., four watche: ('agreeing on the. time, and on Novembe "11, in a :paced tost, ho ran 50 l-sscc., ant ' tie also has been timed to do a half-mil in 12min. &ec., and a',milo in 4mir SOsec.—great performances for a boy ye tit school, oven if the watoh has'flattore them. ,' . ■ Ho-rfever, to 'return-to : our . qnarwr ,mile. Onco again New Zealand's firs utring is Opie. who has his last cham pionship.ruh at Ohristcliurch of 50 -4-sse< .iri his favour. This was at (he end 0 a. heavy daj-, and his fifth run, in fact So, once again, do, Opie's proipects ar liear good. Harding, too, must l-c reel onfid with, and all the finishes'shoul bo between Francis and the two Nei •Zoalaidens, with'a shade of odd 3cm th former. Events That Look Good For Us. The other: flat distances seem rasier. t pick, and' look good for the Dominioi Harding should -b.oak 2min ; for ty "half" without much tronbie,_ on ftrength of his .Imin. 03 4-5 ,^ r, " iV ■ ' f ' [ land championship,: and this looli too'good for any of tho visitors Tho milo and:the three mile should t ♦o O. N. Hill, of "ours." His Imii 22 3-ssec. of Satnrda.v hist should put tt former beyond doubt, a*, also sitould .» Hmin. 5.'! ioiec. of ■ lasr March lor tt three miles. What Trouble in.the Walks? Thi3 disposes of tho flat rons wy a isfactorily for New Zealand on the whol should this prediction bo anywhere lie: tho mark. Now for the walks, and aga wo are faced with a difficulty. ■ On formances thero should l>e no danger f Harry Korr from the visitors. He h alreiliiy proved himself faster than .1. Hurley, now champion of New hou Wales, and lato champion of Sou Africa, whom ho beat in both events Brisbane, and, Harlcy is apparently t beat of tho Australians. . ; Ca3hman, too, has times that comp; ■ more than favourably with those of I visitors. The danger, if any, lies in I judging. Harlev's style is untiuestiona —lie has-been under Mr. Coombes's 1 *0 much that there is absolutely no doi ■ •as to his gait. Kerr, too, has satisf jrr. Coombes in his Australian perfoi ani-fis, but-; in his training, has no-tr: jo walk on,-and, h:i3 had no chcck

A WEEKLY RECORD OF SPORTS AND OTHER PASTIMES,

"him, bo may" havo acquired bud habits. Cashman has never 'walked under tho supervision of the export, although, on Saturday last, hp ■ quite satisfied the llowovw, ■ there is apparent!} no need to anticipate' trouble, so once again' New Zealand 'looks' like annexing (ho walking, events-.' ' Keddell and His Fcemcn. In tho • hurdles. I ho absence of J. h. Davis, the Victorian world s record-holder, seems to leavo the way open 111. the •HOyiU.Jor G.,l\ Keddcll.,of New/ealajid, tho present champion,' or J.* AY. I'M'n/.er. of New South Wales. - • ■ • ' ■ ■ The Now Zea-landcr holds tho Australasian record ■ of 13 for the 120 yds. event, and. although (m n letter received by tho writer on Wednesday last) ho expresses a grave doubt as to whether he can reproduce his last championship form on'account of the bad weather in which' he had been training, and the.dlflicultv of finding a Rood track to work on in Olautau, he sti!l looks like retaining his title in. the shorter event In the "quarter" l''razer is a. really hot proposition.- Ho "has run Crt J-jsgc foi tho distance, mid is apparently improving with every race, so this deponent tips the Now South Welshman for this event. Where New Zealand Comes Down Heavily. It is in-the field ovents that. Sow Zealand comes down heavily. The saving grace is tho pole vault, which, on Appearuncos; should onto again go to "Leu' M'lCav. On Saturday "Mac" sot over 10ft. 7'in. witli plenty to spare. His "twin champion," L. .!{. talker, who dead-heated with hini at Brisbane, is after his scalp, again, and his most recent performance was in-a test with J. (Jack) Broke (there are two J. Brakes in the Victorian entrants for this event). Both, clnarcd'Bft. Gin., lift., and list. tiin. at the first attempts, but fouled at 10ft., although, subsequently. Brake cleared this. Both then tried 10ft. Gin., but failed. Brake, however, has done 10ft. 3in. That Redoubtable Policeman. : ' Tho shot mid 'hammer events, look' good for D. M'Grath, the Brisbane policeman. Ho can get over 40ft. in the former every time of asking, and has hurletj the hammer, ' 135(t, and more . recently 'UOft.,. so should have no troublo in annexing both theso competitions. > The one man likely to trouble him with the weight is Denis Lano (New South Wales), a good all-rounder', but hardly class - enough' at this event for tho Qticenslandcr. M'llolme, the New "Zealand hammerthrower, was. reported to have thrown ■ 140 ft . - in practico some weeks ago,, but, unfortunately, tho report lacks coufirma-. lion. jumps—Australia Should Shine, Tho jumps will lo settled without much interference.from tho New Zealand'representatives. In tho high jump there are two star artists • performing, both sharers in tho Australian record of . 6ft. . These aro .Ij. Kelly, the collcge' boy, and Eric Russell, both of Victoria. Quite recently Kelly got over sft. llin., while Russell in' practico is said to hare cleared 6ft. Olin. These two should fight this event out between them, and tho duel will bo well ; worth watching.The broad jump looks like a gift to New South Wales, per medium of E..A. Southie,' the Sydney University "loppcr." In the recent inter-club championships, he covered 22ft., 7in. with Denis Lane' second, with' 21ft.' llin. The., New Zcalanders in this event'are Millard,,of Otago, G. P. Kcddell/and I'. S. Hubbard. Of thesp, tho iirst-named is "the hope of his side," as neither of tho others has had the'necessary practice.. In Auckland, at tho last University sports,'Jlillard'got well over 22-feet', so he may effect a surprise, but, all things considered, on probabilities, ono is bound to give this event 'to the Mother State. ' . My Tips for the MeetinoTo sum up, "Mercury's" anticipations ire:— '. ' 100 Yards.—Victoria, J. Burton. 220 Yai'ds.—New Zealand, R. Opie. ■110 Yards.—Queensland, T. Francis. 880 Yards—New Zealand, W. G. Harding. One and Threo-ililo Run.—New Zealand.—G. N. Hill. One and Three-Milo Walks.—New Zca- - land, H. B. Kerr. 1 120 Ynrds Hurdles.—New Zealand, G. £ P. Keddcll. • * ■110 Yards Hurdles.—New South Wales, | J; W. I'razer. Polo Vault.—New Zealand, L. M. 1 M'Kajv < High- Jump.—Victoria, Ij. If. Kelly. 1 Broad Jump.—New South Wales, A. 11. 1 Soiithee. • . . Tutting Shot.—Queensland, D. M'Grath. ] Throwing Hammer—Queensland, D. M'Grath. I ■Totals—Now Zealand, 8; Queensland, ! 3; New South Wales, 2; Victoria, 2. j Is This Too Optimistic? 1 Reduced to cold type, this anticipation looks very optimistic,. not to say egotistical, but "Mercury" can only, say that it is his honest opinion, arrived at after a careful delving into the most, recent performances obtainable of the athletes engaged, and written, with' as careful an avoidance as possible of any prejudice in favour of New Zealand. Naturally enough, oue is apt to look i Upon one's own grey ducklings as swans in embryo, and "Mercury" must now leave it to tho wearers of the silver fern to' prove whether or not in this case tho wish has been' father -to' the thought. Tho championship events for Tuesday I are: 100 Yards (heats and finals), High Jump, Ono Mild Walk, .120 Hurdles i (lieat-i and final), Putting Shot,' One Milo'Ruu, and -WO Yards Plat;, and on Wednesday Three Milo Elm, 220 Yards , (heats and final), Throwing ' Hammer, Three'Milo' Walk, nalf-Mile, M 0 Yards Hurdles. Polo Vault, and Long .Tump'. ' On tho first day thc'Half-Mile Provincial , Bicvcle Championship and two' handii caps will bo ridden, and on tho second I the . One llilo Championship , and two ; more handicaps.. 1 The Eleventh-Hour Change of Grounds. 0 A little stir was caused in town on • Tuesday, when it became known that tho council of the N.Z.A.A.A. had de--1 cided to chango ■ the venue of the championship meeting froia. the Athlchc 1 ark ; to tho Basin Reserve. ' ■ ' The reasoiis for' this move at the " eleventh hour have already been pubhshed 'in our daily columns, so need not * be gono into again hero. The ' effect of the change.upon the patrons of the " meeting' .will bo practically nil, while ," any effect that it may havo. upon the 1 competitors still remains to be .'seen. One v thing, however, is'certain: Whilo the 0 Basin Reserve track is not nearly as'good as that' at. the' Park' could have been made had the council's wishes been <-iven effect to, it is at the present o moment infinitely better than could havo l. been got at tho I'ark under existing o conditions. . t i_ o Mr. Dohson, the caretaker, has been to no end of trouble in assisting tho :s council through its difficulty, and, in consequence, the. going is better in every o wp.v than it was last. Saturday, when l. Hill hoisted his 4min. 22 3-ssoc. .for his 0 mile—tho fastest, mile, be it said, ever is run by- an amateur in. Australasia, TVit.li 10 the one exception of Shrubb's 4min. 9™ec on the Auckland Domain. "Moreover it is vastly superior to what it was when Woodger broke the Sow f Zealand rcoord for 220 ya.rds on it. last 1 year c o that, while it cannot bo claimed f; of course that the track for. next week s n meeting can compare with soiuo upon ' which Australasian championships hove ~ ljeen held, it can fairly bo said that it at least has possibilities. t' To obviato tho difficulty about the drop [l iti the usual straight sprint track it has l, been decided, provided the weather con- „ dition3 a.ro suitablo for record breaking, I to run tliorfl events from north to south so that if any record figures are hoisted, tharo shall bo no reason for tho holding nt" official rewgnition on tho 'j}® score of tho track not being level. . [ij® Handicapping at the W.A.A.C. i'bt It is • unfortunate that pressiiro on ied space precludes tho giving to the \\ .A.A.C. m- meeting Inst- Saturday, of the .notice it iek dt'jervef. 'I'he club has .a' reputation to on sustain in: the conduct ol' its gatherings

which its efforts last w_eck' must ('•"'I to enhance. There is just one point that calls for luriilimi—Urn ' handicapping. As a general rule the Unifies were (food—in tltc sprints particularly hi—but at the same time .it cajinot bt> denied that oflen- the scratch mm -wore asked to concedo too much to the li-ont-imn-kers. True, in the milo 11111 and the tw<>: milo walk tho scratch men won, but in some of. I lie other events .tlio limes show plainly' Hint (lie wiliners' allotments were 100 large—for example, the MH) yards linnl-was won in 101-,">src., the tIU in ; "iO 3-sk'e., the "half" in Sniiij. 1 Msec, —alio shorter events by'men on tlyds., ltiyds. and respectively. There is j such a. tiling as paying 100 high .a com-i pliinenl, even to n back-mark [-printer. That Brilliant Mile of Hill's. j One! other mailer in .connection, with this mr-iving cannot Ix: allowed to pass unnoticed. Thi- was G. N. Hill's milo run of Jin in.. -- already alluded to: To put it. simply, it waa a _greiit run—tho greatest tli.it tho big majority of 'the .spectators, had ever seen and they showed their appreciation of tho young Aireklnndcr's performance in no mistrusted manner. , Tho pity was that tho event was run i so early in the afternoon - that many missed, it, but this , of eours»! was .so ! arranged fo'gjvc Hill t.imo to get aj "breather" before the.three mile. Even as it was his' .fast run. told against his doing anything sensational in (he long l-aco that and tho; fact that lie had: 110 on? to pace him up.to his field. ' Ilis ."quarter'' times for tho mile were: G3f:ec.,. imin.Msec.. Hiniii. ITsec., and dmin. 22 Msec.,. and there is 110 doubt that had ho. been pushed,, or even had'lie known ,how nearly' he . was to record figures, lie could easily have'cut a second off the time, good as it was. If Iho conditions are right on-Tuesday it seems as though something were going to happen to Shrubb's .figures. A World's Record. . American files to hand by the last mail show that after a. dozen attempts Jlatt -il'Grath, tho giant field-gaino exponent of the Irish-American, Athletic Club, succeeded on Octobeir 29 in adding , the world's record for the Kill), hammer lo'liis credit. Be'' task at the Cialway Men's games at N'pw York in Celtic-Park, when lie hurled' the implement tho unprecedented distance 'of 187 ft. 'tin., adding exactly three feet to the old record niado by John, Flanagan 011 .luly 2t, 1909. The event was the feature of the meet. For three months M'Clrath had ' been throwing the hammer to great distances. Several .times ho threw tho hammer.to record distance,' but each time "ho. overstepped the circle, only to have his throw declared foul. • If" there is ■ anything -in a name, this should.be a.gqod augury - for D. JllGrath in" his shot-putting at the big "meet" here next w,eek. , - ' - -