POST MORTEM.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1322, 28 December 1911, Page 7

POST MORTEM.

ON THE FAILURE AT HOME. THE COOMBES' NOTION. Mr. fi. Coombes, who accompanied the Australasian tlsam to the Festival of Empire sports in th<s capacity of ropreseiitntive of the athletic organisations of Australia and New" Zealand, was entertained at diriii6r, in the Hotol Wiiidsdr last eve-niug, by the local Festival 6f Empire- Committee. Mr. A. Marryat, who presided, extended a .welcome to Mr t Ccombe^i

At a Eubseqncnt meeting, Mr. Coombos gave some account of the tour in which the Australasian athletes engaged. He stated, inter alia, that it was hopeless for any team organised as was the Australasian team, to leave these shores and hope for snecess. He did not say that this was the fault of any individual or individuals in Australia or New Zealand. It ivas due to force of circumstances. The tour was hurriedly organised. At first it was proposed to send a scratch team, to rely in part on Rhodes Bcholnr?, and to utilise tho services of Australians find fsoiv Zoalamlers who happened to b6 in England. Those first ideas were abandoned when the money began to como in. As it turned out, competitors arrived in London one by one, and each man was located in sppcinlly seU'Ctod quarters. A swimmer was provided with .iccommodntion near a swimming balh, a runner was located near a running track, and so on. Possibly tho men might be living ftvo miles apart, homotinios a man changed his loddnfrs and forgot to loavo his address behind, under arrangements of this kind, it ■became a matter of difficulty to find tho men when they wern wanted. The games, Mr- Coombos stated, wore fought out in the bast possible spirit. Any chances that tho Australasian? had were tuken aw.ny by breakdowns among members cf the team. Mr. Coombcs spoke in detail of various members of the team, and his remarka. in tho main, were complimentarv. lTa*!dns ho described as a man in ft thousand. Touching again npon tho matter of organisation, ho 6taled that ho had not been given any power over Iho Now Zcikindors. The Australians, on thn contrary, hod all signed an agreement to do as they were told, and he (Mr. Coombos) had authority to send any mnn back to Australia if it should prove necessary. Mr. Coombcs reiterated that the team was hall-marked for defeat l)o----foro it left tho shores of New Zealand nml Australia. In any futuro tour of tho kind, the men must eo homo together, they must bn quartered together when they sot thoro, and must bo all uiulor the solo jurisdiction of their track captain. In addition tho men must sign an agreement to do as they were told. There must bo method and system in the expedition. "With us," Mr. Coombos remarked, "there was no method aud practically no system." The mooting was adjourned, shortly after 8 o'clock, so that those present might attend an Athletic Association smoke concert. Mr. Coomfoee will continue his statement at a meeting or the Festival of Empire Committeo, which is to be held this evening.