ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1396, 23 March 1912, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

[By "Alercubt."] MOSTLY ANENT THE OLYMPIAD. THE VOSTLE-DOXAEDSOX "SEXSATIOX." To-day-Victoria College A.A.C. Annual Meeting, Kolburnc Park. April 8 (Krister MoiHiav)-Wairarapa A.A. Club's Aniuuil Snorts Meeting, Masterton. April B—University Tournament (Duncdiu). The Awakening ot hngland. Things Olympic lire beginning io Icom large in the eye of the- world's sp<irlin? public. Every mail now brings news of "Alarums ami excursions" in (lie various athletic camps the world over. Even England lias awakened to the fact Hint the convincing day is now within measurable distance, and she has at last given up wondering what sho is going lo do about it all, and started in to do something tangible. This ''something" liu-, in the good old English fashion, been left too late lo do a great deal of gor,d for the 1911! Olympiad, but the tout that anything at ail has been done is cause for much satisfaction. ' ft shows at least that the English A.A.A. has begun to grasp the (athletic) seriousness of these gatherings, and to realise that, if English amateur athleticism is to be rescued from the slough of despond into which it Ims been allowed to sink during these pa 4 apathetic years the old "taihoa" policy must be departed from, tt comes to an overdun realisation of the fact that if Mm English athlete is to be expected to "hold his end up" in these competitions he must be sent to do his duly as well equipped and organised as are his opponents. It also inarks—or at least it is to be hoped so—the timely end of the absurd tradition that has so long existed in England, and which is directly to blame for the fact thai she is being so rapidly passed in the race for athletic supremacy by the mors enterprising foreigner, fh.il anything in the.manner of a scientific and thorough preparation for an athletic contest savours of professionalism, and that the fact of accepting tuition and coaching from a professional, itself constitutes an act of professionalism, and is, ipsa facto, a breach of the amateur code.

A Step Forward, True, the English authorities have not gone to the length that the Swedish Olympic Executive has in this respect—this latter body, with a fine realisation of its responsibilities, engaged for a year an American expert at a salary of .fclCOl) per annum, to tour the country and report upon and coach its likely material—but it has taken a decided step in the 'ame direction, ft has appointed an official organiser-- -Mr. F. \V. Parker, a well-known enthusiast—whose duties lie along similar lines. This gentlemiv.i on his appointment "took hold" of his Augean I a si: at nice, am! the following extracts from a recent .London "Sportsman" indicate the lines uiKui wliich he is working:— Mr. Parker was located at the sanctum of the L.A.C., «t Stamford Bridge, in (he centre of a formidable pile of letters, postcards, etc., a pile which did not seem to grow smaller and beautifully less, but which received substantial additions at regular intervals. Some of this correspondence consisted of replies from athletes to the circulars font out recently; there were many applications from wouldbe Olympic heroes, from professional trainers, and much correspondence on general ouestions. . . . Mr. Parker was right in the thick of it, and before July he will no doubt havo had a surfeit of athletics. Ho is still working in (ho preliminary stage, nothing definite having vet been arranged. At all the available' grounds in the London district, including Stamford Bridge, Crystal Palace, Herno Hill. Pnddiugton, Ivcnsal Kiso, and Tufaell Park, trainers will be in attendance. Th? Northern Counties A-A.A. will havochargo ol the training arrangements in their on;n area, and will select the grounds where tho special trainers will be at work, while the Midland Counties A.A.A. will do similar work in their particular district. When all these minor details have been settled, Mr. Parker will vi«i each of the grounds "in turn, and see tho men at work, tendering any advice needed, and giving all tho necossnrv instructions he thought fit, while the'peculiarities of each athlete will bo speciallv studied.

The Sinews of War, Of course, with such a scheme there enters very largely the question of finance. To quote the London paper again (and here once more is evidence that' the English idea is swinging into lino with that of other countries):— "It is all very well," said Mr. Parker, "for people to talk about employing efficient and sufficient trainers, but "where is the' money coming from to pay them? Supposing twenty men were engaged—and twenty trainers could not adequately rover all the training centres in (ho country —at .X'l a week—you could not give then'i less, and very few would do the w.irk for that, but would want X'i or .S3—why, JISOO would be sunk at once. The A.A.A. is not_ rich by any means; in fact, their financial resources are limited, and thev simply cannot afford to spend a lot of money in this connection. What is wanted is a Government grant, or some fund raised to put us on a level with other countries." Mr. Parker spoke very strongly on this point, it being ono that ho had apparently studied v;ith care. "Yes." he proceeded, "in all the talk and discussion upon the Olympic Games they were looked upon os a national undertaking; any success thereat was considered "a national'success; Mil the national credit wns reckoned to be at stake.' Therefore, the nation ought to contribute towards the cost of preparing for the Games as did othar countries." Mr. Parker suggested that the Government ought to make a grant of .£IOO3 or .€ISOO. This, he contended, was a comparatively small sum to take from the nation's coffers, hoiwould, if placed in tho bands of the A.A.A., enable the governing body to provide for the best training of her selected athletes, Pnmo suet effort was necossnry, concluded Mr. Parker, if they were to stop the rot and prevent otheT nations beating them.

Tho Elect of the States. In America matters nre very far advanced. In fact, when the last" mail left the actual personnel of the team wns receiving serious consideration, and many of the athletic, writers had published their oiiinion as to what tho representation should be. One of the best known of these experts is Arthur Duflev, the onetime champion sprinter, and his "pick" is appended, together with the best performance during the year of each man. A glnnee at these figures will give some idea o[ the immense athletic strength at the disposal of tho American authorities. Duft'ey's team is:— ltalph Craig, Michigan, 100 vnrds dash, 9 l-s.ee. Hnlph Craig, Michigan, 220 yards dnsh, 21 1-Sscc. 1). li. Young. Amherst and Boston A.A., 410-yard run, 48 4-ssec. M. W. Shepherd, Irish-American A.C., 880-yard run, Imiu. 54 4-ssec. John Paul Jones, Cornell, one mile, •lmin. 15 2-ssoc. George Bonhag, Irish-American A.C., five miles run, 24min. sSs.ec. Lewis Scott. South Patcrson, 10 miles run, 53min. 20sec. F. 11. Chisholm, Yale, 120-yard hurdles 15 2-jsdc. J. J. Eller, Irish-American A.C., 220yard low hurdles, 24 4-ss.ee. F. Kaiser, New Y'ork A.C., ono mile walk, "mill. fiscc 11. Grum'polt, Xew Y'ork A.C., running high jump, Oft. 3',in. A. L. Gutersoii, Boston A.A., running broad jumn. 2!if(. Ilin. Matt M'Grath (unattached), 561b. weight. 40ft. 3 G-Bin. D. F. Ahenrne, Irish-American A.C., lion.' step, and jump, 51ft. 3}in. Martin Sheridan, Irish-American A.C., discus throw, HI ft. tin. O. Siifdignr, Snn Francisco, javelin throw, lfifift. V. M'Donnld, Irish-American A.C., ■shot put, 48ft. lljin. E. T. Cook, Cleveland, pole vhult, 12ft Oin. William Kramer, Long Island A.C., cross-country, B*min. 9sec. F. Thompson, Chicago, all-round champion. Clarence T)eM:iv. N'oilh 'Dakota A.A. "Mariilhnn" champion. dim Thorpe. Carlisle Indian S.-limt pciiiiillil'in event. Hall Adam-. New York A.C.. decathlon event. Since the above was published in America news lm« boon received tlinl George BouJiae, the disUacfl runner mentioned,

has broken the world'o record for 5000 metres, an Olympic distance, doing the journey in Ijrniu. .1 j-osee—no lrss than lil-ee. inside, the previous "be.-t." Australia's Problem. i ' r ° CO n,! B to Olymiiic matters ■ nearer Home: I lie Australian situation is thus outlined as under by "Harrier," of the Australasian":— The Olympic Councils of AiHrnln«:R ore in an unfortunate pillion. They are practically pledged lo send some lit'men away (l!| of them oar.-men and scullers), ■at an expense, including manager and secretary, of about jnfllii), „ m | ~,.„ s( jjj about. Xim short of (he required sum. J wen y-eight berths have been provisionally booked by the s.s. 0-terlev which leaves Melbourne on April 17, 'ami the men mist know by the em! of ,\i„,ch if I hey are to go. Unless further funds are available, the team must be reduced. Now you cannot reduce an eight-oar crew, «n the withdrawals are, perforce, on the swimming and alhleiie side. .1 notice that the A.A. I . of Australasia has declined to certify lo the nomination of ,1. T.ev.is as ot quality sufficient for the .Marathon race, but has accepted the nomination of S. .11. Voultor, of Sydney, tor the fame lace. I/civis, now ol East Melbourne, is nu ex-Sydney runner, but is, I understand, of Creek extraction, lie is 21 vears old. nnu has been an Au.-tralhn resident since he was five years old. ■ lie has run well in more than one Marathon race, and in October, iflli, won the Victorian .Marathon in 2 hours ollmin. 30-ec, nearly lllniin. nheid of A. C. Ilvan and W. Murray. He works at W.irbtirton, in the timber country, and is of verv hanlv physique. S. H. I'ouller was second in the Xew South Wales Marathon, held last June, his time being 2 hours olinin. aSsec, and has also run well on other occasions, but is apparently much less robust than J.cwis. In October. 1:)10, TV. Murray won the Victorian Marathon in 2 hours. Sihiiin. •IRsee., with Connor and Xavlor next, and t'oulter fourth (time. ,1 hours 7min. 27sec). Clearly, then, if Voulter is lit, so is Lewis, and I can hardly credit the union's reported action. Any man who beats .1 hours is at least lit to compote, but probably neither Voulter nor Lewis has n winning chance. On the other hand, \V. Murray is in tho same class as a Marathon runner, and, more important, has on undeniable winning chance in the 0000 metres walk. Ho is a stamp of athlele genuinely Australian, and a credit to his country. .Surely we have sportsmen willing to assist fn get him away. Murray is of far more use to the team than an extra swimmer or extra oar. (Since this was written Murray hns been definitely included.)

Questions of Control. Here one loaches on dangerous ground. Hitherto eaeh snort fins hnd tu shift for itself, and raise nil Hi? funds necessary for ifx representatives. Xow that Olympic Councils exist, and Government contributions are given, there must come a change. Teams without, either manager or management will cease to he, all contributions will pass to and lie to some extent controlled by the Olympic Councils, just as nenv they are controlling the liominalions of com'pet.itors. The next, step may he the appiinlmout of selectors, to place in order of I heir value to .Australasia the names of those nominated, and send as tnativ of them as (he subscribed funds will allow. Our Small Quota, Coming right home to ourselves, the local position was indicated by the press reports during (lie week of the proceedings of the meeting of the Olympic Council, held since last Saturday's notes appeared. Government aid is not to be invoked as it was held that the occasion did not warrant it, (ho feeling of the executive being that as our representation ivas so .small, consisting as it does of only two, tile finances could be arranged without an appeal to the Government's pocket. The council has sonic .Sl.'lO in sight, which with Auckland's contribution should be suHicieiit. The Auckland Centre hns advised that it can guarantee JifiO, and it has been asked to raise this to .1170, which. considering that the onlv man being sent actually from New Zealand (Wilding will go from England) is G. N. Hill, of Auckland, is only a reasonable request, and it i» one, no doubt, that will meet with a proper response by the northerners. If this proves" to be so, we will be out of our portion of the financial wood, and will be able lo ship our small contribution to the Australasian team by the Osterlev on April 17. After that we can but w'alch nnd pray.

"Going Some." > The Donaldson-Postle match has teen fully dealt with in the daily news columns, ami there remains but'little to say on tho subject, except to oiaeuluto, n"s nearly everyone else lias ejaculated, "Is it possible!'" One cannot help feeling sceptical when faced with such figures os 7 l-asoe. for 75 yards, equalling the world's record: H l-ssoe. for 150 yards; and lOsro. dead for 200 yards—a world's' recordquite apart from the reversal of positions in the result of the present over the previous matches between the two. Had Donaldson, the younger, and hitherto the more brilliant of the twain, in their contemporaneous running, placed these achievements to his credit, it would still be a ease for wonderment. But that the elder runner, a man who was looted upon as being past his tract prime, should have done it is baffling. And to mate the affair more astounding, the natural conditions were ail against it. We lire told the track was, if not actually heavy from recent rains, at least of a holding nature, and, moreover, there was a decided breeze dead against the runners. Yet if error, there be, where is it? The track was mensural and found correct. The watches, we are informed, were held by competent "dockers," and that in every case at least four wntcheagreed. Lastly, there is no evidence that the men anticipated the gun. This should be convincing enough, and one cannot tee now the figures can bo otherwise ihnn accepted (as far as any professional record can be accepted in the default of- anv constituted tribunal to deal with such" matters.) Still, whatever doubts exist may bo dispelled by Postlo's future perforin, ances in the Dominion.. Duncan's Furlong Time. Last week some comment was made on A. t. Duncan's fine 220-yard Tun, of 22sec. dead, at Win. This, as was stated then, equals tho New Zealand record for the distance, which stood to the credit of Ronald Opio. In the present instmiw, Official recognition of Duncan's figures will not be applied for, as it appears that he beat the pistol slightly at the start, and that therefore the starter's certificate will not be forthcoming.

Tho V.C.A.A.C. "at Home." The Victoria College A.A.C. is lioldin" its annual meeting at tho JCelliiirne Park this afternoon. The gathoring is purely a club nflair, there being no open event* and it will serve as a "try-out," from' which (ho college repre.-entn lives for the I uiversity tournament at Easter time will be picked.