ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1617, 7 December 1912, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

IBT "Mbecdky."]

THE END OF THE UNMACK MEN. \ Doc. 21.—W.A.A.C. Spring Meeting. After All I Not Comingl 1 "The way of the transgressor is hard," and bo, olt times, is that of the athletic legislator, which sentiment is the outcome of the oollapse of the scheme for the importation of the team of American athletes (under Mr. Unmack's management), which of lato has bMn engrossing the attention of the governing body of amateur athletics in tire Dominion. As has been sot forth in the daily press, the negotiations with the Pacific Coast authorities have been brought to an untimely end by a brief cable message stating that owing to tho defection of a "star" member of the proposed team the tour has been cancelled. A Severe "Facer" for the Council. Needless to say, this news came as a "facer" to the council of the N.Z.A.A.A. Everything looked so hopeful for the visit, in fact matters had reached such a length that the contracting parties in San Francisco hod actually cabled out for the passage money for the team, that it appeared as though there was nothing to be done but to settle the intornal workings of the tour from our own .standpoint. Even the "Man in tho Street" Feels It. The disappointment is a • bitter one, not only to the members of the council, who had been building on the prospect of a great revival in public interest, and on the educational gam to;our own athletes, resulting from first-hand, association with the American "top-notchers," but also to .the man in the 6treet. This latter gentleman, in whose hands, after all, lies the well-being of the sport —for without his co-operation and support it must languish—was even at this early hour making manifest his pleasurable anticipation of seeing in action men whose names have been made familiar to him through their prowess at the worid's biggest athletic gatherings. And our athletes, too, are doing their part in the general chorus of lamentation—the rank and file because they had keenly looked forward to the looming of their favourite sport, the "cracks" because they had hoped to test their paces against that which has been hall-marked as "0.K.," and one and all, and especially the field event men, because they had hoped to profit by the example and precept of Honne, Smithson, and Co. However, the great scheme lias now passed into the limbo of the things that might have been, and we can now only await fuller tidings by mail of the happenings in America that have caused us these tears and lamentations. Could the Scheme be Revived Next Year? With regard to the prospect of bringing a similar event off next season, it is hard to express an opinion. The Australasian championships will be the big event of tho year. Tney are to be held at Melbourne, probably in November, and it may be possible to manage an American tour in conjunction with this big meeting, but in this case, as far as the Dominion, is concerned, the matter of finance enters into it more largely than it does this season.. As the holder of the championship shield, the Dominion must, of necessity, lo worthily represented at Melbourne, which, of course, 'means a big outlay on the council's part, and whether in the face of this unavoidable expenditure it will be possible to incur any other liability, is a matter that will require much deep consideration. English A.A.Al—lmportant Changs Announced. The English mail brings news of a general oommittee meeting of the English A .'A. A., held at Birmingham in October, at which some important measures were passed. ' \| One',of these afiects the method of conducting high jumps. In future a competitor is to be allowid to continue his threo attempts, even ■ though other competitors may have' failed, and in the event of his clearing the bar under these conditions, h'a may continue at increasing heights until he fails. Then his highest jump is to be recorded as the winning performance, notwithstanding that lie has previously beaten the other competitors at a lesser 'height. Another alteration of importance in the field events department was made in connection with hammer-throwing—the new ruling determining that the guard board for the seven-foot circle, as now required, may be dispensed with—a reversing of the old-time method. Chief among the reoords passed' were the following:—looyds. in 9 4-ssec„ by G. H. Patching (South Africa); 200 yds. in 19 2-ssec., and 220 yds. in 21 4-ssec., by W. R. Applegarth. In connection with this meeting of the English A.A.A., it is refreshing to note that there is evidently 6ome intention of the Home authorities to get a grip on their responsibilities with regard to Olympic Games matters. This is evidenced by the fact that it was decided to set up a sub-committee to devise a scheme of preparation for the sixth Olympiad at Berlin in 1916.,With regard to the other matters mentioned—tho high-jump' and the hammerthrowing—it would seem that the new regulations as to the former make for improvement in the conduct of the event, as it induces a competitor to display of his best irrespective of the merits of' the opposition. At present a jumper capable of clearing, say, 6ft., is deprived of the credit of having this mark appearing in the championship record as his winning performance, because the other competitors failed at, say, sft. 9in.—obviously an unjust arrangement.. As to the doing away with the guard board in the hammer-throw, it would be interesting to hear the arguments that influenced the English authorities _'in coming to this decision. Tho reversion to the old order of things seems most decidedly a retrograde step, bad for the competitor and infinitely worse for the field judges. \y,A.A.C.—Driven Far Afield. As is notified above, at the head of this column, tho Wellington Amateur Athletic Club intends holding its Spring meeting this year as. usual, if it is in any way possible to do eo. For some reason or other—owing, it is said in 6ome quarters, to laxuess on the part of .the Wellington Centre (although whether this is so or not is unknown to tfvis deponent)—the Basin Reserve has been given to the Cricket Association for every Saturday afternoon this year. , •Consequently the W.A.A.C. has been forced to seek a convincing ground further afield, and an effort is to be mado to wt the Newtown Park. This necessarily handicaps the club considerably, as it foretells a financial failure for the meeting in advance. . . , ' The committee quite recognise this, but in a commendable effort to _ uphold the club traditions—for the Spring meeting has teen a feature, of, our senior club s working since its inception some twentyfive vears ago—intend to difficulty somehow and to give our track and field men at least one good meeting before we start on tho New Year.. The Civil Servico Gala. Tho Civil Servico meeting on Monday last was quite an'enjoyable gathering, nlthoußh its athletic scope was necessarily limited by its departmental character. The outstanding feature of the day's performance was a hammer-throw, by A. Bis-set—ex-champion of New Zealand, who hurled his missile through space for a distauoo of 132 ft. Gin.—a very sound performance, which eclipses tho, throw, that won for; M'Grath, . of Queensland, • tho Australasian championship on the Basin Reserve at Christmas time, by 3ft. 7in., and which is only some 2ft. Gin. short of the Australasian record. Bisset also won the diot-putting with 37ft. 4in., and tho now event, for local meetings, of throwing the oGlb. weight, with 26f't. 4in. Evidently tho sturdy one is in form, and will inako his presence .felt very acutely in tho "weight" events during the season.