ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1639, 4 January 1913, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

18l "MbBCUHT."], A DAY IN THE GOLDEN VALLEY. The Right Place for a New-Year Trip. Many and varied have been "Mercury's" L: voynges to sports .meetings in search of "copy"—practically every amateur athletic ceuh'o from Auckland to Inmcar- ! gill has engaged his attention at various J times —and many an enjoyable day has ho 1 thereby spent watehing, vigorously white ; others havo been ever mow vigorous in "'■ making the evanescent history that is recorded in these columns j but if lie were called upon to name the one meeting that affords Trim the greatest' pleasure bis 1 answer, without the slightest hoistation, 1 would be—the .annual gathering of the Wairhrapa A.A.C. 1 :Many things go to the matins of the i keen enjoyment which one gets from this ' meeting. It is held at the one time of • the year when work and its worries are temporarily forgotten, at a timp when; in •' the "Golden Valley, the weather is on 1 its' best behaviour, at a timo when the ; prevailing spirit is one of'give-and-take, • and the ordinary' sane athlete gets as : much pleasure from seeing someone else win as. he docs from, his own infrequent 'Then, : too, there is the glorious little ground on whioh the sports ara held—a tiny'spot'alongside'the sweeping domain ■. at Auckland, for 'instnneo—but, for sheer prottiness, far ahead of anything else in New' Zealand. / / ; ; : . Surrounded by tall 'trees, interspersed with flower beds, there is no hint; of town to detract from ono'B seneo of being in the country,, and instead of seeing, as at big town meetings, a densely papked mass of heads,'there is presented a sceno of 'quiet, animation, figures 'in summer raiment strolling slowly round the ground and■ ever coming and ; going. through the. '"Lastly-but %'from leostly-there is the glowing . hospitality, and genuine friendliness of the; officials of the: olub. ■- SplendldFolk to Meet. '. fiver splendid hosts, thoir thoughtful . hospitality-was neTbr displayed to bettor ■advantage than bii the occasion of this year's gathering on Boxrng day./ Meeting the 'Wellington contingent on the station platform they' commandeered them, lock,'stock,, and walkers, trainers, lookers-onj centre officials, "and. ■''Mercury,"f?pile : d' them on ft brake and away to lunch .at the, pavilion on the grounds. Not content with this they provided,tea after the battle and arranged for a'train to leave at such;a timo as. would allow, tho'visitors.'to?.wait till the finish^of. the'sport.; ■';,:. ■; .'■'■:.;;.,';- Tho Handicapping—Compliments and ,:. Candour,; o //"■'' ,' ' . .';■■■"' '/The meeting' itself was (as -usual) well : conducted,' though thdro w*re one or two. : tiring waits, the fields largo, the racing : keen throughout, and the handicapping, .judging, and starting as good; as, could be.-Mr. Diokson's handicapping produced some' splendid finishes, particularly in. tho three sprints, in each of which .the . judge's tasks were anything put sinecures; 'In the 75yds. aiyard would have covered .•every one at the finish.' At the.finish of thaihundreel it was a matter of splitting inches, * while'""the' 22pyds;^nlwftys' a difficult race :to;handicap—produced a dead . heat, though •"Merou'ry" for one certainly thought,Cunninghams had won by a good six inches.- ,'". ' ■ '. •'• ,'; Only two points struck one as not being i quite up to the mark tn the handicapping,' and'thesa wortfthnt the back-markers were, given just,'too' much .to'do.'and thattho newcomers'ware placed tod near tho limit. This latter^point was brought home forci- ' bly in'thb'mile.'when Rowo,' with 110 yds!,. ran away from his field in '4min. 29seo;, and Hudson .tho three' miles from 210 yds. • Still;-when all is ?aid a handicapper has donb'liis'best when he gets the judges ■ wishing;his.work .had not been so'thor-, oui»h,\ and'this .Mr. Dickson did. ' '.. ;'• The; judges' did their work well, and though! tho. finishes were close enough to provide fcod'fox many arguments, on only one occasion was /their decision, challenged—in . the, final .'of tho furlong. Orio ' ,more;than;pleasing',£eatUre of their work (Mr. Kingston; who; took: first than . was particularly smart in this respect) was the promptitudo .with whioh thoy rendered their decisions—the verdicts, "even in the hotly-contested sprints,; being; given out as soon as/tho tape-was broken. ■.•■;• ■',;,, Behind ,the Gun. 1 !.'; ■■■■■'> I ; /Mr/'MTCiilop,:' as* starter, was a /novel experience for many Welliiigtbnians who have run; most of their, starting'of "bur Mr.'Leslie,'.' who fires tho. gun very quickly after the "set." \ 1 "Mr.'M'Killop'is more,' after, the style of Mr. * George' Watson, though he does not prolong the'ngony'to nearly the same extent- as tho veteran from Wai.knnae, whb?e duel with Arthur. Duffey is rtill gleefully remembered hereabouts. . Theje were a few opmplaints' from nfirTous';'runners 'at;the first few, stars, but as the day wore on they grew accustomed .to their man and'stood like rocks till ftho report sounded. Even thrit : archbreaker, Roy Messenger, did not Offend 60 much as ono has seen'him do. ■'■■'■ ■ ■ There is ono thing about Mr. MTRllon's starting that-is not'quits.au, fait. H« fires the gun down instead: of into the air.';'. .'hindering ■ the ' time-keepers (to the fact; that they' could not get a clear view of tho flash, "Mercury" attributes the express times an.tho short sprints) it gives an unfair opportunity to keen-witted peds.who'tako a peep between their legs." -'".;• ■'■'< '-'.' ; /'.;.'■'''."•■ •'■ All tho.other offloials worked well and- 4 here is a point for town :olubs—there were noftoomany of-them. Prior Gilbert, with his mojraphone; is evidently a fixture with the club, as cleric of the course, and more, ho. is'already an institution: with the younger '.''■,;'.; ■'-. The Quality-of the Racing, r. [■''. Tho.raclng was excellent and the run- . ners'good .with one or two shininar out well nb'ovb,the average. 'A. G. House,, recently .reinstated, scored a woll-deserv. ', ed yibtory_ in the 75yds., ahowinir splendid .finishing powers, . Three yards from the tape he; 1 was' no nearer than fourth, but he, travelled, fast enough in tho last two strides" to'snatch tho wfn away'frohY J.'.-■ Vesty,' a Mastertori ..beginner,' who show's some promise, M/issenger and Poole each won a heat, /but neither iB-up to his last 1 , yearns'form.-' -. • ■-■'••'•••- ">f■■■■- ■ -■ . Th'o hundred produced somo splendid racing. ' A r OTty', frOm9yds.,"won thc-first, ' heat in lOseo., from • Duncan (l}yds.).. House (Syds;) won,tho second yery-easily from Messenger iri S 4-sseo. ' Ounninghnmo had as' ; ensy, a task from 7yds|.. in' the, third, winning in the same timcl and Tresidder, on '■ Byds., ! secured ;the' fourth ' in lOseo.' Interest was very'keen when' '. the men lined out forthe final, each' of ' the heat .'Winner's'having .'plenty'of sup- ' porters. They rose to a beautiful start ! and «9 they, sporl along the track all ap- '' peared to bo going equally well. Close' ' : on the tape they were'.almost'in line', ,'. but Cunninghame shot out .a yard or so from homo, winning' all: put by. a few ' inohps from Honse, who barely beat Tres- '' idder. : Tho winner is, thouprh young in ! years, comparatively an ; old-timer athletically speaking, .having started run- ' ning'ns fnr b"»lc■ ns the' 1804-05' season, i . -•,-> years ago ho was one of our best fur- '' long and quartor-milers,. but sinco then, ' instead of improving in tho manner ex- ' pocted of hirri, he has gone back until 1 thjs season, when, after: a year's rest from 1 football, he has come back into some- I thini? 'like 'his''best-form. v'Honwr Tan 1 another good .race, but a hundred yards 1 is about -03 - far- as ho oaros- to Duncan missed a place, but neverttieless ran ' a sterling rnce—quite as good as anything ho did last year."' If the time was right 1 -ho was doing about 10 l-Ssec. Poole was , very disapnointing and Hubbard ran as , if short of wotlc. , Tho furlong, another fino race, was re- , majlrablfl-for-fast times, both-in heats ( and final, each Tim averngini about 22 3-5 , sec. Messenger. Duncnn, Cunnindinmc. , and ITi'bbard all qtialificd. for thfl final in which the rare wn« ,1 cracker from the , jump, nuhbard quickly got. going, and ( coming round tho bend mode a dash for , tho lead. When almort up to Cunninglmmo he trie<t'to cut through on tho in- , side. Had ho succeeded he must have won,' for he would then have had a clear run 1 up the straight, but he -misjudged the oponimr, audio save a smash had to pull up. TTalf-way ur» the straight it looked * anybody's race, Jirunton, in front, going < as well as tho back-markers, who woro 1 pult'ng in their run. The field flashed I across the tape in-a bunch, with Cunning- i hnmo apparently six inches to the good,, but the official verdict was a dead heat 1 between him and Hriinlnn, with Duncan a 1 few inches nway third, and Mcwngcr ] closo upon his heels. Duncan's perform- i uioe was a tpeotally fine one, and tho'.<

honours of the race certainly go to him. He was concocting Messenger and Hubbard 51yds., and Cunninghams 7jyd». Ho beat the two first-named, and just failed to overhaul Cunninghame. The fact th> f the track was practically on theg bend oil tho way, and therefore all against his long, high action, makes his 6ffort the more meritorious. A huge field of nearly twenty filed out for tho quarter. Byrne, on Byds., being virtual scratch. The book-markere never had a chnnce of getting through, and the finish was confined to the limit men, Tresidder on 25yds. winning handily from Hancock, 30yd8., and Iggniden 25yds.. in 60 l-ssec., wliich seemß too good altogether, seeing that the track is some ten yards short of tho quarter. Trossider ran a well-judged race in this, ' as in ; the "hundred," but he performed disappointingly in tho 220 yds. The half-mile was responsiblo for a remarkable performance by veteran Jaok Bradbury, wno, starting from the fifteenyard mark, got within five yards of the •winner, Crass (70yds.), in lmin. 57 3-ssec.. his lime for tho full distance working out at about 2min, dead. Bradbury is ' a perennial wonder/this latest'performance being quite as good a? his best performance in the days of his prime, when he was a worthy opponent of Hector Bnrk and Jack Prondeville. They gono from tho track for eomo years now, but the Wairarnpa man 6tlll flourishes. The Bradbury clan evidently have a'penchant for half-milos, for another Jack Bradbury, no othor than his son, toddled home second in tho boys' walk'. Provincial champion V. Byrno was clean out of form, and could not get near his field. He will need to improve a lot before ho.reaches-his last years form. Crass, t)je'winner,-is a .very promising lad. Making his own pace, he forced matters right from the jump, and battled out tho finish with rare' mination.The mile waa a, walk-oyer. Eowo, of Feilding, on liojrds., making the most of his, handicap, cleared right away from the rest,'finishing in 4min. 29seo. . He should bo hen'rd from again nearer the scratch mark. E. B. Smith, on 45yds., SDcured third placed'and was'the .only Wellingtonian to make'any Bort of a show.. -,' :■. ;;" v.'-.'' : Anothfr, flasy victory waj tha.t <4 A. Hudson, the .VictQria College runner, who'won the three miles run in 15min. 43 i-ssec. from 210 yds.v Hudson ' pluggwl on gamely "nil 1 through,' and oh tho'form shown by the, others, several of whom he lapped,' could havq ' won! 1 from scratch; "Darky" Byrne ran very poorly, and Bradbury was played out after his efforts in the half and'mile. .Hudson had previously started in' the mile walk, sequtmtly^turned out in tho miles walk in both p| which' ho clearly demonstrated that'ho will never make a walker. If ho confines .himself to running, 'he should develop into 'a more than 'useful three-iniler, but mixing it> will make him worse than' ordinary at, both games. other promising young athjete who should sit down-and think hard for a little, while if T. J. Kerr, who competed in the; half and throe'miles rung and entered for the walks. Kerr started off' as a' walker, then last winter meeting with some rheasuro of success as a harrier -he turned .runner, ,and now essays to'devolbp into both s >a middle, and distance " man, 'when as a matter of fact ho should bo running furlongs and quarters. 'A' minmrnro' Pat Webster in build, he is built on sprinting lines, and haa the action of a sprinter. If ho were to, leave tho game-alone'for a year or so, during which time he should, build lip 'his body' with" exercises such' as are laid down'in Lieutenant Muller's system, he would develop into, as good a sprinter aa he is'now an indifferent threcmilcr. ; '-..- '■''.-■■■[ ..'.";' 'f ■' Champion' Dave Caslrman had too big a task jn both walks, 1 being beaten "in each nice by ! W. Drnmmorid, who "possesses a, 'beautifully fair style. Another AVairarapa walker" with"' a'pleaping 'style.'is'.'.JVapS;"but .at present -he lacks, 'the' pace; Cashmah did not walk in Ws'best form, and ill his final -sprintsr-espacially in the mile, went very ncir ihq'bgrte lijjei: L - "'" ■" '■ 1 The' hurdle' ©vents ■ were uninteresting, R. M'Kehzie - the 120 yds . ;: and .Iggulden ; the' quarter, .:M'Ken'zle has not tost "the. art, but was sadly out of form on-80-tinj) Day.''flood sport as he'is> the genial "Bab" light of his: oohditibn, and oompeted in'-'evorythihg 'thot'oame along. '"A's'.a pole vaulter he would/if ho took'the gain© scriouslj', turn out anseful 'performor. ' : >TKis:e.vent was a duel between ; :him and'G.'; Harvoy,"who ; is certainly" a useful performer, and one -who would, with,' a few lessons' from '.len". Ml{ay>, bo capable of' something oyer.; 10ft. -, The other field- 'events were.- of the poorest i- quality,. a putt - of something in the neighbourhood of ,-28ft1,. winning the shot,'and a, jump; of <ft- Hin- .secured ', plaoa-in'the high jumpThe Whole Thlnn Aupurs Well. (• The meeting taken> as a .whole augurs) well,for-.- the future of : amatcu.r athletics intho .Wairarapa.' ;Tho local interest was there, the enthusiasm was there; arid the local talent so far as,numbers aire concerned' was ilia equal of anything'ln tho city, while the individual merit was not wanting. Club members have responded well to. the. enthusiasm of their officials, so woll.that already, this season, nine evening meetings have been held, and 'if is no uncommon sight to see forty "peda" .'on the training track at the same time. As. a further indication of the progress'of amateurism up there it may be noted that the entries for the amateur events on New' Year's Dayi outnumbered .those ',for all tho rest of the events. •;. Infectious: Nature of a Good Example. It is eatisfactory.to that tho 6pbrt is catohing, in the Bush distriot,' and Mr. Secretary Diokson informs me that there is; every possibility' of an amateur club being- formed' 'at either Pahiatua br Eketahuna.. A win for tho Wairarapa Club in the provincial champjoriships 'would help matters along considerably,- and in view of the good work that has already.been done by, President Shell and his committee, of whom Messrs. Dickson, Bradbury, and Williams deserve special mention, no city olub would-.be--grudge a year's lodging at Moßterton for the M'Villy Shield. .