ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1663, 1 February 1913, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

IBT "MERCUBI."! ,1: • TO-DAY'S SPORT 4 THE "FANS.''' To-day.—Wellington "Provincial Cham- • pdonships, Basin Reserve. February • 15.—N.Z, Championships, Basin '■ Reserve. -.. "Fans'.' Who Will Come to , the Basin. There .is something about tho word championships that has an "allure" for tho man; in the street. ' Tho gentleman in question imay or nmy not bff a closo follower, of 'sport, ~ but with us in tho main bo is at least what, tho'Americana Call a "fan." We.call it'a "barracher." If ho does not foel sufficiently keen,on a particular sport, game, or pastime to actually attend at tho convincing ground; he ; keeps, himself as to tho happening.:in; connection therewith through tho ' mediumv.of the press reports. This is his .'attitude^-with , regard' to.an. ordinary olub athletio meeting. •- The Best "Fan" InV the Game. ■ The promoters of a sports gathering of this kind know this, and depend upon the patronage of tho more enthusiastic typo of "fan"—those who are keen on tno sport for the sport's sake, ' or the men who. have been athlotes themselves, and who still got a thrill from a game struggle up tho straight or the flying scurry of a sprint. Then' again , that section of the public to whom tho competitors aro known and whoso interest is thorofore a personal one. help along the afnaller meetings. ; Magic of the Word "Championship." But when, a meet comes to pass which ia labelled "championship," then comes aJoiff thio;mdriiin the street —"fan"'by. no-means to bo, despised. Ho, knows tho "star" performers and of what they are capable from his nowspaper, and tho fact that tho jevonts aro scratch ones assures■'him that' tho' best : inoh. on the day will win. So lie goes to the sports toeee-himdo.it.'..' And wlien there is an inter-provincial or inter-club issue to be fought out, in ; addition -io : tho individual struggles for supromacy,' his interest is stimulated still further, and: ho pays his way into the ground secure in the knowledge that a . good afternoon's sport awaits him. 'This is to b© -the state of affairs at the Basin Reserve this afternoon. Tho pick of tho amateur athletes of 'tho Wellington Provinoo aro to fight their annual battle for the coveted championship titles, and ; Incidentally will endeavour to convince tho- selectors of their right to be included in the reprcsentativa team for the big Now Zealand meeting .on February 15. Battle Royal for' M'Vlllj- Shield. ' In addition, theTe is the M'Villy Shield to act as a further incentive for kwn competition, and this year the struggle for tho president's trophy promises to be a battle royal. Last season it was won by our senior club, the W.A.A.C., principally by virtue of the strength of its field games, contingent,- after a contest the issue of which was in doubt nctunllv up to tho deciding of the final event. During the year the younger .clubs have been Up and doing to some purpose, and it would be a rash prophet who would try to forecast the outcome of to-day's doings. Foremost among the shield hunters in point of keenness aro the Wairarapa Club men, and if enthusiasm and earnestness of endeavour•can remove that emblem of athletic prowess from Wellington, it -vvill be on view in Mosterton on Monday. A woll-organised team of twenty, no less, constitute tho country attacking force, and as the city cracks are divided fairly evenly among the town olnbs, thero is more than a fair prospect of success for tho raid. And enould it prove successful, there is not a club supporter in Wellington who will not say, "Good enough for them, too!" The M'Villy Shield, the cause of all this disturbance, is for inter-club compatitioDi «jid tho points therefor count ux for a

first place, three for a second, and one for a third. For the convenience of the public it has been decreed that competitors must run in the colours of the club which they represent, and this rulo will bo absolutely enforced. In addition to tho premiership events enumerated below, three handicaps will be decided—a 75 yards sprint, 1000 yards run, and three-mile walk—and the younger generation is provided for with tho usual popular boys' naif-mile walk and a Scouts' •competition. THe Feast for the "Fans" To-day, The bi; events and the real feast for the "fans" are' tho championships:-—IOO yards, 220 yards, yards, 880 yards, one mile, three miles, 12j) yards hurdles, 440 yards hurdles, one milo walk, high jump, throwing hammer,!putting the shot, broad jump; hop, step,,and jump, throwing the hammer. A Talk with the Champion Shot-putter. : , During tho week, "Meroury" received a call from A. S. Eeid, of Southland, theshotput champion of the Dominion, who has been holiday-making in the north. •, Itoid reports that ho has started 1 work with the shot for tho New Zealand championships a fortnight hence, but states that he has been hampered by a recentlysprained wrist. While in town, he had a littlo practice, but could get no better than 87 feet, on account of this handicap, but lie hopes to be rid of the disability by the convincing day. While in Napier, Eeid met M'Holm, the hammer record breaker, arid says that Ko is indebted for a lesson from the burly expert that will .be "of considerable value to him in the hammer throwing department.- • ■ . Otago Men for N.Z. Meeting. The following-team has been selected, to represent Otago at the New Zealand amateur athletic championship meeting :— F. M. Perkins, 100 yards, 220 .yai-ds, and' broad Jump: R. Swinney, 4M yards, and ,half-mile; J.* Beatson, mile and three miles i R. F. Mitchell, 440 yards hurdles, high jump, broad jump, and hop, step, and jump) F. rßcid, broad jump and high ■jump. The absence from, the selection of' Egglestone, whoso sensational defeat of Opie at Invercargill last year won him (ho 100 yards championship, is accounted for by .the fact that his health has not been good for some time past, and it is said that he/may not figure dn tho track again, which, if true, will occasion general regret among New Zealand athletes. Crack Laid Low'by,'Varsity Man. Word has como.to hand by the English mail of an important traok and field "meet", held at Cambridge in December, tho. contestants being teams representing the English A.A.A. and tho Cambridge University A.C. The 'Varsity men won. the match by six events to four. • From an rfutsido viewpoint; the out-' standing occurrence was the defeat of W. R.. Applcgnrth, .the crack English sprinter, in the 100 yards, by 11. M. Macintosh; a iCambridge.man, by C inches," in 10 3-sseos. Tho race was run against tho wind. Oxford's 'Great Catch. , "... J Through tho agency of the Rhodes Scholarships, Oxford University this year, gains a' renowned' "miler" in, the person of N- S. Tabor, the American University student who ran a close third to A. S. N. Jackson in ■ tho Olympic 1500 metres at Stockholm. - As an athlete ;Normtm Tabor is quite a recent arrival in the front rank, but his track career, if brief, is brilliant. Early last year ho' won an inter-'varsity milo in 4min. 25 l-ssec., and shortly ' afterwards won another mile in l-ssec slower. Then in\ the' big -inter-Collegiate championship meeting at Philadelphia last season 1 he - created a liugo' sensation.' In the, last lap with only a furlong to go ho sot out to wipe off n. 15yds. -lead held by J. Paul Jones,- the holder of the world's amateur record for tho : distanoe,. and he actually ; got up !-and dead-healed with Jones in 4min. 20 S-sseo.

'This'performance won.him a plaoo in tho American Olympio team and at Stockholm, as stated, ho ran A. S. N. Jackson, tho Englishman, :to a. yard, in .world's ,reoord time. 1 olo'i s ••want-* To show the athlotio value of Oxfords acquisition it is only neefcssary to quote the opinion of J. P. Jones,' above-men-tioned.The.:record-hpldor. has tol4 a . P r<> " minent' New York Sportsman somethinß that is of great interest to followers of athletics. He virtually admitted ,that he expects to . ; be defeated in tho inter-col-legisito ono mile championship next spring. In a casual ' conversation recently f J ones stated that'he believed that Norman Tabor, of: Brown University (TJ.S.), is the greatest runner in tho world at the, mile. The Cornell star declared that., as vet Tabor has not found himself. "When that fellow learns, to run as, he should run,", said .' Jones, "you won't hoar anything more about; any Joneses, Kiviats, or Jackions."■: ; " " ■'

A Sydney "Inslnuendo." In ' tho Sydney: "Daily -Telegraph" "Olympic," the athletic contributor to that journal, has the following;—. For some time past rumour, has been busy regarding the doings or intended . doings of threo well-known amateur : ' pedestrians. , One is a holder of championship titles. 'Another, although he ■ ' doss not "hold any titles, is not far • romoved from form 'that should win' him high place.. The other is a fairly consistent handicap performer.' '. From what can "be gleaned there J seems to beVground for supposing that one of'them is going, over to professionalism. It is said that a match has already beeii fixed, tip for n sidewager, the race/to take place in rix. ' or eight'weeks/ , , V ; ' Tho moh spoken of are very well . 'known in the amateur world. This is decidedly saying either too much or too little. If there is sufficient ground for tho publication of 6uch a rumour there must' be sufficient data available for the holding 6t an official inquiry. In any case, such an allegation should not be allowed to pass unchallenged by tho N.S.W. athlotic authorities and for the sake of the sport it is to be hoped that .the matter will receive attention in tho proper quarter. , Lo—The Gentle Indian. •Apropos of'veiled'professionalism camo the cable message on Wednesday last re James Thorpe,'the wonderful Indian "allfounder" and Olympic winner. "Jim" Thorpe, of the Carlisle Indian University, has been hailed as the greatest all-round amateur athlete of all time, not'oven. excluding the marvellous 'Martin Sheridan, . whoso points record: •he broke in last year's; competition for'the all-round Amerioan ohampiohship. At Stockholm he made this claim solid by beating all other entrants in® the Pentathlon and Decalthon "out of. sight." „ In American football he held d place all his. .own—his, prowess in this branch, of athletics was referred to,in this column a fortnight ago when it was mentioned that he had been selected in the AHAmerican eleven and iiow cornea the fateful news of his fall from grace. And even his disgrace points to another branch of athletics in which ho must have excelled—baseball. Ho has been accused of, and has admitted, indulging in professional practices in the great Ajnerican national game; His .delinquencies date from 1909 and 60 all his amateur athletio performances and records, ■including' of course his Stockholm. Olympic victories, must be wjped off entirely. His Olympic trophies aro to bo re-turned-to the Games Committee, tho runners-up in the ovents in which he was successful will bo awarded the first plaoes, and fho'.points attaching thereto, necessitating of courso a recount of the international points scored at the Games, and henceforth in amateur athletio circles tho namo of James Thorpe, Red-skin, will bo anathema.

Thero was an old . frontier saying that tho only good Indian was a dead Indian. This will now havo the official endorsement of the Amateur Athletic Union of Amcricn, the officials of which body aro stated in tho oable message as considering that this exposure will bo a ■ great blow to amateur sport.