ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1699, 15 March 1913, Page 3

ATHLETICS.

IBi "MSECUEI."!

VARIOUS NOTES AND COMMENTS. Opie on the Track Again. Welcome indeed is the news from Canterbury that Ronald Opie. will after all ba seen ins action again. It will be remembered that Opie retired in consequence of medical advice that his heart was- affected. He has .recently been reexamined, and "Mercury" learns that his troublo has entirely disappeared. Opie, ever a keen runner, is naturally delighted, and the outcome of it will be his reappearance on tho track next season. If he can strike his old form, there will i:>e some keen racing at next year's,championships. Further, we shall be able t'o gauge the true merit of Duncan and Mark. Tnero is also tho probability of W. A. Woodger turning out next season, especially if an American team- visits these shores. Auckland and the Championships. It' is a far cry to tho next New Zealand championships, yet there is already the prospect of somo heated argument as to where they will bo decided. It is Otago's turn, but in view of the exhibition the Auckland Centre is. making strenuous efforts to secure the meeting. A recent paragraph in the Auckland papers to the effect that the exhibition authorities had agreed to the amateur governing body's terms for the holding of the championships in Auckland would lead'one to suppose' that the matter had been decided, but "Meroury" is in a position to state that so far from being decided there is little possibility of the matter being discussed by tho council before its next annual meeting. In the meantime there is nothing to be gained by' starting a discussion on the matter, nor, -in fact, to pass any comment beyond the hope that the claims of the two centres will be dealt with .on their merits, and that the almost too perfect understanding that existed beiveen .t'lioni in such matters as, for instance, the location of the last Australasian championship' will not be Tudely shattered. If an American, team comes ,ont next season, the council should' be able to adjust matters to the satisfaction of bath parties. i ' An Inter-College Scheme. Wellington enthusiasts will no doubt remember the pleasant little incident that occurred at the dinner following this year's provincial championship, gathering, when Sir. R. E. Bannister promised the council a trophy to' the value of twentyfive guineas , if three other trophies of similar..value were donated, leaving the disposal of the , gift to the governing body. The president of the council lias a scheme which' should lead to the other trophies being forthcoming at no distant date.' In its present embryo shape, the .scheme is for an inter-college meeting in each of the four centres. In the event of these.meetings materialising Mr. Marryatt hopes' to • arrange ; in time for a Nortfy v. South college meeting, and finally for an all-New Zealand meeting, at which all the colleges shall be represented. The scheme is a grand -one, and one that should not be difficult'-to carry out if, tho 'cenfrcs will lend a willing hand. A fair number of our best runners havo come from the colleges. lii Wellington alone, of recent' years, Wellington College has sent out such- champions as W. H. Pollock and F.W. B. Goodbehere, and such good men, as A. Ilalligan, r M. P. Pool, and H. H. Dawson, but many others who perhaps may have developed almost equally as well have been lost to the 6port through the fact £hat. athletics at the colleges liave not, owing to tho'absence , of inter-college rivalry, , roused 'the interest they deserved. In the Wellington province, with its Wanganui, St. Patrick's and Wellington Colleges, there .is. all the material for a splendid meeting. If we take'in the Hawke's Bay and- Taranaki provinces,' which are also in the Wellington Centre's' district, -we could add th® Napier and New Plymouth Soys' High Schools and Te Aute College.: An animal meeting between these six schools would, • besides attracting big attendances wherever decided,"rouse' such a spirit of enthusiasui amon£ the boys'as to lead of. - necessity t'o' the of talent that would otherwise' remain in obscurity. Tho Wellington Centre could' not do'better than to sound the various college authorities on the matter. Notes. • ■ . Once more "Mercury" entreats local athletes not to forget the carnival. Attractive programmes for the Saturday and Monday evenings have been drawn up for their delectation, and those win are; doubtful about starting, should think hard about (this for a few moments, ciding. They have the. finest chance they have.ever hadyof impressing t'he council with their strength'; ' The importance of the'sport is admitted'by. tile fact that' one whole day and two evenings of the carnival have been allotted to it'. If our run- ]■ ners seize- their opportunity and ■ roll out in force, thus helping to make a. success of the carnival, nothing more will ever be heard of the talk of driving-them off the Basin Reserve. Hannes Kolehmainen is in' the limelight, again with a win in a ten-mile handicap road race, which distance lie covered in 'th" fist time of Slmin. 25sec; The'tfonderful Finn is seemingly settled in .the States these days, and in all probability a membet ' of that wonderful institution—t'ho Irish American Athletie : Club.Olympic 1500 'metres champion A. N. S. Jackson put up a fine performance- recently by winnin.T a 410 yds. race at Oxford in 52sec.—a nretty good indication of..the speed a world's champion niHer must i possess iiowadnys. Emil Voight must surely be getine down to.his best English form, for at Melbourne a weak or two ago he won a two-milo handicap from scratch in' 9min. 49 2-ssec. The ex-Olympic champion will oertainly make things hot for'our Hills and Dormers at Melbourne'next season. An "Aboriginal" Controversy. 1 Athletes will remember that when the aboriginal, "Charley" Samuels, died a few months ago, several old-timers rushed into print t'o state that at his best Samuels could give "Jack" Donaldson three or four yards in 130 yds. Theke'statements having come under his notice, Donaldson's manager, E. R. Terry, makes the following answer in a letter to the "Referee":— "Respecting the controversy-. that the late Charlie Samuels could give Donaldson 3 or-4 yards in 130 yards, when the former was in his prime, I would like to add that we convinced the 'heads' of this country that Donaldson is quite as fast as Hutchens ever was, and there certainly jWas not much between Samuels and Hutchens. These old-time critics away in the back-blocks of'Queensland'never saw Donaldson run, and apparently do not believe all they hear about him. I myself," adds Terry, . "never saw Samuels perform, but the watch shows that Donaldson is at least the equal of any. man that ever lived, if not better, and Donaldson's tiiiies in Sydney alone, with the famous William Kerr as time-taker, should be sufficient, to convince the oldtimers, of the present champion's, superiority. Respecting the statement of the. old-timers that Donaldson never won a big handicap off scratch, did not Donaldson carry off a .£IOO handicap at Echuea, and a 220 yards event oif scratch at the Exhibition- Grounds,- Melbourne ?. I could quote many other instances of Donaldson's running that compares more than favourably with Snmuels's performances, but I think most of the judges are now satisfied that Donaldson is a better ruu,ncr than Samuels ever was." Obituary: Lindsay, Hurdler and Sprinter Thei'e died recently in New South Wales at the early age of thirty-three, a runner who, though but little known to the "peus" of to-day, was in his prime one of Australasia's best hurdlers and sprinters, and a noted footballer.' W. Lindsay, the runner in question, started his running at Sydney Grammar Schcol, where lie won on four occasions (lie 120 yards hurdles championship of\the greahl'ublic Schools. In 1800, while still a schoolboy, he represented New South Wales at the Australasian championships held in Brisbane, and in that. 120 yards'hurdles championship which is .remembered to this day from the fact that George Smith came a cropper in it, he finished second to the Victorian, C. H. Gardner. In I'JOO he ,- finished second to Marry Henderson iii the 100 yards championship of New !;outh Wales. In 1001 he came'to Auckland to compete at the Australasian championships, hut meeting with an accident while training, was unable to start at the uncling., His last performance of note was in tho St. Patrick's Day 120 yards

hurdles at Sydney in 1903, from owes IS yards. As a footballer, Lindsay aroused considerable interest in New Zealand during the tour of the New South Wales team in 1901, coming over as he did with a reputation for great speed. In tho test match between the two colonies at the Athletic Park on August 31 of that year he scored a dashing try, clean outpacing the opposition. This was the only score credited to New South Wales in this match, New Zealand winning by 20 points to 3. .