ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1860, 20 September 1913, Page 16

ATHLETICS.

£BY Merooxy.).

THE GOOMBES'S FUND SCHEME. Tho Tlmo Opportune. Last week "Mercury" briefly referred to tho Sydney "Referee's" proposal to raiso £15,000 to equip a team to' represent Australasia at the Berlin Olympic Games. Coming from almost any other sporting paper in the colonies tho scheme would at once be diagnosed as a picco of clover advertising, but appearing in the ''Refereo" as the "It«lereo's" own idea and ono which it is prepared to back substantially, tho project assumes important dimensions becauso it is as clear as day .that it is in reality the idea of the president of tho Australasian Amatour Atbletio Union, Mr. R. Coombes, who has evidently used some convincing arguments with the proprietors of tho "Roferee, of which ho is tho editor. It oomes opportunely at a time when the Old Country, having omphatical y thrown out the wholly impracticable idea of a British Empire team, local patriotism is moro likely to respond to an appeal. Furtlicr,' coming at this juncture it is a splendid tributo to tho pure disinterestedness of Mr. Coombes, sinco ho, if anyone, whole-heartedly supported the idea of a British Empire team. Some of the Difficulties. Tho ready responso to tho appeal from prominent statesmen, sportsmen, and others, and tho fact that such excellent organisers as Messrs. Hugh Ward and R. L. Bb.W bavo promised thoir asaiatwioo, would scorn to ftasuro

the filling of tho fund at no distant date. This part of tho scheme, at anyrate, is promising well. But when we eomo to consider what is to bo done with tho money wo begin to realiso what difficulties are in tho way. In the first place we must realise that though the track games propor are undoubtedly tlio most important feature of tho Olympic festival they are not the only fcaturo, and so far as Australasian representation is conoerned thoy aro under present circumstances relatively unimportant sinoe our chances of success lio in othor fields altogether. It is therefore essential that in each State of tho Commonwealth, and in New Zealand, there shall bo one Olympio body with one common fund for one common purpose, namely, general representation at the Olympic Games. There should be up recognition given to tho efforts of ijjire sport or that raising particular funds to send some particular man or team. Each sport that it may bo desirable to have represented at the Games should be affiliated to its State Olympic Council, and if it is to bo represented it must be done through, and at the instance of, the Olympio Counoil.

Each State being organised efficiently in this direction, there is still something wanting—an Australasian Olym-

pie Council, the constitution of which at the earliest possible date, is a mat- j tor of extreme necessity, if a representative Australasian team is_to bo sent. It has been the practice in the past for each State to raise funds for sending its own representatives, who havo gone Home masquerading as Australasian representatives, a' pure misnomer, even ' admitting that in the majority of cases the men sent were the best available. This state of affairs should not be allowed to continue. There must be one governing body truly representative of all the affiliated States. The functions :of this central body should bo' olearly defined at the outset, and to "Mercury's" way of thinking the principal functions that it must have will be that of having complete and sole control of the selection of teams, and having the sole right to spend the Olympic funds. Having granted these powers it remains to ensure that tho Central Cctfincil shall be constituted in such- a way that particular sports are not given any ghost of representation on it. Tho representation should bo a representation of States, not a representation of sports, which should be represented on the State Councils alone.

To Avoid Inter-State Bias. A great and hitherto unsurmountable difficulty has been the inability of the States to agree to any particular location for a central body, great fear being shown tha ta location in any one Stato would lead to greater favour being shown to" candidates for selection in that State,- not necessarily from straight-out partiality, but from unconscious bias in favour of men whose qualities are directly known as members of the supreme body.

This difficulty should not prove insurmountable. With tho time that is available between one Olympic gathering and another, a body constituted, say, in this way: a president and a secretary is one particular State (e.g., Now South Wales),, with an' executive consisting of a representative appointed by each State and resident in the State appointing him, should not provo unworkable.

Then, with regard to selection. This oould (we are talking now with a fund to draw upon) be dono by experts specially appointed, and either salaried or provided with adequate to cover the cost of travelling. While' in any particular Stato tho selectors could have the advice of tho local motrjbor of the central oouncil. With these tyro provisions inter-State prejudice to a central body might be surmounted.

Indefatigable Mr. Unmaok. By the last mail from the States, the New Zealand Council received a letter from Mr. W. TJnmack regarding tho proposed American team. At tho time of writing, Mr. Unmack had not rocoived tho news (which has since been communicated to him) that the financial aspect had ( been - settler, and consequently -ho has nothing definite to say with regard to the personnel of the team. About the only fresh item of news is thfit George Horino is now able and willing to make the trip, if selected. In a recent letter from the "Referee's" American commissioner, the following appears^ —

Tho latest anont tho -proposed tour of the colonies by a team of American track and field athletes, under

the guidance of William Unmack, is that Beeson, the University of California high jumper and hurdler, will be one of the party if the scheme is not abandonee!. Beeson is quite

willing to go, and bo is Floyd Rice, anothor U.O. man, who juggles weights and hurls javelins, and who stands something like 6ft. 6in. in his stockings. Think of itl Why, the fellow ihas only to bend forward and let' the weight drop, and a now record appearsl Unmaok says that "Jimmy" Powers, the Boston Athletio Association's star middle-distance man, is on tho list of eligiblos. He has already signified a willingness to make the trip if asked, and that is more than any of tho men named by James E. Sullivan have done.

There is a gentle note of dorubt underlying all this as to whothor the 'tour will oventuate. ' Somewhat the same feeling exists here, but now that the finances are certain, there seems evory possibility that we shall see the team at the scheduled time.

Auckland Preparing for Americans. While nothing seems to bo doing locally in view, of tho visit (the operations of tho council, of course, excepted), our Auckland friends aro already preparing to repel the invader. "Mercury" has received a letter from • a prominent Wellingtonian at present in Auckland, which runs : — ■ "Neville Hill is coming out again , for the Americans. He has already had one or- two runs. Dormer is going splendidly, in fact Mr. Mulvihill (secretary of tho centre, and a good sprinter himself), tells mo that he could just .about win the local 100 yards championship, and would be a 'cert.' ifor the 220 yards. "The centre is taking the Amerioan visit very seriously, and although it has handed tho meeting over to tho Exhibition people, it is sparing no effort to get tho men hero fit and well. It is submitting a scheme to tho Exhibition peoplo, proposing that a team of halt a dozen of the best local men be picked out and put under 'Locltio' M'Lauchlan's care for tlio nest two months or so, and Mulvflrill considers that tliero is an excellent chance of the oxecutive agreeeing to this and finding 'Lockio's' salary for the job." >■ Here is a lead for tlhe local centre, which should bo up and doing something to got our own cracks into training at an early date. _ The news that Hill is coming out again, and that Dormer has developed exceptional sprinting powers is indeed wclcome.