THE ATHLETIC YEAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2345, 30 December 1914, Page 7

THE ATHLETIC YEAR

A THEORY EXPLODED SPORTSMEN & NATIONAL DUTY A PROUD-PERIOD Some there are who ire lamentingabout something. Really there is nothing ;to regret. This is ,the proudestyear athletics over had in. Now Zealand. - . ~ ' I*his year one great thing has been proved. '• Year after year we had been told that we were absorbed in sport, and gave ,far too little'thought to work, and such serious things as national defence. Our informants (generally) - were not New Zealanders. They were great tmters,-- spending ten . minutes in- the Country; immigrants,' 'visitors, travellers. The war has destroyed the reputation'of, the .prophets. , New Zealand has done for more than the Empire required of her, which fact explodes at once the theory that our best national (Jualities had been undermined by over-indulgence in sport. Moreover, all branches of athletics navepoured out men to fill the contingents going to the front. That is -what- we have to be particularly proud about. Never- again will the- old sermon be preached in this oountry. , Tho . first of 6Ur main .branches of athletics to get. "hit" ,by the war. was Rugby.. .. Just on the eve of the representative season the-trouble among the nations commenced. Men were wanted Jo 1 take Samoa. "Wellington City .was given .the.job.. There was a stampede from the Rugby fields to Defence Headquarter—and, when the rushtwas over the genus footballer was rather scarce in these parts. The Wellington Rugby Union, who-.facilitated recruiting in every way, struggled through' the seaeon until the. filial was ' reached, and this .fixture . was made unnecessary through Athletio and Wellington,'agree-' ing to - divide - the championship hbn T ours.. Had tile match been played, tho ,Wellington Club, would have, contested the title with one senior player and fourteen others. : This is a fair example of the manner in which Rugby responded to the call. Other branches of eport responded equally well.' Recently two photographs were taken. at Samoa. One shows over sixty members of the Wellington Rugby Football Club ; the othor' shows' 26 members of the Star Boating Club. ' , : ■ , '

the Field Games. In the collection of outdoor - sports which , are generally lumped together wider the heading of athletics, we are having practically an off season. So far there have been no- amateur sports, meetings, .and the season may .pass . without anything mora than a few evening ' gatherings . taking .place; An attempt.-was made to work up summer meetings,,bat the sports governors' discovered tjiat they could not secure sufficient men of : 'a class high, enough to ensure success to the undertakings. There -were men willing to compete, hut maoiy or our. best athletes are away at the war. . ... The state of affairs is m marked' contrast to the good times of 1913 and the early part of 1914. Athletics were booming then, and this season we. were all going to look for the fruit?, of the, Americans' tour—wo wero anxious to see what ■ good effects .had been left behind by Power, Tcmpleton, .Parker,- and Cau^hey. : .But,, from present appearances, it, will be some little . athletic sportsare restored to their former footing, ; and by then tha value of the' Americans.'; visit may bo difficult, to assess..; . . ' One interesting. thing the . team' did was ' to,- alter .V some .. of , our records.--Parker's spOTtirig was consistently brilliant, and our short-distance men. whom he so., easily, eclipsed may- bo interested to know, tha,t tliey. were competing against, ono, who. is, practically a world.beater, for,, a couple, of months hack, he equalled .the- world's, best .time, for the 220yds'. distance. . The new methods of high: jumping andl pole; vaulting introduce!) by, Templeton will probably have,tlie,effect.ofi;inoreasmg the heights cleared: by/ New.- Zealanders in- these: events-.-. - Some. ofc ou<j promising . athletes are> practicing the Teinpleton, .acquire tHe. method's' well tliey vsiil almost certainly bo heard of at-future Sports; gatherings.v.-Power's' distance running was amongst the chief revelations of the tour,, and' has un 7 doubedly proved- a great stimulus to our distance men.' He gave, us some pleasing performances' in Wellington just a year ago,, but it was not until some time later,' on his return ; from Australia, that ' we:" had' the pleasure of seeing him in anything like.tho true form of an American 7 champion. It was Masterton's good-. •; fortune, however, to witness his greatest Australasian porformance-r-the greatest athletic accomplishment of 1914 iij this hemisphere: - Oh the Basin Reserve lie won n sensational mile in 4min. .28 2-ssec. and he ran such a brilliant race that : it was • clear that the ■ strong wiirtl- bad adversely affected- the time. Power was somewhat of this opinion, and before he left for Masterton iie nt'd, in his quiet way, to a couple of friends : "You know,. I've a feeling that mile; record is going to' go. I like the Masterton track, and I believe I'm getting fit." The record he referred to was, of course, Shrubb's time of 4min. 22sec. On the evening of the' Masterton maetmg, ■Wellington enthusiasts awaited the results with keen, interest, and there was' 1 'much, satisfaction - when it became known that the team had done rcmavkaW/ well, and that Power had performed the wonderful feat of. knocking almost -four seconds off Shrubb's record, which:had stood so long. -Not a.great deal has been heard of Power since', he returned to the - United States, but quite recently he ran two great races in big company. In one he was second.; the other he won. ' In the Summer-time, The main summer games, cricket and tennis, are how in full, swing, and both are flourishing. Cricket is experiencing one of the most remarkable seasons the game has ever known in Wellington. The wickets on the Basin Reserve are playing better than they have done for a. considerable time,; and to a great extent batsmen are coming'into their own. Our bowling is not ..quite as strong as it was last season,' and 1 that, too, is helping the batsmen to make runs. For m&ny seasons scores in ' Wellington have been on. the small side, but this year big scoring has .ken the rule (not the exception), and several innings have yielded huge totals, i Generally, we have looked for genturies and found them scattered merely here and there through ' "the seasons. This year we have already had a dozen centuries in ten playing Saturdays. One Saturday provided no fewer than four conturies, while another saw two centuries and six half- , centuries registered. The list : of centuries k worth giving:;— Oct.' 24.— H. Nmra; Potohe ~..'* 107 Oct.'' 31.,—C. Robinson, Central ... 101 Nov. Tucker, Old Boys ... 1.02 Nov. 14.—Bray. North 101 Nov. 14.-F. Midlane, East : ...*ll7 Nov.2B—Hiddleston, North ...... 110 Nov. 28—C. G: Wilson, North 165 Nov. 28.— W. Baker, East 112 Nov. 28— F. Midlane, Bast 171 Dec. 12—Burton, Central 176 Dec. 12.—M'Cartlcll, Central ...... *141 Dec. 19.—D. Hay, Old Boys 135 •Not out. ~ The iist of thirties, forties, and fifties is formidable. The half-centuries will suffice:—3. Brice, 74; Rodgers, '57; W. gtainton, 64. not out; S. Hiokeon,- 61;,

F. Midlane, 50, not out; J. Quinn, 71; 0. G. Wilson, 55; J. Qrnnn, 50; Hiddloston, 73; D. Naughton, 58. not out; S. Hickson, 69, not out; Hughes, 60; Bowles,' 93; Joplin, -80, not out; F. Beechoy, 52; K. Tucker,,64; L..Leydon, 53, not out; Wilkinson, 55; Btay, 61; Phillips, 64, not out; Dind, 51; S. Brice, 79, not out; W. Gibbes, 56, not out; Hales, 63, v. The batsman who heads the averages at! present is F. Midlano. Midlane headed the list last season, and lie will tako some beating this season. ' His average now stands at 211.8 per innings. His scores aio: 171, 117 not out, 50 not out, 43 not out, and 42. His total, therefore, is 423.As to the immediate 1 future, there is every prospect of . the winter games being Rugby should benefit in the next few seasons and thereafter, through the new agreement between the union and the lessors of Athletic Park. In tho' coming winter the city will have to defend its title to the Ranfurly Shield, won last season. 'Mention of Rugby reminds us that this.year a New Zealand representative team made a brilliantly-successful tour of Australia.