ATHLETICS AT NEWTOWN PARK.

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 20, 24 January 1924, Page 3

ATHLETICS AT NEWTOWN PARK.

As far as the weather was concerned, the spirit of Welcome Week was,not displayed ,laat evening, and fP took a deal of enthusiasm to ensure that the festivities at Newtown Park did not'altogether fall short of being festivities. Mistyrain and a sharp atmosphere militated against a large attendance, and also prevented the completion of the programme that had been arranged. Apart from the side-shows, the main attractions were a fancy-dress football match, between teams of girls and" men, and a basket-ball contest. The former provided hovel entertainment, and when heavy rain caused a,, cessation of hostilities the girls had araead of two goals to one.,. In the'basketball feature, Which, attracted considerable attention, Y.W.C.A. defeated Government Printing Oface by two goals to nil. ,' To-night the main attraction at Newtown Park will be a sports meetingr at which a number of leading athletes will compete. A feature of the meeting:.will be the relay race for the Heenan batons. ■Ine programme gives every promise of being unusually interesting, as there are also on the. "extras" list a mile cycle race and a mile walk, in which M'Ken«ie, M'lntosh, and all the rest of the best walkers are expected, to compete. There willbbye y numerous high-class athletic events during the evening, including a hundred yards a hundred yards handicap for ladies, an 880 yards mixed relay race—teams of two ladies and two men—a mile handicap, 440 yards handicap, and a two mile bicycle "race. Records will be attacked under electric light. Blondin will !fry pancakes on the tight rope, and there ■will be any amount of. good , comedy shows, music, jazzing, side.-showsj etc. The programme starts at 7.30." The action of a number'of people" in. scaling the fences at the Park, instead of making their entrance in the orthodox manner and paying a shilling, has been causirig the Carnival Committee some concern, and represeritntions were made to the police, with 'the request that offenders should be dealt with by the law. Last evening a number of. policemen were \stationed- round the fences, and a number, of those whose carnival spirit does not;.make, provision for the outlay of a shilling were apprehended. ; Disappointment has also been expressed by the committee at the poor response at Lyallßay last Sunday; when a collection was taken up' to defray the cost of the life-saving exhibition. The exhibition cost the committee £20, but the collection didl hot realise more than £5 14s