DISQUALIFICATIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue CXXIII, 10 April 1937, Page 23

DISQUALIFICATIONS

WALKING EVENTS

Experience of New Zealand championship meetings is .such, that the holding of the one and three miles walking championships .without one or more disqualifications seems impossible of achievement. The position is far from satisfactory, and is very discouraging to those taking part, especially when a competitor disqualified is one whose style has satisfied the judges in his own centre and judges in some of the other centres as well. A case in point is that of the Wellington walker, R. Wade, who had the unfortunate and disheartening experience of being disqualified in both events at the national meeting. His style has not been questioned in Wellington by such judges as Mr. T. W. Leslie, Mr. A. B. Sievwright, and Mr. J. Ellis, who should know th^gir job, and apparently also it satisfied when he went to Christchurch a short time ago with the Wellington team "for the meeting with Canterbury. Yet at Auckland Wade's action just would not do, even though in the opinion of those who have seen him walk here many times there was no change in his style. A move was made at one time by the Canterbury Centre to have walking events deleted from the championship programme. Such a step would of course overcome the difficulty that always seems to be present at the national gatherings. It would be a drastic action, however, even though there can be little encouragement for a walker in the state of affairs that has persisted in this couutry for years. Moreover, the uncertainty that is created in the minds of competitors at the national meetings often results in the standard of performance being reduced. It is a subject which has given the administrators of the sport headaches in'the past. Whether a man is walking fairly or not" is largely a matter of personal opinion, and some of the disqualifications at the national gatherings serve to show that'the judges, in the different centres do not by any means think alike. A judge from, say, each of three centres might help but this probably would be found impracticable on' the score of expense and/or the difficulty of obtaining the time of competent men. .