PUKETAPU'S DAY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 60, 27 March 1937, Page 15

PUKETAPU'S DAY

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Ambitious Progranime Gdt Through DICK BIRD?S WINS

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Pukfefcapti Sports appear to be somethiiig ifi ihe nakura o£ a fcouseheia word tn fhJA district, and lAst Saturd&y saw for tke eleventh year in succession a fine d*y and a tremfekdOus flUblic atTio spaciouS grounds lend themselves to tke disposal of a big programme, *ad tkrougkoiit tke aftoraoon four Cl&sseS o i events We?5 ptovided sifiiulianetmsiy. Kowhata else in Hawke'e Bay is such an ambitious programfii* attemptedj and certainly Puketapu 's groufid is tke only one wkere tke whole toi c&tild be gdt off in tke aftetnOou. So i ar a* tie)atkletio events wero cog•erfied -they did not attract- tke usfial number of entries, but ail tke same the raees were, ifi moSi ifiStanc6s, very difficult to win. Tke outstanding performaiice of tke day was that of Dick Bird, who carried his victories to 204 by afifiexifig tke 100, 22.0 and 400. In tke 100 ke waa perhaps fortunate to get tke award, as to me Sknker was at leeston tama with hina. However, as eften k&ppens, Shuker was overleoked altogetker, Ttiekfif seciiring seeofid (and Fitzsimmons third. Strangely enough, Fitzaittiifions coflsidered ke should have been plOced second. A foot sepatated tke first foaf, and it was a diffietilt job for any judge to sort tkera out eortectly. Cycling Evtots. Tke cycling events produced small fieldi, and E, Kaflfiing, making tke best of tke rotigk track, won two races and Toby AttwOod took tke long one. Gyciing on tke Puketapu track is fiot & pkasure ,and kandicapping under tke •Onditions is somewhat of a problom. Miss D. Cottreil recorded her fitst win of tke season by taking both Women Ja events in very close finishes. 'A noveity was tke haffier tace over 4ive miles of difficult country, a sealed handieap being rau in conjunction witk it. Eleven metifaced tke Btarter, and tke course Of 2^ miles -was in f uli view Of tke apectators. fiugkes and Wright led all tke way, tke fortaer producing A gfeat fifiishing eprint to ■win by 60 yards. All finisked, and the event altogetker was a most intcresting' one. Inquests Conttnue. Tke critics are still kolding inquests •ves tke Kew zealand ekampionskips, but in most instances it is in apology for some province. Strange kow in athletics oue finds more provincial parockialism tkan 4n most otker sports. Wellington, once tke great centre of tke sport, kas falien until at Auckland tkey were nearer bottom than top on tke points table. Wellington critics say that tke lowly position of tkeir team was due- to lack of good racing eompetition prior to tke championskips. It might be true to say tkat lack of ©rganisatioa was tke cause. To bear out this contention it is necessaiy only to recall.that W» J, Pitzsimmons spent a year in tke Empiro City before coming up here to win his Kew Zealand sprint titlcs, and conversely Edgaj; Porne, one of tke most promising taiddle distance runners in tke Dominioh wken kete, went to Wellington and obliyion so far as athletics are eoncerned. Tke conference in Auckland decided to Condiict a sCparate ckampionship meeting next season for juniors and woiden but wltk wkat hope of success is dottbtful. Tkia year's senior ckampionship meeting produced less tkan 100 atkletes, so how many will be fortkeoming for a junior meetingf Heaitky eompetition among tkeyoung men and women of this Dominion is desirable, but wkere we are getting tens to compete we should be getting thousands. It appeaw necessary tkat tke Government skouid take some notice of tke position and in addition provide a speeial class of ckeap fnre for juniors proccfeding to and from a national ckampionship Ko centre Will be able to support the project until some assistanee is fortheoming.

Walking Events. The walking events at Auckland STOused quite a deal of comment, and Wade, of Wellington, wlio was ref erred to by a Wellington critic as being the faircst walker seen in Wellington for years, was disqualified "in each event. To be candid, Wade, when he walked in this area, was aiways doubtful. He was disqualified in Gisborne three years back and since then his two appearances in Kapier brought f ortk cautions. Prior to the Auckland meeting Wade had coinpeted against Driseoll on only one occasion. To anybody thinking of taking on the strenuous exercise the first essential is to cultivate the double-jointed hip action and correet carriage of the arnis. Oue of the really promising milers I saw at Auckland was A. O. Dare, of Auckland, a young fellow with a splendid action. Kext s$ason I am goihg to keep an eye on this lad. Differences in Style. In the lxop, step and jump it was interesting to note the difterences in style of the competitors from the various provinces. Most of them in tne hop landed heavily ori the heel and then to land similarly at the conclusion of the step. This action tends to slow up tke jumper. ^, Togami and Brainsby particnlarly tke former, landed more on their toes, thus maintaining velocity and spring, wkich is essential if distance is ot" be gained, Togami, of conrse, like most continental jumpers, kad the fall into the jumping pit dowu to a fine art. I thinlc Togami 's visit to this Doinlnion will improve the' standard hore. W. J. Pitzsimmons, national sprint ekampion. has accepted an invitation to compete at Waikari, Canterbury, during Easter and left i'or there last Tuesday. The Waikari meeting is cne of the big eouatry meetings of tke year and draws competitors from all parts •f the Sotith Island.