ATHLETIC CLUB'S SPORTS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 2, 2 January 1879, Page 2

ATHLETIC CLUB'S SPORTS.

The first gathering under the auspices of the Tradesman's Athletic Club was held yesterday, and, greatly to the satisfaction and credit of all concerned, proved a complete success, with regard to the attendance, the competitions, and the financial results. The sum of £93 waa taken at the gates, and as no charge was made for children it ig quite «afe to say that there were at least 4000 tisitors to the grounds during the day. The weather waa all that could be desired, the Spout wind which waa blowing somewhat furiously during the morning dying away about noon, and giviug place to a delightful sea breeze. The programme was an excellently arranged one, the members of the Club had been bard at work for some days past in making the necessary preparations, and during, i,he day they, received valuable iissistancd from as bard. . workipg and practical , a Committee as could have been, <wutyed for} There wsrej ,two novel ties ouf the programme. ' which " proved great attractions, the one /being the Baby Bhow, and the other " the tug of war." The first., of/~\theafr.was--tbe means erf . bringing togetbeHu*te'nl, fcpeciklly erected forlthe purpose, between 40 and 50 of the lustiest, chubbier merriest-looking anti-immigr"atiqn,arguinent3 that were ever collected under one roof/ arid, strange to say, the judges, Mrs Budge (of Marlborough) and Dr. Williams; were, even after their decision was made known, siiffered-fo leave the ground without losing a ;hair at ;thefc heads, notwithstanding the fact that they bad doomed 48 anxious, hopeful mothers to disappointment. The first prize consisting of a handsome plated tea and coffee service was carried off in triumph by Mrs W. Newport, and second, a silver batter cooler and a pair of vases, kindly presented .by }At j. Hounsell, by Mrs Perkins. The other^ novelty to which we alluded, the " tug of, waj " was a great bit, and was at once, pronounced one of the most popular ;, events of . ,tbV day. It consisted of sis men, representing some volunteer company, at each end of a long rope pulling against one anojbejj until one side was compelled to croaa a-,line between them from which each party at starting was equi-distant. As may be imagined, each company had their supporters, and the excitement waa great while the " tng " lasted. As will be seen by onr report the members of the Naval Brigade were victorious against all comers. The New Year's Handicap, comprising five separate events was cleverly won by A. Askew with 20 points, the other three prizewinners being Tovey, ll points, and Haldane and J. Askew 10 each. We have not space to refer to each separate eventbut below will be fouad the list of the prize winners. Af the close of the sports Mrs Acton Adams kindly presented the fortunate competitors with the trophies they had woo, each presentation being accompanied by hearty cheers from the spectators, who also loudly cheered Mrs Adams when she had reached the end of the prize list. Once more we heartily congratulate the Club on the success that attended this their first effort to provide ainusement; for the public on New fear's Day. It would be invidious to mention names where all worked so well, and besides there is always the danger of accidentally omitting some one who, perhaps, is equally deserving of praise with his fellows although he has not come so prominently before the public as the others, and ttius causing annoyance where the very reverse waa intended, so we shall content ourselveß with saying that the whole of those who took part in the proceedings did their best to ensure the success which they can to-day boaat of having bo signally achieved. The following ig a list of the events an&'the winners. .&., Maiden Race, 220 yards; Ist prize £2, 2nd £L A. Newport ... ... .:. i Atkinson (Wellington) ... 2 Youths Race, under 17 (handicap); Ist prize silver cup, 2nd ailver pencil case. J. Askew (scratch) ... ... 1 Atkinson (do) ... ... 2 Green (3 yards start)... ... 3 New Year's Handicap of £20; Ist prize £12 2nd £5, 3rd 42, 4th £1. , Firs.t event 440 yards. , A. Askew. (15 yardß) ... 1 5 points J. Haldane, Takaka (20 yds) 2 3 „ Hart, Blenheim (scratch) 3 2,, Tovey (12 yards) ... 4 1 J. Askew (12 yards) ... 0 Barker (25 yards) ... 0 Cator (20 yard9) ... 0

Parallel Bare; Ist prize trophy or £3, 2nd & 1. : A. Chiabolm ... ... \ The judges decided to divide the second prize between Aydon and Henry. Hop, Step, and Jump; lat prize 30a, 2nd £1. Wpv Daniell (Maori) 37ft 7in ... I :'S Tbvey, 37ft 2in 2 V" Fencing (foils); prize £1 10s. Oxley, 5 points ... ... i Jones, 4 points ... ... 2 New Year's handicap, 100 yards. J. Askew (7 yards) ... 1 5 points A. Askew (4 yards) ... 2 3 „.-■-. ft. Tovey (6 yards) ; ... 3 2 „<•< • Hart (scratch) .;. 4 1 lt ' Horizontal Bar; Ist prize silver cup, 2nd £1. Chisnolm ... ... ... \ Canning ... ... ' ... 2 There was one other competitor. Sunning High Jump; Ist prize 30s, 2nd 10s* W.Currin, sft ... ... I A. Rusa ... ... ... 2 Bicycle Steeplechase (handicap); prize silver cup. F. Mercer (half course) ... 1 F. N. Jones (scratch)... ... 2 F. Aydon (half course, all but 15 yards) ... ... 0 Jones was superior to the others on the flat, but in crossing the bridge his steed treated him with shameful want of consideration and lauded him on the broad of his back, conduct that was repeated more than once. New Year's Handicap, 880 yards. A". Askew (20 yards) ... 1 5 points Haldane (35-yards) .... 2 3,, . . T;ovey (15 yards) ... 3 2,, Barker (45 yards) , ... 4 1 „ ' J^ Agkew and Hart also. ran but the latter waadisquaUfied for "jostling Askew. * ' Singlesticks; prize £2! F.N. Jones... ; ... I - AlChisholn).:.^ , ..". ... 2 Tug of Wat (between teams of 6 men^open to all Volunteer Companies and Clubs); prize gold pencil case to each prize in the winniDg team, y ; . - Ist. The Naval "Brigade beat Fire Brigade. . """-•.. 2nd. The City Rifles beat Stoke Rifles. 3rd. The Artillery Company beat Nelson Fire Brigade. SECOND IIKAT. The Naval Brigade beat City Rifles. The Naval Brigade beat Artillery. Water Race, in costume; Ist prize, £2; 2nd. £1. Each competitor clad in extraordinary costame started to run once round the course with a bucket full of water on his head. In proportion to the amount of water aliasing from the buckets on their return was the amount of moisture that might have been wrung out of their clothes. New Year's Handicap; 300 yards, over six hurdles. A Askew (10 yards) ... I 5 points Haldane (12 yards) ... 2 3 „ J. Askew (10 yards) ... 3 2 „ Tovey (10 yards) ... 4 1,, Vaulting with Pole; Ist prize, £3; 2nd, £1. Luke Turi (Maori), 9£t 2iu ... 1 Arnold, 9ft 2in ... ... 2 Baby Show; Ist prize, massive tea and coffee service, value, £8 8s; 2nd, pair ,vases and silver butter cooler, presented by Mr J. Hounsell. Mrs W. Newport's child (aged 11 ; months) ... ... ... 1 Mrs Perkins' child (8 months) 2 Walking Race for Boys ander 16; Ist prize, silver watch; 2nd, cricket bat; 3rd (additional), cricket bat, presented by Mr Wy- . mond. Emms ... ... ... 1 Lipscombe ... ... ... 2 Ball 3 Feats ou Roman Rings. There.-were some very clever performances by Messrs Aydon, Chisholni, Henry, and Lipscombe, all members of the Club. New Year's Handicap; 200 yards. Tovey (7 yards) ... 1 5 points J. Askew (8 yards) .. 23 „ A. Askew (7 yards) ... 3 2 „ Haldane (8 yards) ... 4 1 „ This was the final event for the New jYear's Haudicap. Sack Race; Ist prize, £1; 2nd, 10s. Ball ... ... ... 1 Adams ... ... ... 2 Drawing the Badger; prize, 20s. : ; - J. Lipscombe ... ... 1 Lloyd ... ... ... o Kimn (Maori) : ... , ... 3 Club Handicap, 150 yards; prize, silver cup. Tovey (7 yards) ... ... 1 A. Askew (4 yards) ... ... 2 J. Askey (5 yards) ... „. 3 J. Bolton and Cator also started, the former from scratch, the latter with 10 yards start. , Consolation Handicap; Ist prize, £2; 2nd, £1. Haldane (10 yards) ... ... 1 J. Kitching (4 yards) ... 2 F. Green (8 yards) ... ... 3