ATHLETICS.

NZ Truth, Issue 138, 8 February 1908, Page 3

ATHLETICS.

♦ New Zealand Amateur Championships (By "Centre.") There can be no two opinions as to the success of the nineteenth ehanjpiouship meeting of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Associa^ tion,: 'held on the Basin Reserve last Frbin start to finish, things passed off without a hitch, indeed, on one occasion the officials had to tafre a pull because they had got ahead- of time.. Though the N.Z. , A.A.A. nominally .had control of the meeting, the whole of the credit for the successful issue of the gathering must be given to the Wellington Centre, whose officials worked untiringly. A point- in whi'.ii this me-t---j,n_ compared more than favorably with its predecessors, was the manner m which . the 'field was kept clear of all but officials who were actually ' needed at the time any one event was .being «ot' off. ' • '"'-,.. I The track was fairly fast, as Bas-

in Reserve tracks go, but was very hilly, and the strong, cold southerly, while helping the competitors m the Hundred and 120 yds Hurdles, was all against fast times m the other events. The 100 yds Championship was a soft thing for Harry Henderson, who, getting out of the holes well, drew clear of the field at -thirty yards. Thenceforth the race was all over, as far as fi(rst place was concerned, but after a keen struggle over the last twenty-five yards, Bass succeeded m. beating Goodbehere by a few inches for second place. The furlong Championship was a complete surprise. Henderson won his heat very easily, with Fisher m second place. In the second heat, Goodbehere started off at a great -bat, and led to the turn, where Trem-bath ran clean through the field and won very easily. After this it was only to be expected that the finish m the final would lie between Henderson- and Trem-bath, but though Henderson fairly and squarely beat Trembath, he was not eq-'ual to the task of stalling off Fisher's final dash. When fif ty yards had been traversed m the (fuarter at a funeral pace, it was cvi-, dent that the Wellington team had not made any arrangement to run as a team and not as three individual runners, and consequently it did not como as a great surprise, to any but the runners themselves, when Trembath shot away, and secured a five yards' lead before the others took a tumble. Trembath never grained another inch on Pollock, who was first to grasp the situation, but the break gained was sufficient to keep him m front till the tape was broke. He thoroughly deserved bis win, if only for the generalship he displayed. To my mind, Trembath's most creditahlo victory daring the day was his win 'm the Half, ih which ho ran such a * game runner as Burge to a standstill. The running of Patrick and Gosling "ih this event was . very dJteap pointing, paVit-icularly ' Gosling's display. As expected, the Mile wag a soft thing for Burg-e, who ran c-loan away trom the opposition m the last three hundred v aids. The Canterbury raiv. Moore and 7Claufi'liton, filled second and third places, but though they both ran well, neither troubled Burge m the slightest degree. Our other local men, Gosling and Patrick, were ,very much amongst the also started division. The Three Miles was a very good race, particularly the last quarter, when Sharpe and Moore were fighting out their battle. Sharpe is a great three miler, and when properly fit and well and running on a good track with no wind, he will go very near toJbreakin>T fifteen minutes. Cook stood out by bimself m the 120 yds Hurdles, winning very easy m the exceedingly fast time of 16 1-5 sees. He also ran very well m the Puarter, but struck something too solid m the shape of Murra^. who waltzed home m 59 4-5 sec. a splendid performance. World's record holder, J. L. Davis, of Victoria, will need to make the atmosphere roll awa-r m front of him very suddenly if he wishes to save being defeated at Hobart. The jumps were mainly noticeable for the fino efforts of Orbell, who eqaialled standard m the High Jump, and of the two McKays, who both broke standard m the Pole Vault. The poor efforts m the Long Jump were excusable on account of the uphill run to x the ' take-off, and the strong wind into the teeth of which the competitors had to jump. . The Shot-putting was very fair, particularly the efforts, of the tree placed men. De Thier was lucky m winning, as Thomassen, before getting warmed up to his work, had to leave to take part m the 220 yds. Wallace was clean off color m the Hammer, as his best thro N w, 111 ft., shows. Want of opportunities to practice was undoubtedly the cause of his failing to beat his last year's performance. Now, for the /walks. It is not necessary to say, rauch, as the question of the fairness of Kerr's walking, has been thrashed out long ago, Kerr was passed m ,the Mile, but m the Three Miles, when travelling at a much slower pace, he was put ofi. Various theories have been put forward to account for -the judge's sudden fit of see-how-great-a-jud-ge-I-amness, but the popular, and probably tho right theory, is that he saw things though a red and black haze. Looking at Stubherfield's Chow trot, I am led to suspect that he is descended from a long line of Chowgardeners. With ay bamboo pole across his shoulders and a couple of big baskets slung 7 thereto < it would •have been impossible to distinguish him from Ah Tit, or any other ambling Chow. Congratulations to Len McKay on his win m the all-round/ championship. Mac's performances were so far ahead of the other competitors, that m -the end, he had a lead of 300 points, and this m spite of the fact that he did not start m the Mile. For right down, cool, blasted cheek the anhounceinent of the New Zealand selectors that they could not decide between Stubberfield and McKay for ,a place m the team for Hobart, takes the iced biscuit. Not able to decide between tho all-round champion of ftew Aealaiid and the mechanical doll from Canterbury. Ye Gods. Were the selectors drunk, mad, or what ? Neither, they looked at the colors Stubberfield walked m, and found the red and black of Canterbury. Of all those who won championships last Saturday, Stubberfield stands out on his.own as the worst. Cook, Sharpe, Fisher Burge, and McKay put up performances that few over the water could dnj, and they are all passed over for Stubberfield. But the flea. y has had its last bite, and is it any wonder that the hand m the shape of the Wellington' Centre is raised to squash the insect. The storm of indignation which broke over the * devoted heads of the unpopular selectors apparently had a beneficial effect, for a meeting, of the Council was hurriedly called m, Christchurch on Monda,y night, and both McKay and Stuhiberfield were selected to represent the Dominion at the Hobart meeting. The above .-happen-' 1 ing serves to show that the Welling- 1 ton Centre will not stand any hankvnanky business by despotic Council- j lots, and it also reveals 'the strength ! ■ of the. Rmpire City executive when it I comes to real conflict. ,