PROFESSIONAL ATHLETICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2895, 8 September 1909, Page 56

PROFESSIONAL ATHLETICS.

By SPOET.

FIXTUEES. October 13.— Labour Day Sports, Outram. October 13.— Athletic Sports, Herbert. November 9. — Caledonian Sports, Palmerston. The annual general meeting A the Southland Caledonian Society was held last Thursday night, and was well attended The year was not a successful one, resulting in a loss of £82 18s Bd. The chief items of the receipts aore : — Gates, first day £27 13s 3d, second! diay £191 13s 6d; printing, £50 ss; entrance fees, £50 15«> ; donations, £30 16s. Amongst the items of expenditure appear : — Prize money, £288 18s; labour, £106 8s; music, £25; printing, etc., £57 3s 3d; judges, £50 4s; plant, £17 14s 6d; petties, £24 16s 6d. The statement of assets and 1 liabilities show : —Plant, £20 ; pla-ids, £45 ; fixed deposit at bank, £135 03 6d ; cash in hand, £l amongst the assets, and Bank of New Zealand (current account overdrawn), £82 18s Bd, and unpresented cheques £45 16s 9d in the liabilities, leaving a balance of assets over liabilities of £72 5s Id. The Otago Labour Day Association are out with their usual programme of events set out for decision on October 13. The ohiel events for the cash brigade are: — 100 Yards and 220 Yards Handicaps, each with prize money of £2 s,nd £1 ; Wrestling (catch-as-ca-toh-can and Gum'berlaad styles), each style having- prize money . of £3 and £1. The pipers and dancers are catered for with one piping evenf and three dances, the prizes being cash and trophies. The outinig should be as enjoyable as in former years, given, of course, good' weather. Entries for the running events close on Octobei 2. Melbourne correspondent of Sydney Referee: An interesting letter has been received by a well-known sportsman from one who has been closely identified with the doin.gs of Jack Donaldson, the Victorian champion runner, at Johannesburg. Donaldson, it was stated, was now runing better than ever he did in Australia He won five races almost in succession over distances ranging from 80yds to 440 yds. He gave away more start than Posfcle ever did in South Africa, and, conceding 18yds in his last 100 yds fly, he accomplished 9|sec for the distance, or a fifth of a second faster than Postle-'s best time for the same journey. He was sure to beat Postle at anything up to 13Cyds, but after that it was hard to s»ay who would prove the better man. — [This seems peculiar, for Donaldson has been challenging Postle to race from 220 yds to 600 yds.] "The Johannesburg track is only 235 yds round, but it has a straight of 70yds The new anti-betting law, which is much the same as that pae-sad in Now South Wales, will come into force at the mew year. That will settle the game at Johannesburg." Regarding the above the South African papers do not place much reliance ' upon the time-keeping. One writer in particular pointedly states that the persons holding the watches are not competent, and. goes co far as to say that even Ruf© Nay lor has had no experience "clocking" close sprint races, which opinion is backed up by the amateur Nigel Barker, who denies Nayl'or'e assertion that he (Naylor) was in the habit of^Jtiming the leading New South Wales amateurs. The report presented to the annual meeting of the Southland Caledonian Society recommended the disc-oiiitinuance of the two days' gathering as revived last year. The first day of the last sports resulted in a big loss, oply £27 13s 3d being taken, at the gates, while fully £150 was expended on labour, prizes, etc. It may be safe to say that the loss entailed in the two d-ays' gathering was attributable to the very meagre attendance the first day. Visitors from Dunedin to the Otepopo athletic sports on Labour Day will be able as in former years to do the journey in the one day and ccc all the spoits by leaving by the- 8 a.m. express from the city and returning by that arriving here at 9.15 p.m. From the Sporting Chronicle : -People that, know anything at all about pedestrian ism ai-3 well aware that in doing half a yard insile 24sec "up Higginshaw" on Saturday, July 3, Arthur Postle did what was, under the circumstances, a capital nerf or r ranee. Even oh fair conditions his running was equal to 44yds inside 23sec, but over and above that the adverse windage had to be borne in mind, and 'likewise calculated Moreover, the Australian fulfilled all that was required of him, so that the following lettar, which shows how he is feeling the vita aspersions which have been cast on his bona -fides, may seem to the fair-minded to be unnecessary. We do not think so, and hope, as a matter of fact, it may have the effect of doing something to cominee even the pig-headed. In regard to the above race with R. B. Day o\er 220 yds, the Australian explains fully the difference in time compared with nrevious runs, in a long letter to the Sporting Chronicle, which says inter alia: "I ran this time up the Wijran track just after the rain, on the Monday previous to the race, giving two men (one of them being jimongst the best in England) 10 and 20 yards respecti^elv, and winning easily by over a yard. I had preat faith in mv ability to beat Day, as did all my friends here at Southport. I also think I would have beaten anvons living on the day. I have come to England at my own expense to run straight >.aces apjainst anyone up to 220vd« I hay«» nevor run other than a striiipht race in my life, and never intend* to. I have run Bert Day nine times, out of which I have beaten him eicjht. No one has evpr broken the worsted in front of me over sprint courses upon level terms. The only time I ever was beaten was by Day, at Salford, last year, when I lost £320 of my n« n money, over 440 yds. He was no match for me at any distance in Australia. I met him a veek later than when he made his record of 47 4-ssec for the 440. W-e ran on a straight E^rass track, lift Bin rise, with a light breeze against us. He was favourite at 2 to 1 on, and I made him stop ten yards to jro in 50sec. On the same course I bea-t him several yards over 200vds in 19 4-5-ec. I can assure you >t is much against the grain to write of myself. Actions speak louder than words, as a rule, but in the face of what T have done during my career I hate to h^ar insinuations about the {ronuinonps> of mv races, as I also do to read remaiks that T was lucky to win." l^c^ntlv at the Stadium Joharinesb-u-jr Jack Donaldson is reported to have won a lOOydi handicap off scratch in 9 3-saec,

which .equals tne Best amateur, record, %o date. He also ran 220 yds in 22£ sec off the ■ mark, beating Postle's Stadium record by ioec.