ATHLETICS

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5328, 14 February 1947, Page 3

ATHLETICS

SPIKE.)

(By

The second day of the Waikato championships is to be held at Matamata on Saturday and the following Rotorua Club members have been nominated. •Senior Traclt: 1N> yards and 220 yards, W. Kemeys; 440 yards, D. Southwick; 880 yards and one mile, Iv. French; one mile and three mile, H. K. Taylor. The' club will. also be represented :by a team in the mile medley relay. Junior Field: Shot, discus, javelin, A. F. Hutchings; high jump, J. Wild. Ladies' Field: High jump, Misses N. Fleming, H. Gunson, P. Hardie, K. Mansfield; broad jump, Misses Gunson, Hardie, Mansfield. All these competitors and club officials^ who are available are to assemble at the Road Services corner at 8.30 a.m. on Saturday. Monday's Performances. The fielcls for the 50 yards races on Monday evening comfortably fitted into the sprint trade. Had'there been another starter in the junior section, it would have necessitated the runningof heats. This is a healthy sign. The judg'es nad to ,be particularly alert for these races, as the runners were moving at a fast pace when they crosSed the line. With one exeeption, they all ran right • through the tape, showing a marked improvement in this respect. Usually, one or two are pulling up at the tape, when a little extra effort mig-ht easily carry them into a plaee. "While the milers may not be returning the times they would like to do, they are eonsistently running abo-u.t 4.50sees, which is much better than last ssason's efforts. Any athleie who can run eonsistently to the same time is ahvays liable to produce something* better when the oeeasion !eraands.

In A. Hicks, the club has a particularly fine prospect, Off 60 yards in the mile, on Monday, he was with the leaders at the half-way mark. For the next lap he fan no faster than neeessary, and was full of running at the finish. Tiie scratch men always have a hard task to g'et round the field in a quar-ler-mile, and the starters in last week's raee proved just as difljeult as usual. J. Skelton, a young- junior, registered his first win, being followed home by C. Dohnt. Tliese two made g'ood use of their handicaps and never looked like being eaught. I. Kenfiedy produced a fine finish to carry him into third place. As in the men's races. the women also showed pienty of pace at the finish of their 75 yards. For the first time this season, Miss Kt Mansfield i'airly flew over the last few yards. The other contestants were not loafing either. Running into a strong wind, Miss N. Martis made good -vt>e of her physique to register her second win, this time over 220 yards. llowever, she will probably find it neeessary to modify her action before she can show any marked improvement in the shorter races. The 75 yards was run in A and B grades; a system that ought to be established in the interests of the ycunger competitors. It would also be wise if the younger ones were limited to races of up to 100 yards. Tliej7 have pienty of time to think about running the longer distanees. The best of the competitors in the hop, stcp and jump was J. Boyle, who leared 39ft 2in at his third attcmpt. Ilis other two jumps were only a few inches shorter. In the women's broad jump, Miss Gunson did best, with a leap of 15ft 4in. Cemmg Events. Mavch '.15. — Arapuni: Ehtries close with secretary, J. M. C-ranston, Post Office, Arapuni, on Monday, March 3, at 4 p.m. Next Monday's programme will be 220 yards, 1000 yards and high jump (senior and jcniov); women's 50 yards, lOO yards and high jump. Chiloren's evcnts commence at 5.30 p.m.