SPORTS BUDGET

Southland Times, Issue 24835, 29 August 1942, Page 3

SPORTS BUDGET

Versatile Athlete From Southland At the second battalion sports meeting held by 37th Battalion, Pacific Section. 2nd N.Z.E.F., last month a feature was the versatility shown by Sergeant I. R. Muirson in winning the high jump, shot putt, and 440yds. He was also a member of the winning relay team. Muirson established an Otago secondary schools’ javelin throwing record of 156 ft 9%in in 1937 and a shot putt record of 40ft S’.Jin the following year, being then at Southland Boys’ High School. Subsequently he represented Otago at the New Zealand junior championships. Basketball The first grade basketball competition has now been completed with Collegiate occupying the first place. The annual challenge match for the News Shield will be played between Rata and Collegiate on August 12. The second, third and fourth grade matches will be continued until about September 19. On September 12 a knockout tournament will be played between the junior grade teams and on September 19, two second grade teams will travel to Gore to play representative Eastern teams. Boxer Dies Knocked out within one minute of the end of his 12.7 title defence fight at the Melbourne Stadium on Saturday, August 1. Cec. Overall died in hospital early on the following Tuesday. Overall was ahead on points against Young Frisco after the greatest showing of his career. Less than a minute before the end, he was dropped with a left, and hj falling his head struck the lowest rope. Removed at once to hospital unconscious, on Sunday he was operated on for cerebral pressure, but never regained consciousness. Apparently the fall did more i damage than the punch, and even that was surprising, for Overall’s head did not hit the floor. In Otago Team Three former Southlanders were members of the Otago Rugby team which was defeated by one point by Canterbury at Christchurch last Saturday. They were Cyril George, Jack Ward and J. Sands. George thus joins a band of about 40 players who have represented both Otago and Southland at Rugby. Table Tennis Champion L. Sharman who won the singles title at the Southland table tennis championships last week is possibly the most versatile table tennis player in Southland today. Sharman came from Wellington last year and he quickly established himself as a front rank player. He represented Southland in all matches last season and in combination with T. J. Breayley won the Southland men’s doubles title, which the pair defended successfully this year. Sharman’s singles title was well earned. His ability to take complete control either on defence or in attack makes him a formidable exponent of the game. Bomb Golf Somewhere in Australia an R.A.A.F. Recruit Depot combines training and recreation by playing bomb-golf. Bomb-golf is played by throwing dead, hand-bombs and grenades of all types into foot-square boxes let into the ground at intervals similar to the greens of a golf course. The depot has an 18-hole lay-out, with the shortest hole 30 yards long; the longest about 350 yards; and others ranging from 100 to 200 yards. Par is 65, and a round takes approximately one and a-quarter hours, walking briskly in between throws. The fairways resemble golf fairways only in name, for all kinds of realistic obstacles are placed in the way of the bomb throwers. Bowlers’ Billiards The champion-of-champions in billiards and snooker pairs for bowlers will be decided in the next two weeks. On Tuesday night the opening rounds will be played in the Commercial Billiards room, Don street, and the following week the finals will be played. Eight clubs have entered their champions. Swimming Records Abelardo Montovio, aged 55, has claimed the Spanish and world’s distance swimming records after covering 53% miles in 21 hours 33 minutes. He swam the Guadalquivir river, sustained only by sherry. [Probably no world’s record exists for such a distance, but Montovio’s feat does not seem very remarkable when compared With M. A. Holbein’s performance in swimming 50 miles in the Thames in 13 hours 47 seconds on July 30, 1908.] Andy Ducat The announcement from England of the death of former English Test cricketer Andy Ducat, after a collapse while batting at Lord’s, passed unnoticed by many sportsmen. Ducat, who was 56, was suffering from shock after a motor-car accident when he went in to bat. He represented England at cricket and soccer. He was a member of the 1921 English team, and played in one match, finishing his Test career with an average of 2.5 runs. He played county cricket for Surrey, and soccer for Arsenal and Aston Villa clubs. He helped Aston Villa to win the English Soccer Cup in 1919, and the same year he made 386 not out for Surrey v. Oxford in county cricket. He topped the 2000 runs in 1937, and scored 1000 runs in a season on 13 occasions. For some time, he was official coach to the Queensland Cricket Association. Gore To Invercargill The annual road cycling race from Gore to Invercargill will be held today, when 23 riders are expected to line up at the Gore Post Office. Last year a first-year rider. L. Heath, was first home from 35 other competitors. C. Flowers (Dunedin) gained fastest time. Riders from Oamaru and Dunedin will be among the competitors. Men’s Basketball A surprising feature of this week’s basketball matches was the drawn game between Kittyhawks (A.T.C.) and Spitfires (A.T.C.). , Kittyhawks, it will be remembered, were selected to play the leading Dunedin A.T.C. team a fortnight ago because of their consistent play in the weekly competitions. The Spitfires employed the element of surprise in their play and scored repeatedly. But for the good basketball played by Skelt and Snow for the Kittyhawks, the Spitfires might have won the match. Y.M.C.A. No. 2 also played well against Bible Class No. 1. although they were beaten by a fairly comfortable margin. The Y.M.C.A. indoor basketball leagues competition is drawing to a close, the few games remaining to be played having no effect on the competition. Following are the positions of the teams:—Bible Class I 20 Y.M.C.A. I 20, Wanderers 13, Spitfires 13, Kittyhawks 13, Old Boys 10, Hurricanes 10, Tomahawks 10, Y.M.C.A. II 5, Bible Class II 4, Mohawks 4. Defiants withdrew.