Women'in tine World of Sport

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 104, 23 July 1927, Page 17

Women'in tine World of Sport

Auckland Girls Whose Athletic Prowess Has Added to the Fame of the Province ....

Written lor TEE SUN by lAN COSTER

SHERE is an absurd legend that, once upon a time, women sat in the grandstand and watched with wild interest the clash of steel in the tiltyard below. The story also relates that they were content to sit patiently at home, drawing thread through tapestries, while things were hotly afoot among the mailed males. The only gleam of truth is contained in the statement that they played a "quiet game of football” in Chester at Eastertide.

English Channel into a swimmingpool, have worked the farms, entered Parliament, and taken a great share of the spotlight of publicity turned on the gladiators of all ages. This is the period in which Susanns Lenglen is as big a draw, if not a bigger one, than "Big Bill” Tilden. when Gertrude Ederle and an American matron make an easy conquest of the Channel, which still defies the mighty wallowings of men like Colonel “Tiny'* Freyberg, V.C. True, we have no Penthesilea to match against the modern Achilles, Gene Tunney, but it must be remembered that she may be deterred from public appearance in the squared circle by the squeamishness of Sir Hall Caine and public opinion. French and

English women still play football and run marathons. The Oxford versus Cambridge boat race shows a small sign that it may be overshadowed by a similar event between the girls, who, it will be remembered, were exhorted by the cox to “row like hell, chaps,” last season. Therefore this seems an appropriate time to review the prowess of Auckland women in sport. The days died before the war when women

played pat-ball in straw hats, and were afraid to show their ankles; when they bathed in neck-to-foot costumes from chariots launched in the little waves. When they tackled the jobs vacated by soldiers, the spirit of independence grew apace. The pendulum swung out widely; there was nothing that a girl could not do if a mere male did it.

The climax came in the years after the tumult. They brought in the shortlived (in New Zealand at any rate) pursuit of the manly sport of football. One remembers when there was ribald merriment at the expense of the girls who donned jerseys and shorts, and went wallowing after a soccer ball, and even after the elusive oval of Rugby. These efforts, the result of a feeling that the average girl could fill not only a man’s job, but a man’s place in the sports field, faded out. They died from the effects of derision, the warnings of the medical profession, and, perhaps, from the idea that it was not "quite nice.”

Auckland Huntswomen

The cry of “Yoicks!” or “Hounds away!” (or whatever these hunting people cry) thrills a dozen or so of hard-riding huntswomen when the Pakuranga hounds are scouring the countryside. They take stone walls and gorse hedges and wire fences, most of them riding astride, and not in the accepted English side-saddle, with the coolness of cavalry officers. This is the riskiest sport that a woman

can follow without public criticism. Falls and injuries are part of the game. In the agricultural and pastoral show ring there is always a good muster of horsewomen. Some of the best-known riders in the province are Miss E. Lloyd, Miss Mona Elliott,

Miss C. Sutherland, and Mrs. P. H. Smith, wife of the huntsman. One of the features of the hunting year is the point-to-poir.t meeting, which was held at Ramarama last September. The photograph shows the race in progress. Miss E. Lloyd, on Longrein, won from Miss E. Hankin, on Marco, Mrs. P. H. Smith, who rides sidesaddle, being third. Among the eight starters were Miss Peters, on Queen Mark; Miss M. Pickard, on Sunny Morn and Mrs. W. Loughlin, on Bridget. Lady Alice Fergusson has attended meets of the Pakuranga hunt.

On the Courts

The neat figure and determined play of Miss Marjorie Macfarlane, Auckland’s best tennis performer, are known from one end of New Zealand to the other. She was singles champion of the province for 1921, 1924, 1925, and 1926, and four times she has reached the final of the Dominion championship. With her sister, Miss Marian Macfarlane, she has made one of the strongest pairs in the tennis of this country for several seasons past. Last year she went to England, and won the championship of Leicester and of another county, and she has been invited to play in English provincial matches this season. She is still in the Old Country. Her strongest opponents in Auckland have been Mrs. Scott Watson, who held the title for a season, and Miss B. Knight, who was beaten in the last final by Miss May Speirs, of Canterbury. Miss Knight, the best woman player here

now, won the ladies’ doubles, with Miss M. Colebrook, and the mixed with A. W. Sims, last January. There are many coming players in the province like Miss Dulcie Nicholls, exjunior champion, and sti'ong and steady players like Miss Ramsay. It may be mentioned here that a number of Auckland women are now devotees of Badminton.

Field Sports

Track athletics were taken up after the war, and though it cannot be called a popular sport for women, yet there are a number of sprinters here. In the running season these hardy girls undergo solid training, and compete in the Auckland and New Zealand championship meetings. They have not yet reached the Amazonian standard of running against the

males yet, special events being provided for them. At last year’s New Zealand championships Auckland’s hopes were pinned to Miss Nancy Eastwood, of Poverty Bay, who, running in her own district, had equalled the 100 yards’ record of 11 4-ssee, but the Wellingtonian, Miss R. Manttan, clipped one-fifth of a second off the record. The Auckland girl was

third in the hundred, and second in the 75yds, which was run in S 4-osec. The Auckland provincial champion, Miss M. McNeil, did not compete, as she had strained her thigh in training. In the Auckland championships she had run the hundred in smart time.

Auckland's Swimming Champions

Auckland can justly be proud of its swimmers, who bave won not only Dominion honours, but titles in Australia, where everyone has to learn to swim—in Sydney it is the only way to keep cool. Until Lindsay burst through records last year the times of New Zealand men swimmers were

POINT-TO-POINT RACING.—One of the features of the hunting year in Auckland is the point-to-point, held last at Ramarama.

much below Australian records, but • the Dominion’s women have always j held their own with their overseas rivals. The two best known of the Auckland girls are Misses Ena Stockley and Piri Page. Miss Stockley, who defended her title to the New Zealand 100yds free-stroke last year, holds the record of 65 3-ssec for that distance, and in Sydney last year she won the Australasian 100yds freestroke and back-stroke. Over the distances of 220 and 200 yards in Australia, Miss Page beat all-comers, and she

440yds, and fourth in the 220yds. The New Zealand breaststroke 220yds champion and recordholder is Miss Gladys Pigeon, who is credited with the time of 3min 39 3-ssec. One of the

most promising of the younger swimmers is Miss Doris Magee, who clipped two seconds off the intermediate record for the 100yds at the Auckland championships.

The Hockey Game

Practically every Saturday afternoon during the winter months sees between 200 and 300 girls busily engaged on the Remuera hockey fields. In the country districts there are nearly 1,000 girls who take an active

part in inter-club competitions. Girls’ hockey for some years has been at a low ebb in Auckland, and the standard of play poor. Recently, however, the game has been adopted by the colleges, and to-day pretty hockey is displayed in some of the competition contests. In the Training College teams Misses Bilham, Jurd and Davoren play up to rep. standard, while Miss Dilworth, from St. Cuthbert’s, may, at some future date, be a North Island rep. Other clubs possess players, such as Misses Lowe and Dawson, who have represented the district on several occasions.

The Game of “Gawf”

Considering the time spent by many members of the Auckland ladies’ clubs at golf the standard of play is not nearly as high as might reasonably be expected. Competitions are played nearly every day in the week at one or another of the clubs, but the failing point is generally found in match-play events, especially where the matches are hard. Most

was second in the 100 and the 440 important events in the golfing world yards. She was the Dominion cham- j are decided by match-play, and there pion for two years over the eighth appears to he a possibility of the and quarter, but at the last meeting local achievements being bettered in her colours were lowered to the Otago the leading players, from the various girl, Miss K. Miller. She also lost clubs, met more frequently in infertile provincial honour of the quarter to club competitions. Miss Jean Bell, who swam excellently The reC ords show that 23 years last season, and finished second in have e!aps.ed since an Auckland rethe Dominion hundred, third in the „

presentative won the New Zealand championship. The New Zealand championship has been played since 1893, and from the main centres Wellington and Otago players have each won the event six times, Christchurch twice, and Auckland thrice. Nor has Auckland, at the moment, any player who can, with any degree of confidence, be expected to put Auckland’s name on the list again, unless Miss Culling discovers

better form than she was able to produce in the provincial meeting. It is expected that Miss Payton will be going to Palmerston North to the championships this year, and an Auckland hope lies there, though any honour she might win must be shared with Rotorua this year. A number of other players are coming into prominence, such as Mrs. Dufaur, the Titirangi champion, who will this year have as her principal opponent on present form, Mrs. Deigliton, who won her way through to the final of the provincial championship, playing brilliantly in the third round and semi-final. Fortunately both Maungakiekie and Middlemore clubs, which have most of the leading players on their membership rolls, have a few of the younger players who are showing promise, among these being the Misses D. and K. Horton, who have each won several events at Titirangi or One Tree Hill this season, and Miss M. Goldwater of the same links, who has reduced her handicap by half this season, and won the two medal competitions at the provincial championships. while Miss G. Cooke also

promises to be successful if she maintains her interest in the game. Titirangi has several other of the younger members who have the style, and the strokes, but have not yet gained the | ability to put their games together. Perhaps the most promising at Middlemore is Miss N. Colbeck, who ha 3 a good style, exhibits a desire to improve her game, and has, as a good example, the fine record of her people ‘

in Auckland golf. Miss F. Rathbone last year very considerably improved her game, and is taking an interest in further reducing, but has this season been rather held back owing to a sprained ankle. This, it will be agreed, is an impressive display of sportswomenship. On the top of it comes tlie prophesy of Marshal Foch that the next war will be won by women. So, it is quite probable that THE SUN, one

day in 1977, will chronicle the stirring match in which the Auckland representatives defeated the All Black Army team which had just returned from the w T orld war and a subsequent conquest of the British Isles. Regrettable Incident (Special to THE SUN.) AUCKLAND, To-day. The finish of the epic battle was marred by the crowd of men who swamped on the field as the whistle blew, waving their umbrellas and trying to shoulder the Auckland skipper, “Slogger” Sal Simpkins, who was, unfortunately.

compelled to use her fists. Her team rallied round and there were a few casualties among the males. We had thought that disgraceful exhibitions of ungentlemanly conduct such as this had died out. It seems that hysterical men will have to be placed in cages at our national sports. It is the only way they can be kept away from harm.” But these days are not yet.