World Athletic Supremacy

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 171, 10 October 1927, Page 11

World Athletic Supremacy

NEXT YEARS OLYMPIC GAMES

Preparations at Amsterdam

"YY 1 HEX the All Blacks are playing in South Africa next year. New Zealand will be represented in another international event in the original home of the early colonisers of the African veldt. Holland has been allotted the Olympic Games for 1928 , and already the nations of the world are busy preparing for their quadrennial test of athletic supremacy. Added interest will be given to the big world gathering r from the New Zealand viewpoint, by reason of the fact that the Australasian amateur athletic championships uill be held in Wellington the month after next r and much will depend on the form shown there in determining who will be selected to represent Australia and New Zealand at Amsterdam.

The Olympic Games were re-born in 1896 and until interrupted by the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 were held regularly every four years. Since 1912, the last occasion on which the Games were held before the war, Germany has not participated, but she will again be taking part in the Games to be held in Amsterdam in 1928.* The training in Germany, which is largely subsidised by the Government of the Reich and a number of private concerns, is carried out on a. very extensive scale. At the forthcoming Games it is understood that the Germans will compete in most of the principal events and they will certainly try to break several of the American records. Not only from Germany, however, are large entries expected, but from countries all over the world. The following countries have already accepted the invitation to participate in the Olympic Games in 1928: Belgium, Brazil, Canada. Chile, Denmark, Germany, Egypt, Finland, France, Great Britain, Haiti, Hungary, Letland. Littauen, Norvege, Austria, Poland, Spain, Czecho-Slovakia, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Switzerland, Luxembourg, United States of America, Iceland, Sweden, South Africa, AusL.al.ia and New Zealand. They will send teams varying in numbers from 50 to over >OO. As these various competitors will be accompanied by officials, trainers, etc., it is estimated that suitable lodging accommodation will have to be provided for some 12,000 athletes in a 1. The International Olympic Committee will be present with over 2.0C0 representatives, and the world s Press will be represented by about 2,000 men: - bers. The accommodation for these official and semi-official people will te provided for by the Organisation Committee. Although it is impossible to tell at the present time how many spectators will visit Holland in 1928 to attend the Ninth Olympiad, it can readily be assumed th;it the total will approximate the million, coming and going by beat, rail or plane. be built to meet all the requirements An entirely new stadium has had to

It is true that there already exists in Amsterdam a stadium capable of accommodating some 30,000 spectators, but this was adjudged insufficient. The Netherlands Olympic Committee has, therefore, had to construct an entirely new stadium at a cost of some two million florins, and may it b«' recorded to the great credit of the Dutch nation, comprising only some seven million souls, that the whole of the sum was collected by voluntary subscription within a few weeks. The site upon which the new stadium is now being constructed was nothing but a swamp less than twelve months ago. One million cubic metres of sand have had to be conveyed to the site, and no less than some 5.000 piles, varying in length from 40ft. to 50ft., have had to be driven into the soft ground before the actual work of construction could begin. Xo-day the ground floor, the cycling track and the football ground are ready and half of the stands are already laid out in solid concrete. The Prince Consort of the Netherlands has laid the foundation stone. In another year the stadium will be ready. It will hold about 40,000 people. In addition to the actual stadium provision is also being made for boxing, fencing, swimming, tennis, etc. The rowing and sailing contests will take place in the immediate vicinity of Amsterdam, where there is ample and suitable water accommodation for this purpose. The equestrian events will take place partly in the stadium and partly in the quaint and interesting surrounding country, which is yearly visited by thousands of tourists. The city of Amsterdam, which is the capital of Holland and a modern up-to-date city full of relics of the glorious 17th Century, has sufficient distractions to offer visitors. Excellent railway communication brings within easy access of the city the many points of interest in this small but prosperous and well organised country and all those who visit it primarily to witness the great games of 1928 will certainly be able to take away with them the memories of a pleasant and instructive holiday.