Canadian Athletic Visit

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 788, 8 October 1929, Page 14

Canadian Athletic Visit

Big Year in Prospect

The amateur athletic track season in Auckland will be ushered in on Labour Day, Monday, October 2S, when the Akarana Club, by permission of the Auckland Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association, will conduct its popular sports meeting at the Domain. This meeting usually signals the first appearance of champions, an-1 champions to be for the season, and gives some indication of the prospects of the contenders for the provincial titles. More than usual interest attaches to the Labour Day meeting this year, in view of the visit to the Dominion of a team of crack athletes from Canada. As the visitors will be in New Zealand early in January the champions of the various provinces who are to oppose them as they tour the land, will have to waste no time ! in getting down to form if they are ! to make the competition keen, j The programme for Labour Day ! includes a maiden 100 yd handican | race as well as the Labour Day 100 yd i handicap. Middle and long distance : events are also included in the proI gramme. There will be the usual | novelty events, for which entries will j be accepted on the ground. The cycling road race season is also drawing to a close and the track pro- * | gramme for the summer will be I j ushered in on Labour Day. as several s j cycle events will be staged along with I the athletic fixtures.

| The team of Canadian athletes will include the sprint champion of the world, Percy Williams, who ran two wonderful' races at the last Olympic i -Games. The national athletic championships jof the Dominion will be held at ! Wanganui this year, although as yet : a date has not been arranged. The Aucklander, A. J. Elliott, succeeded last year in annexing the dual sprint championship of New Zealand, previously held by Malcolm Leadbetter. but relinquished by him when he retired. Elliott will make a bold bid to retain his titles this year, and no doubt wants to make as good an impression as possible against the distinguished Williams. J. W. Savidan. also of Auckland, is j the premier long-distance runner in ' New Zealand at the present time, and !he no doubt will be seen in action i again, although he may desire a long | spell after a heavy harrier season cul- , minating in a gruelling race in the Dominion cross-country championj ships. J The Canadians will leave San j Francisco by the Makura on December i 25 and are due at Wellington on January 13. They will compete at meet- ; ings in the South, and then at Aucki land on February 1. They then : double back on their tracks, going as j far as the Bluff, and then return North | again. The Canadians will compete | again at Auckland on March 8 at the | close of their tour of the Dominion.