RANGATAUA SPORTS.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 10 April 1917, Page 4

RANGATAUA SPORTS.

The annual carniyal of the Rang? Axemen ?s and Athletic Association

held on Easter Monday in fine weat.

though during the early part of the day a cold wind was blowing, later on thfr sun came out, and the day was warm and* bright. .-There was a large atlendance of spectators, though not up tothat of former years, as was only to be expected under the present- unhappy in. ternational conditions. Many faces ort enthusiastic followers of the game were missed who were fighting on one or other of the battle fronts. The fields in the various events were large, the finishes remarkably close,, dead heats for first place being registered in two. events. In the championship Chop there were only four starters, but the competitors made up in quality what was lacking in number, W. Peck, C. Miley, and Dave Pretty (a trio of famous axemen) being among the number. Some very good times were registered, and the form displayed by some of the competitors was very fine. The arrangements were well thought out, and every event was got off with a precision and promptitude that reflected the greatest credit on Mr L. Gormly and his efficient band of workers. A special word of praise must be accorded the handicapper, Mr J. A. Hansen for the closeness of the finishes. The athletic events'were well contested, and though the fields were not large, the finshes were closely fought out. Tfre judges for the chopping and sawing events were Messrs. R. Addison, F. Collier, J. Trask,, and G. Tyler, and for the running, wrestling, and other events Messrs J. Hall.and W. Fraser officiated. The Secretary, Mr L. Gormly, was the right man in the right place, and to hisefforts and wide experience the success of the gathering was in no small measure due. He was uniformly courteous and obliging. The only fault, if any exception could be taken, was the length of. the programme, as it was getting dark when the last event was decided. The Ohakuno band,, under Bandmaster E. Young, turned out some 20 strong, and excellent playing was quite a. feature, and added very considerably to the enjoyment of the day. The sum of £3l was taken at the gates. The following are the results of the various events: —

Maiden Handicap: Chop, 12 in. blocks; F, .King 1, J.. .Kelly 2, K. Burgess 3, Time's-1: sees.:lrji

I 100.; Yards* : Hqudicap—J,. McDonell, 015, yds.); .1,..H. S. 2. Time. 11 3-5 sees. > .. boitnlocM ■

i Maiden Doublbrhand.p.d ~Saw)ng, 15 inch blocks, two (nifs>-T. r Chod.s ( f)n and mate l, and matg'sSj ;Elglit|pair3;,stai;ted. Won fairly easily,&;,'lyq§i3^jßgcs..,-..,',; Kang-a.ta.ua—Cut)- Handicap Chop. 16 inch- standing blp*|k|^ n F|rst prize £lO and Silver Cirjn,,- presented by G. Wi& hart, Esq.; 2nd £2; 3rd Trophy, presenfl e'd. by D. Neagle, Esq., Taiha-pe.-"—First Heat—C. JMile^; i W. Peek (scr) 2;\C?^uw^f <I l|»'Bec6| v 3. Time 56 2-5 sees!" See cm d ' ]sca t—D.' Pr e tty (2 sees) "lj : 2; J. Neal (14 sees)" 3.' Final Heat—Miley and J. Neal, dead heat for first place; Peck 2. In the final nea,t the paclc men chopped in splendid style,, jVmey being the first round, closely followed by Peck, and Pretty,, the blocks of Miley and Neal failing simultaneously, with. Peck's about' a second later. Time, 1 min 30 sees.

K.Z. 15 inch Championship Chop, 15 in. blocks—C. Miley 1, W. Peck 2. Miley, who was chopping in fine form, was the first round, shortly followed by Peck. It was a good contest be* tween these two, Miley eventually winning by a second. Pretty, having struck a bad block, did uot finish. Time, lmin IS 3-5 sees.

Double-handed Sawing Handicap, 15 inch blocks, two cuts. —First Heat—• Smith and mate 1. Gregory and mate 2. Second Heat —Thousen and mate 1* Creighton and mate 2. Final Heat— Thodsen and mate (11 sees) 1, Gregory and mate (Ssecs) 2. This Avas a very close finish. Time 27 sees.

220 yards Handicap—H. M. Clarke' 1, W. Jordan 2, J. McDonell 3. Won

easily. Local Boys' D.H. Sawing HandfcMp—i Eose and mate 1, Roeka and mate 2. SSO yards Handicap—W. Jordan N. Johnston 2. Time 2 min 11 sees. Underhand Chop. 15 inch blocks* First Heat—Kelly 1, Sturzaker 2, King 3. Second Heat—J. jNTeal 1, T. -Gurtia 2, F. King 3. Final Heat—F. King* (20 sees) 1, Sturzaker (26 sees) 2, J. Neal (15 sees) 3. Time 1 min 11 2-5 sees. Local Handicap Chop, -15 inch girth, standing—T. Curtis (25 sees) 1, 0. Sturzaker (25 sees) 2, W. T. Stewart (25 sec) 3. Time 1, min 10 2-5 sees. Hop,, Step, and Jump—K. Burgess 1, High Jump—K. Burgess 1. Wrestling, Cumberland Style—J. Hall 1. Wrestling, Catch-as-Catck-Can— W« Hogg 1. Married Women 's Race—Mrs Taylor A Ball was held in the evenftg, which was well attended, and k£p up tilt the early hours of the mining, prov« ing a fitting finale to a day'3 sport. / j