ATHLETICS PEDESTRIANIS VI. AQUATICS. MISCELLANEOUS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 428, 14 December 1889, Page 3

ATHLETICS

PEDESTRIANIS VI.

AQUATICS.

MISCELLANEOUS.

(By ACTION.)

There are 26 medals for the Championship Meeting —l 3 gold (first prizes), and 13 silver (second prizes). The design is handsome and appropriate ; each medal is surmounted by Mercury's staft, with entwining serpents, wings on each side of the staff supporting the pendent rings. The surfaces of the medals are convex, and of dead metal, having on one side the letters "N.Z.A.A.A." in monogram, with •• Dec. 1889, Dunedin," in raised letters around the monogram, while on the other side are the words, "N.Z. Amateur Championship," with a wreath chased round the name of the race, leaving space for the winner's name and the time. Joe Scott, the well-known walker, who is at present in Adelaide, seems to have struck a wall in a man named Harris, a Victorian ped. A 25-mile walk came oft in Adelaide on the 11th November, and Harris won in 4hr 6min, about 30sec ahead of Scobt. The following, from the Sydney " Referee," is a description of a new record register, timer and judge, invented by Mr J. Dray ton, editor of that journal, which, if it works properly, should be a great advantage to athletes : - First of all, at the start end there is fixed a disc to which is attached an electric wire running down to the finish. The starter pulls his gun close to this disc, and the concussion starts the current, and sets the cloak, which is fixed at the end of each traok, overhead, going. Imagine the men have run down their tracks. No matter how close the finish, the electric clock on the winner's track will be stopped a visible space before the others. This is done by a simple contrivanoe. Across each track is laid a thin steel band, resting on two uprights connected by electricity with the clocks. As the runner knocks the tiny rod off its supports, he cuts off the current and the clock stops dead. This disconnection also drops a shutter which shows the numbers, and liberates the trigger of a photographic camera, and the men are photographed as they finish, so that should anything go wrong with the other apparatus, the negative would be% there to decide the positions.

A new swimmer named Marsh has come to the fore in England. He is a Plymouth lad, and formerly belonged to the navy. He bought himself out and joined a fishing fleet in order to give more attention to swimming. Last year he won a prize of £20. for being the best long-distance swimmer in ail the fishing fleets, and having beaten Collier, Nubtall, Sargeanb and other's, can now claim to be the champion open sea swimmer of England. Miss Johnson, the English swimmer, some time back failed in an attempt to beat the under-wator record. A second attempt was made on September 27th, when Miss Johnson remained under 3min 18£ sec, beating the old record-for a lady —by OJsec.

It is announced that C. Wilson, the Christchurch record breaker on the bicycle, intends to join bho professional ranks. He intends to join Frank Mills, the Australian rider now in Christchurch, and the two will carry on their profession together. I have been favoured with the following clipping : —One of the most remarkable features of the coming season of the Football Association will be the practical disappearance of the amateur. For some years past most of fche leading clube have become no longer societies for mutual recreation, but simply financial organisations for exploiting a carefully-selected team of athletes, the professional element has gradually but surely been aquiring the monopoly of the match field, and.most of the few remaining amateurs are of the quasi description, whose expense s have to be paid on a liberal scale. The wealthy : organisations of Lancashire and the Midlands have swept Lanarkshire —which is as much a home of football as Notts is of cricket —of the cream of Scotch players. In regard to the subject of Rugby football, an English paper remarks: — When the subject of rough play has been thoroughly taken in hand by the Rugby ; Union, there will be littlo that that body can do to put the game on a firmer or moro enduring basis, unless it is to take into consideration the effect, good or bad, which the introduction of professionalism has had on tho Association game, with the view of seeing if it can be introduced in the Rugby game as an antidote to the slate of aHaits depicted in the "Sporting Life." "The Sporting Life" says that the reason of the undeniable decay of Rugby football in England is the professionalism of the I Association game, which carries all the best artisans to the game in which they are paid. Fortunately, we are far from such a state of things in New Zealand.