MILITARY SPORTS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21229, 27 September 1940, Page 3

MILITARY SPORTS

CLAUDELANDS CAMP 7th MEDIUM BATTERY EVENTS NEW STYLE OF ATHLETICS One of the most interesting phases of the training of the 7th Medium , Battery at the Claudelands Show- ! grounds camp is sports day. It is not all pleasure, however, as was shown yesterday when the second tabloid sports since the unit went under canvas were held. Participation was compulsory in all ten events, the id.ea of the fixture being to assiot in the physical training of the men. Tabloid sports are new in Hamilton. There were ten teams competing yesterday, each of 10 troops. There were ten events on the pro- | gramme, which was arranged in such a way that there was only one team contesting a particular event at a time. As a team concluded one event it moved cn to the next, with another team coming up to take the event just left.

The entire scoring system for the tabloid sports is based on team work, which is considered desirable to develop the team spirit of the unit. It is not of great advantage for cne soldier to be an outstanding athlete. That will not help his team because points are awarded for a certain standard in each race. Points. For Team Work For instance, the 440 yards event yesterday had to be completed inside 1 min. 15 sec. Each team competed in the event separately and two points were awarded for every member of the team finishing within the limit. The events on the programme yesterday were:—Hop. step and jump, 50 yards backwards, broad jump, three forward jumps. 100 yards, three backward jumps, high jump, 440 yards, shot putt, and 75 yards hurdles. Points were awarded for discipline also. As a team contested an event it lined up and awaited the general order to proceed to the next event, proceeding there at the double. In this way the programme was very orderly, in fact almost uniquely so for an athletic meeting. The system also was speedy, for 100 men completed in 10 events at the rate of only 10 men at a time for each event in about one hour. Auckland Troop Wins Great interest was displayed by the men in the result. Cn points, A troop (Auckland) beat B troop (Hamilton) by 4721 points to 442, thus reversing the position of the previous week when B troop won. The winning team was headquarters B troop, with 117 points, which won for it a case of apples. In second place was D sub., A troop, with 103 points, and A sub., A troop was third with 1071 point.’. One of the highlights of the day was the tug-o’-war between the officers and the non-commissioned officers, which, after the men of the ranks had given full vent to their feelings about the match in loud cheering and bright remarks, resulted in a victory for the non-commis~

sioned officers. In another tug, A troop defeated B troop. The sports concluded with a hot shower all around, the most welcome part of the camp life to many of the soldiers, who were a little weary after the stiff athletic test. 1