Secondary School Athletic Standards.

The present boom in business has been reflected in the Secondary Schools of New Zealand by the number of senior boys who have left to take up positions.

This was expected to have an adverse effect on the standard of competition in the Secondary Schools' Athletic championships held at Wellington a few weeks ago. Strangely enough, the reverse was the result! No fewer than nine records were broken and a number were equalled. Records that had stood the test of years were unceremoniously broken by one, two or even three young athletes!

During the past twelve years I have seen all the leading Secondary School athletes in action in Wellington, but I have never seen one to impress me so much as did A. K. H. Brown, the Scots College hurdler. This lad covered the 3ft. hurdles in the 120 yards event in 15 sec. and hurdled like a champion born. If this athlete is not lost to competition—as so many are—I predict that he will develop into New Zealand's most famous hurdler. That's a big job, but I am confident Brown has the necessary qualifications.

Another athlete who took my eye was Bill Hocquard, of St. Patrick's College. This lad, only 15 years of age, cleared 5ft. 1 1/4in. without hitting the bar at any stage. Using the “western roll”—as yet far from perfect—he made easy work of each succeeding height as the bar rose to 5ft. 1 1/4in. to break the record by 2 inches. For a fortnight prior to the meeting, he had been laid up with a badly sprained ankle! Of such stuff are champions made!

Sportsmen of Other Days.

I had a caller the other day. He asked me if I was the person responsible for the “Panorama of the Playground” in the “Railways Magazine.” I pleaded guilty and he extended his right hand. “I'm glad to meet you; but I thought you'd be a much older man! My name is Hannan. I used to do a bit of rowing.” It was one of those unexpected pleasures which occasionally fall to the lot of sports writers, and I felt honoured by the visit of Paddy Hannan, formerly world champion professional sculler. He thought I was an older man…. I thought him to be in the early forties when I saw him; but was told he was 53 years old! Good living and participation in a fine sport, had helped Hannan to retain his youthful carriage. Hannan is a credit to New Zealand, and with half-a-century behind him Paddy is stroking a steady oar towards the century. He is the type of man who could be used to New Zealand's advantage in the scheme for the improvement of the physical welfare of New Zealanders.

Not a week goes by but I meet an old-time athletic star, and, in nine cases out of ten, they carry themselves erect and are clear of eye. Paddy Hannan's visit was followed by the visit of that old-timer, Jack Chase, who is also known as a boxing trainer. It was fifteen years since I had seen Jack Chase—at Wairoa, where I was held up by impassable roads—but he hadn't aged a day in the interim. A few months earlier, I had renewed acquaintances with George Muhleison, a 74-year-old veteran cyclist, who once held the Brisbane to Sydney cycle record of 5 1/2 days; I had been chatting to Bill Thomson, New Zealand's premier road cyclist of 40 years ago, and had been chatting to Jack Cusacks, now over 70 years old, but still an active referee of hockey matches. I wondered—do these athletes never grow old?—The answer is that they have all learned the great lesson of sport.—Sport is only a means to an end. Sport is only useful to the community, and the individual, when it teaches the human being to appreciate the value of good health. Clean living is essential for athletic success and the clean habits formed during the athletic careers of the old-timers have stood the test of passing years.