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The Spike or Victoria College Review 1936

Tournament, 1936

page 65

Tournament, 1936

On Good Friday morning the main bodies from the other Colleges descended on Wellington in their masses. V.U.C. awaited them in the traditional fashion, and this year Haile Selassie and his Ethiopian horde welcomed the visitors. They arrived intending to leave the two Wooden Spoons in Wellington and to this exlent at least their hopes were realised. We still have those lumps of wood.

The 1936 Tournament was remarkable for one thing, namely the clean sweep made by C.U.C. They won every Shield except the Basketball and the Swimming Shields. With perhaps one exception, the Tennis, it was not a question of luck—it was sheer merit and general all-round superiority. The final Tournament points show the extent of this superiority:—C.U.C., 31¾; O.U., 13; A.U.C., 10¼; V.U.C., 9. V.U.C. fought valiantly to lose the Tournament Wooden Spoon, its fate depending on the last Tennis match of the day.

The Rowing was held on Saturday morning, under perfect conditions—flat calm with no wind from any quarter, and bright sunshine. C.U.C. won by two lengths from O.U., with A.U.C. third. V.U.C. rowed well was was about seven lengths behind the winners.

Swimming was held in the afternoon, and the Shield was won by O.U. King was our only successful entrant. He won the 440 yards free-style and brought to V.U.C. its first men's swimming title.

In the evening the Boxing preliminaries were held, and with six finalists, all good men, we thought we had a chance of annexing the Shield. However, it was not our turn, and well-merited victory went to C.U.C. All the contests were interesting, but the fight that will linger longest in our memories was that between Armour (V.U.C.) and Vosailagi (O.U.). Vosailagi gave the gamest display of all the boxers. Pummelled and knocked about the ring, he came back time after time and rocked Armour with heavy blows. A thrilling fight which stirred everyone. N.Z.U. Blues were won by O'Connor and Edgley.

The Athletics on Monday was another walkover for C.U.C. who arrived with an exceptionally strong team comprising among others, Boot, Anderson, Carmichael, and Pilling—all well up in N.Z. Championship meetings. Boot's win in the half-mile and Anderson's 440 yards hurdles will always be remembered. V.U.C.'s only title came when Bowie won the 120 yards hurdles in strong company. Mention should be made of Abraham, who equalled the 220 yards hurdles record in his heat. Black and Birks were second in their events, the mile and mile walk.

In the Basketball, A.U.C. again demonstrated that they held the Shield. The games were, as always, exciting, and although V.U.C. put up a good fight, second place was their best.

The Tennis was considered our brightest hope, but although we had three finalists we could win only one event, the men's singles. J. J. McCarthy is to be congratulated on his win. The Shield went to C.U.C.

The Haslam Shield for Shooting went to C.U.C. also.

Our lone success came in the Putley Drinking Horn. In glamorous surroundings and to the cheers of the multitude, V.U.C. staved off challenges from all comers. No Tournament points are awarded for this.

The Ball was quieter than the reports of the National Weekly had led us to believe. A fitting function to conclude the week's festivities.

We can only say in conclusion, that we hope we repaid the debt of gratitude we owed to the other Colleges. If the work put in by the Tournament Delegates is any criterion, we have done.