SMAD. An Organ of Student Opinion. 1936. Volume 7. Number 6.

Some Worthy Efforts

Some Worthy Efforts.

The small Auckland team stuck to its guns manfully and deserves full marks for refusing to collect the wooden spoon. The mile walk provided an unusally exciting contest between two stylish performers. As expected, Cameron, a former national champion, proved a tough proposition, but Tom Birks was by no means disgraced since the time was the thid fastest recorded so far in this event. Currie, although fourth, must have walked about 7 min. 21 sec., good time for a novice. Our lone star, Phil Bowie, once more showed that for style he is without peer in New Zealand to-day. Abraham's record in the 220 yards hurdles was most encouraging - two years ago he was just a trier who struggled clumsily over the hurdles-an object lesson in sheer concentration and grit. Lindsay Black was disappointing in the 880 but in the mile, was another pleasant surprise. He ran a race out of the box, finishing magnificently in his fastest mile to date. McIntosh was a big disappointment. We expected more than 5 ft. 6 in. from the 1935 champion. But since Sceats, V.U.C. has never had a first-class high jumper. On the whole, the team was most uninspiring. The fault does not lie with the fellows themselves who, despite repeated failures, are wonderfully keen. At present we simply have not got the mateial. However inter-faculty sports unearthed some promising freshers and next year should see a definite improvement. We may even lose that fixture, the wooden spoon.

Anyway, we did win the tug-of-war, we did win the "hooley" and we did "pinch" Otago's stone-hearted mascot. We excel in contests for which no points are awarded.