An Athletics Compendium

BritishIsles ~ General A 101 - 108 101 Report of the Committee of Enquiry intodtehve lopment of athletics under the directionf the Amateur Athledc Association and the BritisAhmateur Athletic Board. London; The Association and the Board, 1968. 43p Chaired by Lord Byers. The mountain laboured and brought forth a mouse. A dim, timid report, fewof whose proposals were carriefodrward. 102 Modern sport: its origin adndevelopment through two centuries / John Goulstone. Bexleyheath: The author, 1974. 79p; mimeograph BL: X.611 /4279 Drawing upon reports in contemporary newspapers and periodicals, the author presents the evolution of a number of sports through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Athletics (pp44-51) is the subject of early statistical treatment, with details of world's best timesbeing published in 1523. Some of the outstanding athletes are mentioned and the origins of hurdling and steeplechasing are tracedto their inclusion in a track meeting at Manchester in 1643. The field events featuriendprogrammes during the nineteenth century are described, including the climbing pole vault technique. Othserctions deal with arenas, clubs and meetings. Goulstone's booklet offers only eight pages on the history of athletics, mostly drawn from eighteenth naindeteenth century sporting magazines. His methodology offers rich opportunity for the diligent athletics historian, albeit not in the area of comparative performance statistics, particularly in sprints (the stopwatch was invented in the middle ofthe nineteenthcentury) and field events (where little statistical evidence exists before 16>20).Goulstone surprisingly failsto layany emphasis on the rich culture of Scottish and Irish games except mbyentioning, 'Hammer ansdhot were common British field events fromearly times'. Best considered as a series of evocative not s rather than rigorous history, Goulstone covers territory rarely discussed in conventional histories (he offers a particularly good account of the growth of the amateur) and this book is essential reading. 103 Sport andplace: a geography of sport Eingland, Scotland and Wales/ John Bale. London: Hurst, 1982. xvi, 187p; illus, maps; index Bibliography:p177-184 ISBN: 0-905838-65-3 BL: X.629/20094 Bale employs a number of concepts introduced by Rooney in his A Geography of American Sport; from Cabin Creek toAnaheim (Reading, MA: Addison Wesley, 1974). After an exemplary introduction, the author presents raange of background material on sports participation in Great Britain. Chapter9 deals with Aspects of athletics', and covers such topics as provision of facilities, patternsof performance (with per capita 'productionof athletes dinfferent event- groups) andBritain's placein the world. 104 The financing oafthletics inthe United Kingdom: report of a committee appointedby the Chairman of the Sports Council. London: ThSeports Council, 1983. 34p; pbk Chaired by Mr Dick Jeeps, C.B.E. 105 Athletics on theright track. London; Sports Council, 1987. 92p; illus, maps; spiral ISBN: 0-906577-78-0 BL: BS.387/201 This was the report of a national working party. Intended asa policy document, it presents the results of research carriedout inIddZl&Z), and covers such topics aosrganisation and administration at national and club level, technical officials, participation, facilities and coaching. Tdhaeta ontracks and other facilities (indoor and outdoorre)lates t1o934. 106 Not another Messiah: an account thoef Sports Council 1988-93 / David Pickup. Edinburgh: Pentland, 1996. ix, 225p; illus; index ISBN: 1-85821-392-4 BL: YC.1997.b.275 The foreword isby J. Allan Patmore. 107 50 years of Sports Repor/t introduced bDyesmond Lynam; edited by AudreyAdams. London: CollinsWillow, 1997. 224p; illus ISBN: 0-00-218806-6 BL: YK.1999.a.4609 108 The history and evelopment of thNe ational Olympian Association (1865-1886)/ Ian Stuart Brittain. Leicester University, 1997. MSc thesis. I l l