Athletics and Football (extract)

226 ATHLETICS scriptions ; they enteforr races, anwdhen unsuccessful decline to paytheir entrance fees ; they attempt by everyconceivable kind of trick, sucahs making omissions or ambiguous state­ ments thineir entry formtos, induce the handicapper to give them longer starts than they wouoldbtain if they made a full and fadiirsclosure of their latshtree performances ; and lastly, there is over and over again grave suspiciofn ' roping,' men who oughtot win suddenly losing in away which uinsaccount­ able, except upon the hypothesis that they are paid to lose. All thishas tendedin agreat many districts to drive gentlem n out of the field, as theydo noctare atossociate with the semi- professional amateur, or take part ian sportwhere such prac­ tices are rTifeh.e existenocfethese abuses, too, has evelned to thecorruption of the genuinaemateur. Knowing well that many tohfose wiwthhom he may finhdimself competing are dishonest, and bei g tohonourable himself ever tiondulge in malpractices, he fancies he hads ischarged his duty to the com­ munity albwyays running to win, and respecting the laws of the meeting, and that whetnhis disone nothing further is to be expected from him. Thus, of late years, many amateurs, against whom no suspicionof dishonesty can possibly araisre, ready to go off to any meeting where they capnick up a ' pot,' and when they lostoe raise protests against the winner. It is sad to find that the 'win, tie, or wrangle' policy has increased a good deal upothne running-path within the lasftew years. Upon the whole, therefore, the state of amateur athletics throughout the country hcarndly be considered satisfactory. A greatmany athletwesho pass as amateurs are notnly pro­ fessionals in truth afnadct, who make liaving oouft the sport, but, whiast worse,many of them amreaking a living oouft it by dishonestmeans. It isdifficult, however, to see how, itnhe turn which the movement has taken, things could ha otherwise. The athletic movement which commenced with the 'classes,' and first drew iststrength from the Universities and public schools, has finally, like most other movements and fashiongso,od or bad, spreadownwards to the ' masses.'