Athletics of To-Day 1929

The Growth of Modern Athletics 17 body, which is the Amateur Athletic Association, founded in r88o. The contention of the Northerners was that the cham– pionships should be open to any amateur who had never competed for money, no matter what his social status might be. To this proposition nine or ten Midland clubs, who were in process of forming their own governing association, rallied when the spring championships for r88o were again advertised, and the Londoners again announced it as their intention not to take part. A deadlock appeared to be imminent until the Oxford athletes themselves suggested that there should be held a conference of all interested parties. Invitations were duly dispatched in the joint names of the Oxford and Cambridge clubs, requesting the secretaries of all duly constituted athletic clubs to meet at Oxford on April 24th, and the advertisements of the spring championship meeting were withdrawn, pending the holding of the Oxford onference. The difficulties of the Oxford sportsmen, who were genuinely anxious to bring into being a properly constituted governing body, were by no means ended with the issuing of the invita– tions to a con£ rence. No one wanted to attend the n1eeting, unless there was some sort of guarantee that the wishes of his party would be considered favourably, and even from the .U.A.C. there was some opposition to the confer nee taking place. In the nd most of the objections were met or smoothed over, and Messrs. B. R. Wise, . N. Jackson and M. Shearman, of the O.U.A. ., draft d a set of r solutions to place before the meeting, upon which they further sought the advice of Mr. Waiter y , of the Thames Hare and Hounds lub, b fore the onference took place. The onference was att nded by twenty-seven d 1 gates, representing sixte n orthern and nine Midland clubs forming the associations of these districts, and also fifteen other clubs. Mr. B. R. Wise, President of the O.U.A.C., occupied the chair, and there were present Messrs.]. G. hambers and A. G. ayne (A.A.C.), L. Knowles, R. H. Macaulay and E. torey (C.U.A..), C. Herbert and H. Tomlinson ( ivil Service A.A.), J. Macqueen (German Gymnastic Society), J. Waddell (L.A.C.), ]. Anderton c •