Athletics

H ATHLETICS. and who hasnever at any period of his life taught or assisted in the pursuit of athletic exercises as a means of livelihood; nor is a mechanic, artizan, orlabourer? The list of events for championshiphonours wasfounded on, and almost identical with those of the Inter-'Varsity contests, with the much-needed addition of a half-mile running and awalking race. The latterwas fixed at seven miles, it being then the ambition of" toe-and-heel" athletes to cover that distancein the hour. Beaufort House was, as the only amateur ground in London, thechosen sceneof the initialchampionship meet­ ing on Friday, 23 March. The gravel cinder-path was of irregular size,of "about/' 600 yards to the lap. The sports were—and forthirteen orfourteen years continued to be— arranged to follow the Inter-'Varsity, so as to secure the cream of the "Blue" talent; but this brought them at a period of the year when other athletes werenot in training. Thus, out of sixty-one competitors, thirty-three came from the universities and public schools,four from Civil Service, and seven from the army,so that outside clubs were poorly represented. The only notable performance was the high jump, wherein T. G. Little and J. H. S. Roupel^ both Cambridge, tied at 5 ft. 9 in.—best onrecord. For the first time theCivil Service A.C. included a strangers' race, 600 yards—won by W. M. Chinnery,with J. B, Martin (thenow eminent banker, scientist, and President of the L.A.C.) second. We need say but little more concerning the past. Athleticism had by this time (1866) been established on a firm basis; it had, thanksto the class of men now attracted to its ranks, lived down the days of degenerate sport, and built up a reputation of its own. With the increase in popularity came an increase in the number of its partici-