Fifty Years of Progress 1880-1930

A.A.A. JUBILEE SOUVENIR In the early days of the Association, the number of members in a Club applying for affiliation was taken into consideration, and in some cases Clubs with a small membership were not accepted for affiliation. To-day, provided a Club is properly constituted and possesses suitable rules, no question is raised as to the number of members in it. It must be remem– bered, too, that in the early days of the Association certain Clubs were accepted as members without any voting power, though I imagine this must in many cases have led to considerable criticism. Betting at athletic meetings flourished to a great extent in the eighties, and it was one of the most difficult problems confronting the Association. At one meeting, the Committee, at the request of Mr. Frank Smith, who was assisting in the management of the Championships, undertook to relieve him of any responsibility which might be incurred in case any betting men should be ejected from the grounds, in accordance with the provisions of a notice which had been issued by Mr. Smith. In the second year of the Association's existence an application was made that the question of remuneration for a judge of walking at the Championships should be considered. It was resolved "That it was contrary to the principles of the Association to remunerate any amateur for the services he had rendered to the Association." To-day, one of the happiest features of the Association is that men of all classes, some of them men of very moderate means, are willing to act as honorary officials at athletic meetings all over the country, without even receiving their ex– penses, thus showing that their interest in the sport does not cease when they have given up competing in events themselves. frn important resolution was passed in I 882: "That on and after January 1st, 1883, all amateurs wilfully competing at sports held under rules not approved by the A.A.A. will render themselves ineligible to compete at Meetings held by the associated Clubs, for such period as may be thought fit," and in the same year it was decided that suspensions by the A.A.A. should be binding on other bodies. In I 882 we also find the first reference to an incorrect entry form, a subject which, with the development of the Association in later years, became of extreme importance. This particular form was detected by the handicapper, Mr. J. H. A. Reay, a member of the London Athletic Club, who had won the Hurdles Championship in I 877, and is still taking an active interest in the sport. The competitor admitted that he had " falsifieEl his entry form" and "expressed contrition." He was suspended for six months, a light sentence, but it was the first instance of the kind. At about the same time a great question of principle was settled. The famous runner, W. G. George, asked permission to make a match, as an amateur, with the professional distance runner, W. Cummings. Half the gate-money, it was proposed, should be given to the Worcester Infirmary, and the other half would be given to Cummings. It was unanimously resolved that permission should not be given for an amateur to meet a 38