Fifty Years of Progress 1880-1930

FIFTY YEARS OF PROGRESS the" Law Expenses Fund" was instituted for the purpose ofindemnifying the Northern and Midland Associations and the Southern Committee against the cost of whatever legal proceedings might be sanctioned by a Sub-Committee. Mr. E. L. Levy (Midland Counties) called attention to the Booth Hall Plate, a sprint handicap at the Blackley Meeting, near Manchester, and said it was a matter of common knowledge that very heavy betting took place on the race in question, and it was distinctly disadvantageous to hold this event under A.A.A. Laws. Mr. T. M. Abraham (Northern Counties) stated that the matter would be further inquired into by the Northern Counties Association. In r900, when competing in the Northern Counties during my holidays, I visited this meeting, though not as a competitor, as I wished to see the position of affairs for myself. It was certainly an experience which I shall never forget! In fact, it would have provided what journalists call " a special" for any newspaper desiring to give a sensational account of " betting at athletic meetings." It was, indeed, a contrast to the quietly-conducted meetings in the South to which I had been accustomed, though, of course, at some Southern meetings in those days there was a certain amount of open betting. To-day, things are very different. Several interesting matters were settled in I 894. An attempt to pre– vent handicappers acting as starters, judges or timekeepers in connection with handicaps framed by them was not successful, and the refusal of an A.A.A. licence for handicapping to a National Cyclists' Union handi– capper, " on principle," caused a great amount of discussion, particularly as the handicapper in question had been closely connected with athletics. In this year professional cycling races at amateur athletic meetings were prohibited, and the distance of the Walking Championships was reduced from Seven Miles to Four Miles. There was a financial disaster in the Northern Counties Association, owing to the failure of their bankers at Manchester, but their application to the A.A.A. for a grant of £roo was refused. "Broken time," now under discussion in connection with the Olympic Games, was first considered in I 895, owing to the position in Rugby foot– ball in Northern Union matches. It was decided that a playing or ordinary member of a football club does not lose his amateur status because of his membership, but he would become disqualified if he received payment for " broken time," even if only the 6s. maximum per day. At the Annual Meeting in I 896, the amateur definition was altered, as follows:- "An amateur is one who has never competed for a money prize or monetary consideration, or for any declared wager or staked bet, who has never engaged in, assisted in or taught any athletic exercise as a means of pecuniary gain, and who has never taken part in any competition with any one who is not an amateur." 43