Fifty Years of Progress 1880-1930

FIFTY YEARS OF PROGRESS that "on no account may any allowance be made for time lost from business.'' At the meeting of the General Committee in November, 1929, it was decided to accept an invitation to take part in the British Empire Games in Canada in 1930, and £500 was voted from the Association's funds for this purpose. Many discussions have taken place as to the meaning of "an open event," and it was ruled that "an open event for individuals (scratch or handicap) is an event which is open to all amateurs," and con– sequently an event open, for instance, to the police of the United King– dom, which had hitherto been regarded as an open event, would now be regarded as a closed event. Owing to the death of Sir Montague Shearman, to whom references are made in a special article, Lord Desborough was unanimously elected President of the Association at the Annual Meeting in 1930. The Constitution Laws were altered in order to make provision for an Annual Meeting of Southern Clubs, at which matters relating to athletics in the South could be discussed and settled. THE AMATEUR DEFINITION Before closing this review of the last fifty years, it may be interesting to compare the present amateur definition with the definitions adopted in r 880 and r 896. It is as follows:- " An amateur is one who has never competed for a money prize or a monetary consideration in any athletic sport or game or been in any way interested in a staked bet or wager made in connection with any athletic competition in which he was an entrant or com– petitor ; who has never engaged in, assisted in or taught any athletic exercise for pecuniary consideration, or in any way exploited his athletic ability for profit; and who has never taken part in any athletic competition with anyone who is not an amateur." THE PAST AND THE FUTURE This review of the history and progress of the Association is ended. It has been a fascinating task to sit in an upper room in the Adelphi secure from interruption, attempting to select a few of the matters repre– senting, in a sense, the life of the Association for fifty years. Associations, like runners, have their " bad times," and taking a detached view, one might feel that in some particular year not much was accomplished. Men have come and gone, but the Association has continued on its way, and justified the courage and wisdom of its founders. Our leaders, our sup– porters, have made their" efforts," and surveying them, as it were, in one compact assembly from the heights of the Adelphi, we realise their ent~usiasm, their unselfishness, their work for the general welfare of the 57