Fifty Years of Progress 1880-1930

ATHLETICS IN THE MIDLANDS proposal that an official handicapper should be appointed. It was rejected by the Association, but it was the straw that indicated the direction of the wind. It was in the later months of 1900, however, before any definite scheme emerged from a wealth of discussion as to the best way in which handi– capping might be done, with the Association taking firm control of it from beginning to end, and after much preliminary work, a scheme for the establishment of a Handicapping Board of Control was presented to a Special General Meeting of the Association, and adopted on January 3rd, 1901. It provided for a Board of five, with the President and Hon. Secretary ex officio; the appointment of three official handicappers, and temporary assistants not exceeding two; the allotment of all handicaps by the Board, etc. ; and the remainder of this scheme was so well founded that it has not been materially altered since. The five elected members constituting the first board were: W. A. Brommage, H. A. Butler, F. Lawrence, W. C. Skinner, and J.B. Burman; the ex officio members were Dr. A. R. Badger (President) and W. Mabbett (Hon. Secretary). Mr. J. B. Burman resigned almost immediately, and his place was filled by Mr. A. John Urry. The Handicapping Board of Control was magnificently served for many years by the late Mr. W. A. Brommage, who acted as its Hon. Secretary and laboured incessantly in its interest ; and Messrs. H. A. Butler and Walter Mabbett have continued their membership of it to this day-by vote at each Annual General Meeting. The status of the Handicapping Board is that of an Emergency Committee, whose minutes have to be presented to the Association in General Meeting every month. It transacts a large volume of business and, naturally enough, draws upon itself a certain amount of criticism, but it enjoys in a remarkable degree the confidence of the whole of the Association, as is indicated by the few changes in personnel that occur from year to year. During the early years of the Association there were no Midland Championship titles put forward, but eventually a series of events were allotted to sports-promoting bodies. In later years, however, a regular Championship Meeting has been promoted, with marked success and not a little appreciation on the part of the athletes. And so for fifty years the Midland Counties A.A.A. has faithfully encouraged and controlled amateur sports and sportsmen in a sporting way. It has been magnificently served from its inception by chief officials who have handled its business with sympathy, discretion, and a practical knowledge of all its concerns. It has contributed to the A.A.A. its proper quota of diligent members, whether as Association officials, as delegates to the several Committees, or as expert helpers in connection with the Championship Meetings; and one of the reasons for the ever– lasting freshness of outlook which is a notable feature of the monthly Committee Meetings is that the younger members of the affiliated clubs are regularly in attendance. 71