Harper's Round Table, February 16, 1897

by Various

In a matter of this kind there should be no half-way business—that is, if the boys are to have the use of the gymnasium, they should have the unrestricted use of it; and the college men should keep away during those hours. If, however, the college men honestly believe that there is not time enough for all the college athletes to train, and at the same time allow the schoolboys to use the floor for a certain period each day, they are fully justified in refusing the use of their gymnasium.

It is to be regretted, however, that some kind of an arrangement cannot be made for the boys, for the college men must remember that by developing the young athletes they are bringing up material that will eventually go into the university teams, and prove of the greatest value and usefulness to them.

The skating-races of the Long Island Association for the championship of the League have been postponed, and will now not be held until possibly the first or second week in March. They will be held in the Clermont Avenue Rink, Brooklyn and the events to be contested are 220-yard dash and one-mile and three-mile races.

At the Boston A.A. in-door meeting, a week ago Saturday, there was a number of interscholastic entries, and several of the schoolboys did good work. There was a 40-yard novice race, in the final heat of which was H. C. Jones, of Exeter. The final heat was so close that the judges were unable to decide upon the winner, and it was necessary to run it off again. On the last attempt Jones won. The time was slow—5 sec. In the tie heat the time had been 4-4/5 sec.

In the mile run, E. W. Mills of Chauncy Hall School, who ran such a beautiful mile at the Madison Square in-door games last year, was pitted against Hjertberg, Orton, and Kilpatrick. The schoolboy started off quickly, and for four laps he led the field, with Hjertberg a good second. The latter then hit up the pace, passed Mills, and was never headed. Kilpatrick passed Mills on the tenth lap, but it was not until the last lap that Orton managed to get ahead of the Chauncy Hall runner. The time was 4 min. 36-4/5 sec.

The hurdle race was won by J. J. Peters, of Andover, with E. Cole, of Hopkinson's, second. There is excellent material among the Boston schools this year, and the interscholastic games ought to be the occasion of some record-breaking.

The National Interscholastic Games, which were held at the Columbia Oval last June, were a success so far as they could be when one considers all the disadvantages that the managers had to contend against. That was the first year of the association's existence, and the officers naturally had a great deal more work to do than they ever will have again, and a great many questions to decide at short notice without any experience to assist them toward these decisions. Several of the present officers of the association were connected with the management of the games last year, and they consequently know of several things that must be avoided, and of many others that should be looked after.

It is none too early now to begin to make plans for these games. One of the difficulties last year was that there was hardly time enough to do all that should have been done to make the games a striking success. Another trouble was that so many of the games of the various interscholastic associations were scheduled for so late a date that the national games had to be postponed until June 20, in order not to conflict with the other contests. It seems to me that a good thing to do this year, and it ought to be done as soon as possible, would be for the executive committee of the National Association to meet and decide upon a conditional date for the national games.

The secretaries of all the interscholastic associations of the country, or of all those that will probably send teams to the national games, should be informed of this proposed date, and the request should be made to them that their own games be held at least a week previous to the national event. It is more than probable that every association would endeavor, if it were a possible thing, to concede this much to the National Association, and to hold their local games at a date that would not conflict with the general event.

In New York the interscholastic games are held early in the month of May. The Long Island League follows about a week later. But in Boston, as well as in Philadelphia and in the Maine Association, the spring games usually come in the first week in June. It is at just about that time that, it would seem to me, the National Association would wish to have the big games in New York. These contests, to be successful, should be scheduled so that they would not interfere with the college examinations, and also so that they would not come too early in the season for the contestants.