Athletics

September 1971

Just as last year marked the transition of Athletics from mid-March to mid-September, so this year, moving with the times in which we live, saw the conversion from English Imperial measurements to Metric measurements. Gone are the days when we can boast of running 100 yards in this or that number of seconds and, perhaps more difficult still, the realisation that heights of 5 ft. or 6 ft. have to be replaced by 1.52 and 1.83 metres respectively. Such changes inevitably involved various organisational adjustments, both physical (such as the groundsman's chain measure being altered to 20 metres) and clerical, with Standard times and record times being subject to review. These conversions are however officially laid down, and due to our age-grouping changes last year the only existing School records we need to review are confined to the Senior group.

The old Intermediate (Under 16f) and Junior (Under 15) age-groups are now extinct. Being aware that these columns are for the consumption of Old Boys every bit as much as for present members of school, it would perhaps not be amiss to publish a list of the records as they existed up until the time of the axe. Intermediate (Under 16f, March 1st)

100 Yards 1946 C. Frank 10.8 sec. 220 Yards 1966 C. A. Wood 24.4 sec. 440 Yards 1966 C. A. Wood 55.4 sec. 880 Yards 1960 R. A. Spencer 2 min. 11.6 sec. 1 Mile 1960 R. A. Spencer 4 min. 57.9 sec.

High Jump 1961 D. G. Woolley 5 ft. 4f in.

Long Jump 1954 M. D. Fish 18 ft. 71 in. Junior (Under 15, March 1st) 100 Yards 1946 I. U. Warrington 11.3 sec. 220 Yards 1948 P. J. Blincoe 25.8 sec. 440 Yards 1938 E. P. Bulmer 59.4 sec.

High Jump 1961 I. B. Robertson 5 ft. Of in.

Long Jump 1961 M. J. Howard 17 ft. 71 in.

Cricket Ball 1957 P. N. B. Smith 88 yds.

It is not a little surprising that Robin Walker, now the holder of no less than 3 Senior records, fails to feature in any of the above list. This, however, only emphasises still further the degree of dedication to the task he has set himself in recent years.

Whereas the changed Intermediate and Junior list of records is in the process of establishing itself under the revised distances, the Senior record

list (with times officially adjusted to the new measurements) now stands as follows:—

100 Metres 1930 W. D. Draffan 11.2 sec. 200 Metres 1967 T. B. Ward 23.4 sec. 400 Metres 1971 E. R. Walker 51.0 sec. 800 Metres 1971 E. R. Walker 2 min. 0.5 sec. 1500 Metres 1971 E. R. Walker 4 min. 26.2 sec. High Jump 1962 J. A. B. Carruthers 1.73 metres Long Jump 1958 D. G. Macpherson 6.54 metres 11

To the average run of the mill competitor all this conversion was accepted philosophically. The season again exposed the chronic lack of fitness at the start of an autumn term, aggravated somewhat painfully by an epidemic of soreness of the achilles tendon. The adjustment to 100 metres with the addition of only 1 second in the Standard time made the event no longer a cake walk, but this was perhaps more than compensated for by the reduction of the mile to 1500 metres.

With the donation of a handsome Cup by Lt. Col. J. M. Dickenson (0.P. 1928-1937), the Standards Competition gains further recognition. Great strides were made in general physical fitness over the first 3 weeks of term, especially by those taking vigorous exercise almost daily, and the average per head of 10.42 pts. (8.56 by Dronfield House in 1970) achieved by the winning house, the Rise, was of a high order. Final result of standards : —

1. The Rise ... 10.42 pts. (Winners of Dickenson Cup) 2. Queen's ... 8.97 pts. 3. The Grove 8.68 pts. 4. Temple ... 8.16 pts. 5. The Manor 8.04 pts. 6. Dronfield 7.23 pts. 7. School House 6.09 pts.

Outstanding individual performances were achieved by D. G. Senior (Q) and C. E. S. Monro (R), both of Set C with maximum points, and also with one short of maximum by the following :—E. R. Walker (Q) in Set A, M. S. Bidgood (D) in Set B, R. A. Elwen (G) and C. F. Baggs (R) in Set C, C. D. C. Turner (G) in Set D, and T. S. D. Kirby (D) and D. J. Hughes (Q) both in Set E.

Sports Day and all final events were once again dominated by the highly impressive performances of Robin Walker. Although his time for the 1500 metres was not so impressive as his newly established record of a mile in 1970, it must nevertheless be recognised as a new record over the new distance. In both the 400 metres and 800 metres races he established new record times, bettering his last year's times for the 440 yards and 880 yards races, even allowing for the metric adjustment of times. By winning in addition the 100 metre Race in the very fast time of 11.4 sec., Robin Walker achieved the grand slam by winning the Clive Lewis Cup (Sprints), Gofton Cup (400 metres) and Emsley Cup (1500 metres), a fitting climax to a brilliant school athletic career.

The meeting also featured four first places by David Senior in the Intermediate Group, and a very creditable performance by Robert Little as a runner-up to Robin Walker on no less than three occasions. In all, 13 events were of a higher standard than last year. The only other changes affected the sprint relays at the end of the meeting. These are now truly sprint relays (4 x 200 metres), replacing the medley type of relay amounting to 800 metres. These proved they will be an exciting climax when the result is in the balance, but some chaotic upsets are likely to occur if in future more care to detail and better organisation in baton change-over practice is not given. 12

E. R. Walker—Record Breaker Extraordinary

Queen's won the Athletic Shield with comparative ease, and if one reflects upon the position of the Rise in fourth place, the merit of the whole house's effort in winning the Standards competition without available stars is clearly demonstrated.

All this was achieved in most perfect autumnal weather. With very little dew on the ground and with very little wind to contend with, a pleasant warmth in the sunshine lasting for the whole of three and a half weeks, made for conditions which could hardly be bettered.

DETAILED RESULTS

Intermediate 400 Metres 1. D. G. Senior (Q.), 2. C. F. Baggs (R.), 3. N. C. Foley (G.), 4. N. Gray (S.H.). Time: 59.1 sec. Senior 400 Metres 1. E. R. Walker (Q.), 2. R. W. Little (G.), 3. M. S. Bidgood (D.), 4. T. M. Bloom (R.). Time: 51.0 sec. School Record. Intermediate 1500 Metres 1. D. G. Senior (Q.), 2. I. W. Stephenson (G.), 3. K. D. J. McCarter (M.), 4. A. E. Hills (S.H.). Time: 4 min. 56.2 sec. Senior 1500 Metres 1. E. R. Walker (Q.), 2. R. W. Little (G.), 3. N. Barnes (Q.), 4. D. M. Dempsey (G.). Time: 4 min. 26.2 sec. School Record. Saturday, 2nd October

1. Senior 100 Metres 1. E. R. Walker (Q.), 2. R. J. Hazell (T.), 3. P. R. Wilkinson (D.), 4. P. E. Thwaite (G.). Time: 11.4 sec. 2. Junior 100 Metres 1. A. J. Brockbank (D.), 2. R. J. Holden (G.), 3. R. F. Pulleyn (T.), 4. P. M. Brooker (R.). Time: 13.0 sec. 3. Intermediate 100 Metres 1. J. E. Cresswell (D.), 2. R. A. Elwen (G.), 3. R. M. Spencer (Q.), 4. R. A. Pinder (Q.). Time: 12.3 sec. 4. Senior Long Jump 1. G. E. Park (D.), 2. P. E. Thwaite (G.), 3. S. A. A. Taylor (T.), 4. Equal, R. N. Kerruish (G.) and J. P. G. Lucas (S.H.). Distance: 5.35 metres. 5. Junior High Jump 1. C. D. C. Turner (G.), 2. C. W. Mather (S.H.), 3. D. J. Hughes (Q.), 4. I. R. Pullan (S.H.). Height: 1.43 metres. 6. Intermediate 800 Metres 1. D. G. Senior (Q.), 2. I. W. Stephenson (G.), 3. J. P. Coverdale (Q.), 4. A. R. 0. Heddle (T.). Time: 2 min. 20.4 sec. 7. Senior 800 Metres 1. E. R. Walker (Q.), 2. R. W. Little (G.), 3. M. S. Bidgood (D.), 4. D. M. Dempsey (G.). Time: 2 min. 0.5 sec. School Record. 8. Junior 400 Metres 1. C. P. Hodgson (S.H.), 2. D. J. Hughes (Q.), 3. C. D. C. Turner (G.), 4. T. S. D. Kirby (D.). Time: 61.3 sec. 9. Senior High Jump 1. P. R. Gooder (D.), 2. N. Barnes (Q.), 3. M. S. Bidgood (D.), 4. R. W. Little (G.). Height: 1.57 metres. 10. Intermediate Long Jump 1. D. G. Senior (Q.), 2. N. C. Foley (G.), 3. equal, J. E. Cresswell (D.) and P. N. Adam (T.). Distance: 5.22 metres. 11. Junior Cricket Ball

12. Junior 200 Metres 1. A. J. Brockbank (D.), 2. C. P. Hodgson (S.H.), 3. R. J. Holden (G.), 4. R. F. Pulleyn (T). Time: 27.0 sec. 13. Intermediate 200 Metres 1. J. E. Cresswell (D.), 2. R. A. Elwen (G.), 3. R. A. Pinder (Q.), 4. P. N. Adam (T.). Time: 26.0 sec. 14. Senior 200 Metres 1. R. T. S. Young (Q.), 2. P. R. Wilkinson (D.), 3. A. J. George (T), 4. E. J. M. Walmsley (R.). Time: 25.4 sec. 15. Intermediate High Jump 1. P. A. Hodges (R.), 2. C. F. Baggs (R.), 3. D. F. Richardson (D.), 4. J. E. Prowde (T.). Height: 1.49 metres. 16. Junior Long Jump 1. Equal, T. S. D. Kirby (D.) and P. M. Brooker (R.), 3. J. P. H. Harrison (Q.), 4. C. I. Hodgson (G.). Distance: 4.56 metres. 17. Junior Relay (4 x 100 Metres) I. Dronfield, 2. Queen's, 3. Grove, 4. Temple. Time: 55.0 sec. 18. Intermediate Relay (4 x 200 Metres) 1. Queen's, 2. Rise, 3. Temple, 4. Grove. Time: 1 min. 48.5 sec. 19. Senior Relay (4 x 200 Metres) 1. Queen's, 2. Dronfield, 3. Grove, 4. Rise. Time: 1 min. 40.3 sec. Presentation of the Athletic Shield. 1. Queen's 90 points 2. Dronfield 66i points 3. Grove • • • 58k points 4. Rise • • • 26 points 5. Temple ... 23i points 6. School House ... 19+ points 7. Manor •• • 2 points

Winner of the CLIVE LEWIS CUP (sprints): E. R. Walker.

Winner of the GOFTON CUP (400 metres): E. R. Walker.

Winner of the EMSLEY CUP (1500 metres): E. R. Walker.

R.F.H.

INTER-HOUSE CROSS-COUNTRY RACE The Goodbum Cup Monday, 14th February

A postponement of just one week proved sufficient to transform the Ings from a sheet of water to a state of the going which in racing parlance would be termed good. Although conditions for practice had often proved difficult, nevertheless where there was a will there was a way, and undoubtedly the best trained Houses encompassed the distance impressively. Certainly Derek Dempsey's convincing win did much to explode the theory that there was no time for cross-country running in the Easter Term. As Captain of School Hockey and Squash, he certainly left nothing to chance with his training.

15

RESULT 1. D. M. Dempsey (G), 2. A. D. Penty (R), 3. D. G. Senior (Q), 4. S. D. Lloyd-Jones (Q), 5. R. A. Scott (Q), 6. G. Schmidt (G), 7. R. T. S. Young (Q), 8. R. N. Kerruish (G), 9. C. N. Hazel (D), 10. J. B. Hart (G). Time : 24 min. 11.7 sec. House placings :

Dronfield Grove Manor Queen's Rise Temple 9 1 15 3 2 22 11 6 16 4 14 26 23 8 19 5 21 29 41 10 20 7 27 32 42 18 24 12 30 33 43 34 25 13 39 38 — —

Total 169 77 119 44 133 180

Place 5th — 2nd 3rd — 1st 4th 6th

R.F.H.

INTER-HOUSE JUNIOR LONG RUN Saturday, 18th March

In many ways this year's race was a repeat performance of last year. Once again team rivalry was strongest between Queen's and Temple. but the most intriguing situation again existed between last year's leading contestants, D. C. Spencer (Q) and C. P. Hodgson (SH).

In perfect spring-like conditions the field of 70 strong initially jostled for their positions as they set off up the deeply rutted track behind the Homestead, but it was not long before last year's winner and runner-up were eyeing each other suspiciously at the head of the field. Within + mile of the finish, a sudden spurt by Spencer decided the race beyond all doubt, and with 100 yards to spare he established a new School Record of 15 min. 45 sec., beating by over 7 sec. the previous best held by P. V. Zissler in 1965. The team event was won equally impressively by Temple who packed 5 runners into the first 8 places, which was just too much for the runners-up Queen's. RESULT 1. D. C. Spencer (Q), 2. C. P. Hodgson (SH), 3. A. J. Flint (T), 4. J. C. Rounthwaite (T), 5. J. S. M. Thomas (R), 6. M. R. Taylor (T), 7. R. F. Pulleyn (I), 8. C. J. Hirst (T), 9. D. J. Hughes (Q), 10. B. M. Kay (D). School

Dronfield Grove Manor Queen's Rise House Temple 10 14 11 1 5 2 17 37 12 9 34 18 3 4 19 41 16 13 38 22 6 20 48 23 15 44 26 7 24 49 35 21 45 36 8 25 54 47 27 50 39 31 30 53 64 65 51 52 28 29 63 68 40 46 32 42 Total 198 372 247 143 347 229 133 Place 3rd 7th 5th 2nd 6th 4th 1st R.F.H.