1937-05-22 — Page 21

THE CHINA MAIL, MAY 22, 1987.

Page

OLYMPIC TEAM'S COMPLAINTS

REPORT MADE PUBLIC AFTER MUCH CONJECTURE

THREE BIG CRITICISMS WHICH

A.A.A. REPLY TO

(By E. A. MONTAGUE)

London, April 30.

THE British Olympic athletic team returned from Berlin last August in a mood of some dissatisfaction, and various complaints about organ- isation at the Games were embodied in a letter signed by eight members of the team and sent to the honorary secretary of the Amateur Athletic Association, and in a further letter sent by D. O. Finlay, the captain of the team, to Lord Burghley as president of the A.A.A. In consequence the International Board (the body which deals with British as distinct from English athletics, and which is not to be confused with the International Amateur Athletic Federation) arranged a meeting between its represen- tatives and the athletes so that the complaints might be fully discussed.

THIS MEETING TOOK PLACE LAST NOVEMBER BETWEEN E. J. HOLT AND H. M. ABRAHAMS, REPRESENTING THE BOARD, AND D. O. FINLAY, A. G. K. BROWN, AND P. D. WARD, REPRESENTING THE ATHLETES, AND A REPORT OF WHAT TOOK PLACE AT THE MEETING WAS BELATEDLY MADE PUBLIC AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE A.A.A. LAST SATURDAY. SO MUCH HAS BEEN CONJECTURED ABOUT THIS SUBJECT THAT THE REPORT IS WELCOME AND SHOULD BE FULLY KNOWN.

It makes it clear, in the first place, that several of the complaints made by the British athletes were about matters outside the province of the International Board. For instance, the athletes said that the practice track in the Olympic village was too hard. Obviously that was the fault of nobody but the German organisers, and even if the A.A.A. had known about it beforehand nothing could have been done by us.

Then there were other critic- isms which properly concerned

neither

2

Lord Burghley, above, is Presid ent of the British Amateur Ass0– ciation, and was in his day one of the greatest hurdlers in the world.

our Olympic athletes last year,

NO FAULTY ORGANISATION The complainants from the team made one more general point. They suggested in their letter that Great Britain had failed at Berlin. Ac cording to the report of the meet- ing the A.A.A. representatives re- plied in extremely moderate terms that on the whole the team had

quite lived up to expectations and that no substantial effect on the performances of our athletes could

fessional) and one. field

coach be traced to faulty organisation. (amateur) in England fit to handle With the last part of this reply one Olympic athletes, and none of them does not wholly agree; it has al- is equally skilled in track and field ready been suggested that the late

work alike.

In any good enough for an Olympic team should not need technical tinkering in the last week before the Games.

pal case, athletes arrival of the team at Berlin had

a serious effect on several - men, notably Powell.

Of the first part one can only What they need is tactical advice say that it is too modest. The team and, above all, psychological sup-did magnificently, irrespective of port and encouragement. Lord whether, with an earlier arrival in Burghley would have been the right Germany, it might have done det- man for the job.

3. The composition of the team was] criticised--the report does not say in what respects.

ter.

To the serious student who real ised, as some of the athletes did hot, the standard of competition which they would be faced selectors sat there were only three disappoint-

the A.A.A. nor the organisers, but the International Olympic Committee and the In- ternational Amateur Athletic Federation. Such was the com- plaint that the Olympic pro- gramme was too long drawn out and need not occupy eight days. The A.A.4. spokesmen replied prove them-but that the team's quite reasonably that this pro- late arrival at Berlin was a most gramme had been standardised serious mistake which had much to ever since 1924; they may have do with the breakdown of West, smiled wryly when they added, Holmes, and Pennington and the in the words of the report, that failure of Powell.

The A.A.A. reply is the only pos-with "the promoters naturally wished POWELL'S REDUEST REFUSED

It happened that Powell had been sible one that the for as many days' competition as possible in an attempt to working extremely hard and badly long over the job and considered ments (including Powell's) in our needed a rest. He asked permission every relevant circumstance. When team, and none of them so severe as recoup their outlay."

Apart from these reasonable but to go over to Berlin a week before the team was announced in July I those of Lash, Torrance, Hornbos-

opening misdirected complaints and such the

of the Games-he

wrote that one could only point to tel, and Venzke (United States) or trivialities as the suggestion that could have got leave from his em-three omissions those of J. C. Yoshioka (Japan) or Shore (South the team's track suits should have ployers, and was refused. The re- Stothard, D. R. Bell, and T. W Africa) or Rochard (France) or been lettered "Great Britain" in- sult was that on the second day of Green-which called for comment. I many another. stead of "Britain," there were three the Games he was knocked out of thought then, and I think now, that

So long as athletes are human criticisms made by the athletes of the 800 metres in a time which he the selection was well done, and beings they must have off days. On been beating consistently, the choice of almost any English the other hand, at least nine of our sufficient importance to be dealt had

Later in the season he ran the dis- football or cricket team with in detail.

is more men, Finlay, Thornton, Pennington, tance two seconds faster than the hotly criticised than was that of (Continued on Page 22). They maintained that the team should have been assembled after the winning time at the Olympic Games, 2. "Complaints were made” (says championships under a coach for final training and should have arrived in the report) "that Great Britain were Berlin at least a week before the first the only athletic- team who had not a day's competition. (In fact, they were fully qualified coach to look after them, not assembled beforehand and arrived and that there was no one in the, vil- in Berlin late on a Thursday, after a|lage from whom satisfactory advice and The tiring journey, with one day for train- encouragement could be obtained.

on athletes urged that in future an ex- ing before the opening ceremony

cosch”- should accompany Saturdaý and the first competitions perienced

teams, with the ability and power to on Sunday.)

control the team and consider any prob- The report says: "The difficultiesiems submitted to him? of such an arrangement both from the financial and the practical

J

The report does not give the A.A.A. reply, but one's own com- points of view (i.e., obtaining of ment is that what the athletes ap- leave by certain athletes) were dis-

pear to have wanted was not so cussed.

"M

The A.A.A.. representa-much coach as a captain, prefer- tives promised that these views ably a non-playing captain. Finley should receive the most careful had his own preoccupations, and consideration on any future occa-possibly was not competent to give slon.” One's own view is that the convincing advice on tactics to a first part of the athletes' conten-half-miler or a Marathon runner.: tion has little force-many of the "Fully qualified coach” is easier team could not have got the necessaid than found. sary leave, and a last-minute polish

- EQUALLY SKILLED

under a strange coach would have In my judgment there are to-day done more to unsettle than to im-lonly three track coaches (all pro-

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