St. Paul daily globe., 1895-12-17
GIVE THE SKATERS ROOM.
Good Track Needed for the Cham
piOnship Races.

To the Editor of the Globe.
1t is very evident from the arrange
ments now being carried forward by
the committee on sports to be held durA
not paying the required attention to
the most particular and by far the best
drawing card of the listed sports, The
National Championships, this being
the first time this great event has been
allowed to leave the East. Now that
we are to have it, our busy committee
should see that the track to be used on
that occasion is all that it should be,
and improve on the EaSterly tracks, II
possible. l have attended the cham
pion races every season, whether held
at Orange Lake, Red Bank or on the
Hudson, and have understood from
members Of the association that all the
races, from 100 yards up to and includ-
ing the quarter-mile dash, must be de-
ctded on straight away track, which
must be from twenty-five to forty feet
in width. Now, in order to make this
meeting a decided success, we want
records broken, and to assist the skat-
ers in their efforts it is necessary that
they have plenty of room. 1t is SIM
ply impossible for one skater with
his long skates and strides) to pass
another on a track less than-at least
twenty feet in width.
To hold these ''nationaI' races on a
surface of ice such as the Aurora. rink
can afford-at its best-is simply alb
surd. 1t is hardly large enough for or
dinary local races. 1t cannot give half
the required space for the contests tants,
nor begin to accommodate the large
throng the event will surely draw
AT Orange Lake last January there
were over ten thousand people, half of
them coming from far-distant places,
and who, after reaching NeWbergh, had
to board electric cars and all sorts of
conveyances for another jaunt of eight
miles inland to Orange Lake, at which
place a half-mile track had been made
ready. Could these races have been
held properly in rink, such as we
have for the purpose" it is against all
reason to suppose that the association
would have gone to such an out-of-the
way place directly away from and al
most inaccessible to New York city,
when any number of rtnks larger than
Aurora park could be had close by, and
in the city. One other great feature of
the national races is the fact that there
| are no admission charges, the whole af-
fair being free to the public. Being a
resident of st. Paul, 1 fully appreciate
the honor conferred upon our city, and
| am anxious that this notable sporting
event go through in better shape than
| ever before. But if held at Aurora
| park it will be a great farce" Here we
| have a great street car system running
directly to as pretty sheet of ice as
could be wished for-Como-where a
half-mile track could be laid out with
out any expense to the Carnival asso-
citation. The street car company would
| surely attend to that important part of
| the work, and be amply repaid by the
| fares of the throng of people that will
! attend. The fact of the event coming
| off there would also bring out most of
| our prominent people, who, while wish
| ing to see the contests, would not care
to crowd into a limited rink space. If
the committee in charge will write
| Father Bill Curtiss and give him the
| Aurora dimensions, I think they will
| hear from him something to their adj
vantage on this subject, and that with
| out delay.
Let US do the thing properly, or not
! at all. I trust these few facts will be
| of use to the committee
| w. J. Noble.
ST Paul Mimi Dec Il 1Sq5