Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-13
CHALLENGE or ENGLISH ATHLETES
Text of Communication Sent to Yale
and Harvard.

LONDON, June l2.-The following is the
text of the challenge respectively to the
presidents of the Harvard and Yale uni
v~ersities athletic clubs:
"The committees Of oxford University
| Athletic club and the Cambridge University
Athletic club have requested us to for
ward you the following challenge for your
consideration To invite selected rep
resentatives o. our university clubs
s},ves unite nf ysTieit h or s asFTSra T TniTeTsIty
clubs in forming a Joint team TO compete
in track athletics against a Joint team of
representative similarly selected from the
athletic clubs of oxford and Cambridge
I'VE venture to think such an athletic
meeting will prove very desirable for many
reasons. We should be very glad to well
come you to our land. Such international
athletic sports between the two leading uni
versities of Great Britain and the United
States could not fail to rouse the highest
interest of all lovers of amateur sport and
could not fail to improve the status of
! amateur athletics in both countries, or to
revive the kindly feelings. engendered. by
the, visits o former years Of Yale to oxford
the following condition for your approval:
81. That, the meeting take place at the
end of July, 1899, which may be most con-
venient to you and to the Queens club,
with regards to competitions
'2. That the program shall be the regular
Oxford-Cambridge program of nine events,
subject to the following notifications:
| 49, - 80 ~ ~ abiN ~ nv ~
yard hurdle race the flights of hurdles
should not be fixed with regard to COM
p%etitors.
'3. That all the four universities concerned
may choose representatives only from
actual students now in residence and on the
college books of membership.
-. That such representatives. to he eligi-
bic to compete, must conform in all respects
to the rules and regulations which govern
the athletic sports respectively of oxford
and Cambridge and Harvard and Yale.
.. That such representatives shall have
never rnpniyn1 nanI1niary aGGiEtap moo tnuyay nd
their support and maintenance as athletes
during any portion of their university career
or any period prior thereto.
tives must be in ali respects amateur ath-
letes absolutely and essentially in accord
ance with the definitions of amateur athlete
as laid down by the Amateur Athletic asso-
citation of Great Britain and the similar
governing association of athletics in
America.
80. That the appointed stewards of the
meeting authorized to act for the four uni
v~ersities concerned b. requested to lodge
with the honorary secretary of the ANA
teur Athletic association in London, on
some date prior to the above meeting, lists
OF, the selected teams, together with GER
titicates that each member of said team is a
bona fide student and a bona fide amateur
athlete.
Having thus formulated our views, we
submit them to your favorable considera-
ton and are prepared to leave any minor
details to be adjusted between us at some
later day. We must ask you to kindly
so that we may b. able to Immediately Sc
cure the Queens club ground and make at
once arrangements of a personal character
which any delay might render impossible.
remain. yours very truly,
'G1LBERT C.. VAssAL,
president oxford University Athletic Club.
ALLAN HUNTER,
"President Cambridge University Athletic