The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-04-04
AMERICA AND
ENGLAND PREPARE
Athletes Trying Out for the Big
Olympic Games This
Summer.

INCpoItS from the olympic commit
tees of both England and the United
States indicate that rapid progress is
being made toward completing final
arrangements for both the respective
tryout games and the international
contest to be held in the stadium at
Sheppard's Bush during the month of
July. While it is conceded that other
countries aside from the two men
toned will enter formidable athletic
teams. it is expected that the real bat
tie for the premier track and field
championships will eventually center
upon America and England.
With this in view, the committees
in charge of the organizations which
will represent these nations are work.
ing without let-up to perfect the as
sembly of athletes who in the final
struggle for the international cham
pionship may fully demonstrate the
superiority of the Anglo-Saxon race in
amateur track and field sports.
In London the date for the trial
meets which will indicate the athletes
best fitted to represent England has
been set for Saturday, May 80. the
same day on which the intercollegiate
games of the I. A. A. A. A. will be held
in Philadelphia. The English games
will precede the American tryouts in
Philadelphia and Chicago by one week
and will be worked up to by several
sets of games. also to be held in the
London stadium, which win serve as
preliminary tests to the final contests
which will decide the makeup of the
English team.
Unless there is some change in the
schedule as arranged at the present
time the first big meet will be held in
Sheppard's Bush amphitheater next
month, when the Finchley Harriers
will open the stadium with a gigantic
athletic meet in which number of
French athletes have been invited to
take part.
Other similar meetings will follow in
quick succession, the more prominent
of which are the games of the Queens
Park Harriers on May Is, the High
gate Harriers on May %, and the
combination athletic sports of the
Polytechnic Athletic, Cycling, Swim
ming, Wrestling and Boxing Club, on
June 8. for which a long program of
open events has been prepared. The
prizes for this meeting will exceed
$1,000 in value, and these contests,
taken in conjunction with the English
tryouts, are expected to give those in
charge of the selection of the English
team a most complete idea of the
ability of the athletes which will rep
resent that country in the Olympic
beginning on July ID.
On this side of the water equal ac-
tivity is being shown. The committee
is busily engaged in the collection Of
funds for the transportation of the
team which will represent, the United
States. The dates for the three tryout
meets to be held respectively In Phila- |
delphia, Chicago and San Francisco |
have been set and invitations and en-
try blanks are already being prepared. |
AS will be the case in England, the |
personnel of the team will be based |
upon the showing made by the Ameri-
can athletes in the three sets of games
Only those performers
who demonstrate their ability in one of /
the three meetings will be considered
when the time comes to choose the
combination.
While the committee reserves all
rights in the selection of the team, 1t is
understood that no athlete
who does not take part in the tryout
games will 90 m England at the eX-
oense of the Olympic fund. Should any
athlete be debarred from competing in
the trials through illness or other dis
ability it is possible that, should his
athletic record within the past six
months warrant it, he may be accepted
IS member of the team, provided his
expense money is furnished from some
source other than the American Olym-
pic fund.
-a-%-e.-