Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-07
QUALIFICATIONS OF
AN AMATEUR NAMED
Olympic Committee Makes Ruling
in Defining Term as Ap-
piled to Sport
CLASSIFICATION IS MISUSED
Report Is Framed from RepreSen-
tatiVe Statements of the Va
riouS Places Interested
CLASSIFICATION IS MISUSED


NEW YORK, Aug. 4.-.For a couple
of years or so the universal definition
of an amateur has been troubling the
international Olympic committee, and
it has devoted lot of time to the
framing of an amateur definition that
would suit alPcountries and all classes
of amateurs. About year ago an
English sporting paper invited the
opinions of men interested in amateur
sport and it published the opinions of
a long string of authorities. All this
matter was turned over to the inter
national Olympic committee, and it
formed Il subcommittee to take charge
of the question and report within a
year.
This report was read at the recent
meeting of the international committee
at Luxenburg by Theodore A. Cook.
representing Great Britain. The fail
ure to reach a common standard IN
no way discouraged the members of
the committee, who are determined
that it must come, and some day there
will be a definition of an amateur that
will conform to ali classes. AS a sort
of beginning with that end in view the
international Olympic committee in
accepting Cooks report selected two
sports for discussion. 1t was decided
that France should have the task of
defining an amateur fencer and Eng
land should draw up the definition of
the track and field amateur
Following is the report:
l. Many OF our best racing men, members of
the Jockey club and others, and many of our
best yachting men, members of the Royal
Yacht squadron and others, habitually re-
ceive money prizes and pay professionals to
help them win their races. But if they fol-
lowed a similar course of action in the case
of athletics lawn tennis swimming, etc, they
would be debarred from competing for the
amateur championship in these sports
NO IRON-CLAD RULE
? In athletics a man who has competed
against q professional loses ipso facto his
amateur status, whereas in golf, in racing IN
court tennis jeu de paume), in cricket and
some other sports such competitions are ire
quent and entail no penalty.
g. In some sports. such as rowing, it has
only been found possible to hold out against
the increase of professionalism by making the
amateur definition extremely rigid. The ANA
teur Rowing association probably recognizes
that this rigidty necessarily limits the scope
of their competitions, but they might with JUS
tice argue that the laNity introduced into GER
tain other sports has produced evils which
make them both unrepresentattve of local et-
fort and useless to the national life No ar
eument is at present likely to change this
point of view, and no amateur definition Of
.rnple and inclusive kind can now enjoy the
approval of the Amateur Rowing association.
The result of my inquiries is as logical as 1t
is definite From a general point of view they
prove that a universal definition of the anna
teur for all sports Is at present Impossible. IN
their special application, however to our own
task and to the Olympic games they are not
Of so negative a character, for they go to
show that when an athlete is entered Tor a
particular event by his national association
governing the sport in which that event forms
part his amateur status can be fairly guar
anteed by that association, and will be ac-
cepted by competitors of his own nationality
1t must be our task so to unity the ideals OF
the great associations controlling sports in all
countries that the entry guaranteed by one
such association shall be accepted by all as
sociations governing the same sport in all
countries.
LOCAL DEFINITION RULES
So far this task only reached its first stage
when associations in other countries accepted
for the purpose Of the olympic games OF l9OS
the amateur definition Of the association con-
trolling each particular sport in the United
Kingdom In several cases the Swedes Will De
using in 1912 definitions which are either ex~
actly similar to those Of 1908 or improved by
wider experience in certain forms or sport
In 1912 at Stockholm, as in 1908 in London. the
great associations of all competing countries
will accept for the purpose OF the Olymplc
games of 1912 the amateur definitions put Tor
ward by the country in which the games are re
held The same process will be repeated IN
1916 And obviously, since all are animated
by the same general principle, we shall an
gradually arrive at a series Of details tending
to become more and more similar ana less ana
less numerous But at the present moment
haste in any detail or excessive rigidtty in any
attempt at unihcation can only result IN OF
Tending those associations which we may per-
haps guide and support, but to which we can
never issue definite orders.
The international Olympic committee may
well lend some practical and useful aid to TINS
slow but sure development so that the result
of the efforts inspired by Count ISertler de
Sauvigny's report shall not be sterile. What
then can we do? 1 venture to make two sug-
gestions
In one country we can try to persuade
two. three or even four associations to accept
the same definition Of an amateur Tor the
sports they control we can ask b' - ~ ~ r.,
for example, to state their objections to AS
definition, after this definition has been re-
duced to it's most elemental form Ihese op-
IectIons we may gradually endeaVor TO over
come by argument and experience until one
country at least can say that for the majority
of its sports the definition is the same.
9 We may also endeavor to secure the dehhi-
tinn of an amateur such, for instance as one
of those definitions accepted both in London
in 1905 and in Stockholm in 1912, in one sport
which NAV commend itself not only to two
but to three, four and even hve nations W~hen ~
it has been authoritatively brought TO theif
notice by a member of this committee IN
swimming a solution of this KIND has alreauy
been tried. but it seems to nave Deeh reacheu
only by the insertion of reservation IN taVor
of Germans and Swedes, which may nave the
effect of barring an Italian. a Frenchman or
an nglishman from entering competition
open to Swedes and Germans OF precisely the
same status and qualifications
This latter instance is mentioned only 10
show the difficulty of our task, not to dis
courage the ardor OF our enorts' IL If, % now.
ever even more valuable to indicate the right
lines on which labor may profitably be under
taken than to initiate activities which will In
the end prove fruitless and 1t is in TINS spirit
mat NV report s offered, with great respect,
to the international Olympic committee. The
member who next year can bring to our meet
ing only one Of the two tasks | have sug-
aastod completely AMI satisfactorily achieved
will have deserved well not only of his col
leagues, but of the whole world of amateur
sport.