Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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21 fights, but that fear was not reaHzed; in fact, we only discovered how very solidly the structure had been made when we tried to dis- mantle it the next day. That was seme job. But it did mean that nearly double the number of seats could be sold and that everyone who came had a reasonable view. There was another innovation this year. Mr. Jack Critchley has given us a handsome cup to be presented annually to the best boxer, irrespective of age or weight. This should e an incentive to the younger boxers to learn the art thoroughly, instead of relying on brute force. This year the cup was won by Harrison, certainly a worthy winner. It has now become the regular practice to fight all the pre- liminaries on the Monday previous t o the finals. Ln both occasions the officials were: Referee, Major B. T. Johnson, F:. .O.C.; Judges, Capt. Harold Lvans and Sgt. Todd, B.V.R.C.; timekeeper, Cpl. Mulder. Our thanks are due to them for without their aid the fights could not go on. In this connection we owe a special debt of gratitude to Major Johnson. He has refereed this competition for some years now, not only skilfully, but with a great understanding of the special problems involved in juvenile boxing. Le has al- ways been ready to advise, when I have needed advice, and his criticism, when expressed, has always been constructive. I, per- sonally, and Saltus boxing, generally, have learned a great deal about boxing and the conduct of competitions from him. It was with real regret that we heard that he would not be in Bermuda for another competition. As His Excellency said, there were no bad fights this year, no fights where one looked hopefully at the referee to see if he would stop it before murder was done. The judges ' scoring papers showed some remarkably close decisions, and the losers certainly have noth- ing to be ashamed of. In the preliminaries too there had been some very close fights and game losers, notably Leach, Nelson iii, and Cooke i. Once again two lessons were plainly to be learned: first, that physical fitness is absolutely necessary; boxing is much more strenuous, even for three short rounds, than it seems to the casual spectator. Todd ii, at the end of his third round against Pearman, literally could not hold his hands up any longer. Pearman won this fight because he kept stopping Todd with a straight left, while many of Todd ' s blows were wild swings that hit Pearman on the arms or shoulders, a part of the body not included in the target area; and this is the second lesson: the only effective way to deal with an opponent who rushes at you with swinging blows is to stand up to him and hit him with your left hard in the face. But you must stand up to him. A blow delivered by a man who is retreating loses more than half its sting; it will not stop an opponent

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20 was 10.4 seconds; the Group B Relay team of Doe, Minugh 1, Ford, and Nelson 3, whose time of M)A seconds was a record; and the Group D Relay team of Harrison, Skinner, Nelson 1, anrl F all, which made a record time over 440 yards of 50.6 seconds. Other individual winners were Lawton, Marshman 2, Doe, Gox, Critchley, Smith 1, and WooUard 1, the last-mentioned being the lone Group E victor, who captured the 440 Yards. Considering that they were competing with eight other schools, the School did do a very credit- able job! H. C. E. M. Boxing The annual competition for the Cox Shield took place on Fri- day, March 9th. His Excellency the Governor, who presented the shield to Skinner on behalf of Watlington, the winning House, is a Steward of Appeal of the British Boxing Board of Control, and consequently a spectator whose criticism and appreciation are both to be valued. In his speech after the fights His Excellency stressed the value in after life of learning to keep one ' s temper while fighting hard, and added that Boxing was one of the oldest and most British of all sports and that it was very satisfying to see that it was being kept up in the finest spirit. There were no bad fights, he said. Saitus boxers should take that to heart. The standard of boxing here has been praised in the last few years by a number of people who know what they are talking about, and it is a tradition to be proud of, certainly, but, even more, to do one ' s best to maintain, especially at a time when there is the temptation to imitate more showy and flashy methods, which may excite the applause of those spectators who know little of the game, but would have little value in a real scrap. Much of the praise for the high standard of the performances this year must be given to Mr. Masters. During the winter he regularly gave instruction in boxing in gym periods. For the last week or two before the competition a practice ring was set up on the field, and in future this can go up much earlier. Thus we shall no longer pray every morning for a month in the presence of the ring. At last, through the generosity of the Saitus Old Boys Associa- tion and the energy of Mr. Gascoigne and a number of devoted labourers from among the boys, my dream of recent years has come true. The ring was on the stage. I rather doubt whether Mr. Cjascoigne knew, when he started, the labour required. The stage slopes down to the front and is not deep enough to accommodate a ring within its own limits. This necessitated the construction of an eighteen foot square of flooring, which projected some six feet in front of the stage and had to be raised at least a foot above it. We were afraid at first that something might collapse during the

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22 who is determined to come to close quarters. Besides, if you re- treat, sooner or later you will find yourself against the ropes, where you will be entirely at the other man ' s mercy. This superiority of the straight blow over a swing was clearly shown in at least three of the fights. One has already been mentioned. Besides that one, in the first fight of the evening Woollard ii had a considerable advantage in reach over Churm, but he fell into the bad habit of swinging, and Churm, by using his feet and hitting straight when- ever the opportunity offered itself, won a well-deserved victory. Hayward, too, tried to duck and come in close with his face wide open because his hands were trying to get round outside his oppo- nent ' s guard. Lewis beat him by waiting for him and then upper- cutting with his left. The fight between Nelson i and Correia was close, Nelson los- ing because he went into the ring expecting to be slaughtered. By the time that he realised that he had a fighting chance, it was too late. We had all been expecting an interesting fight between Terceira i and Woollard i, but Woollard lost a tooth early in the first round and the fight was stopped. In the last fight of the evening Harrison and Skinner put on a very good show. Skinner was some pounds heavier and had the advantage in reach. In these circumstances he should have kept Harrison at a distance with his left. But he did not succeed and Harrison ' s experience was sufficient to let him get in close and win the bout. Again the programme was printed at the School by Mr. Welch, this year, we believe, almost entirely by his own unassisted efforts. Of necessity the names of finalists are not known until the last minute, and it is necessary for him to burn the midnight oil so as to have the programme ready in time. The results follow: — Mosquito weight: Churm beat Woollard ii. Paper weight: Pearman ii beat Todd ii. Flyweight: Cooper ii beat Cooper iv. Bantamweight: Shanks beat Fall ii. Feather- weight: Lines i beat Gurr. Lightweight: Hutt beat Critchley. Welterweight: Lewis beat Hayward. Middleweight: Correia beat Nelson i. Cruiserweight : Terceira i beat Woollard i. Heavyweight : Harrison beat Skinner. After the fights Harrison was appointed Captain of Boxing, S Swimming On Friday, September 22, 1944, the Annual Inter-House Swimming Meet was held at the Langton Pool, the use of which was provided through the kindness of Chummy Hayward. In