Fifty years of athletics

SCOTLAND
v.
IRELAND
:
A R
ETROSPECT
By D.
A.
J
AMIESON
I
N
July 18g i a special meeting of the General Committee
of the Scottish A.A.A. was convened to consider a pro-
posal which had been received from the Irish A.A.A.
inviting a team of representative Scottish athletes to take
part in a series of races against selected representatives of
the Irish Association. The distances suggested for com-
petition were i oo Yards, 440 Yards, and One Mile, and
it was further suggested that this series of races should form
the crowning feature of the Irish All-Round Athletic
Championship Meeting which was to be held at Balls
Bridge, Dublin, on 15th August of that year. The proposed
conditions of the contest were that the Irish Association
should provide the prizes, whilst the Scottish body were to
defray their own expenses.
In spite of its allurement, however, this invitation was
declined by the Scottish A.A.A. ; but the potentialities of
such a contest were perceived by the Scottish executive,
and accordingly the Honorary Secretary was instructed to
open up negotiations for the institution of an International
contest on a broader basis than the original suggestion—
namely, to embrace all the recognised championship events.
The question of guarantees was also raised, and it was
suggested that these should be given by each country in
turn. In this manner, then, was laid the foundations of
an International athletic contest with Ireland, which was
to continue without interruption for nearly twenty years.
But although the foundations were truly laid in 1891,
through force of circumstances the edifice itself was not
erected until four years later.
It was not until December of 1894 that overtures were
again made by the I.A.A.A. to the S.A.A.A. with regard to
instituting an annual athletic contest between the countries
on the lines of the Oxford v. Cambridge match,
in
which
the odd event in eleven items was to decide the winner.
This proposal was cordially accepted by the S.A.A.A.
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