467 



in the army. In 1912 new clubs were formed at Cincinnati, Lexington, and Islip (Long 

 Island), among other places; and even American ladies have taken to playing polo. 

 In England there has been a notable accession to the list of provincial clubs by the forma- 

 tion of the V.W.H. (Swindon), which had the rare success of winning the County Cup 

 in its first season. In France a new club has been started at Le Touquet, sixteen miles 

 from Boulogne; the Austrian Jockey Club, in order to encourage the game, has laid 

 down a new ground in the centre of the racecourse at Kottingbrunn, near Vienna; and 

 among the most recent additions to clubs and grounds in India is that made by the 

 Maharajah of Gwah'or at his " rains " station of Sipri. Polo is now played in almost 

 every European colony in Asia and Africa. It has spread to Northern Nigeria, Morocco, 

 Rhodesia, Abyssinia, Arabia; and each year it finds fresh security in such countries as 

 Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina. 



The most pronounced feature of the London polo season of 1912 was the success of the 

 Old Cantabs in winning the Champion Cup at Hurlingham and the Open and King's Corona- 

 tion Cups at Ranelagh ; and no surprise was occasioned when the Duke of Westminster, under- 

 taking the organisation of the challenging team to visit America in 1913, invited Mr. Walter 

 Buckmaster (the captain of the Old Cantabs) and Mr. F. M. Freake and Captain George 

 Bellville (members of the side) to accompany him. Captain Leslie Cheape, whoVanks, with 

 Mr. Buckmaster, highest in the official handicap list of British players, Captain R. G. Ritson, 

 and Captain Hardress Lloyd, were also among the players invited. 



As regards the international polo matches in 1911 it may be recalled that America (repre- 

 sented by the brothers L. and M. Waterbury, Mr. H. P. Whitney and Mr. D. Milburn) beat 

 England (Captain Leslie Cheape, Mr. Noel Edwards, Captain Hardress Lloyd, and Captain 

 Herbert Wilson) by 4! goals to 3 in the first match, and by 4! goals to 3^ in the second. 

 Many who witnessed those two games were convinced that, if the Englishmen had had half 

 a-dozen more first-class ponies, their narrow defeat might have been turned into a narrow 

 victory. England's goals were all scored by Mr. Edwards. In spite of the fact that several 

 of the leading players were away in America during the major portion of the London season, 

 English polo in 1911 was highly successful. A feature of the season was the brilliant success, 

 to begin with, of the Royal Horse Guards (Captains G. V. S. Bowlby, Harold Brassey, and 

 Lord A. Innes-Ker and Mr. J. F. Harrison). They won the Whitney Cup at Roehampton 

 and the Open Cup at Ranelagh; but by trying themselves and their ponies too highly they 

 fell between two stools, just losing the Inter- Regimental Cup to an admittedly inferior team 

 of the 4th Dragoon Guards, and the Champion Cup to a splendidly mounted Eaton com- 

 bination comprising Messrs. C. P. and P. W. Nickalls and G. A. and C. D. Miller. The 

 King's Coronation Cup went to a powerful side representing the Indian Polo Association 

 (Captains L. St. C. Cheape, Shah Mirza Beg, R. G. Ritson and V. N. Lockett). Another 

 interesting feature of the London season of 1911 was the playing of King Alfonso of Spain 

 at Hurlingham, and of the Crown Prince of Germany at Roehampton. 



Rackets. 



Having taken measures to limit the ever-growing size of the racket ball, the Tennis, 

 Rackets and Fives Association has recently made a few amendments in the laws of the 

 game. A ball which in the course of a rally passes over without touching the cross-bars 

 of the roof remains in play. A player's right to try to return a ball which he has missed 

 at the first attempt is expressly recognised, but he may not claim a " let." In important 

 matches an umpire is deputed to call the footfaults. ' ' ' 



A match for the championship of the world was played in April and May 1911 at Queen's 

 and Prince's clubs by Jamsitji of Bombay, the holder since 1903, and C. Williams, the Harrow 

 school professional, and was easily won by Williams. The English amateur championships 

 were won as follows: singles, (1911) E. M. Baerlein, (1912) B. S. Foster; doubles, (1911) 

 B. S. Foster and the Hon. C. N. Bruce, (1912) H. W. Leatham and H. A. Denison. The 

 Public Schools Challenge Cup was won by Rugby (C. T. B. Simpson and W. H. Clark) in 

 1911, and by Charterhouse (G. A. Wright and C. A. Leatham) in 1912. In both years 

 Cambridge won the University matches singles and doubles. 



.' Rowing. 1 



International interest in oarsmanship has been considerably stimulated by the 

 success of Belgian crews in the races for the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley. In May 

 1911, an eight drawn from past and present members of Jesus College, Cambridge, 

 defeated at Ghent a combined crew of the Ghent clubs, Sport Nautique and Club 



1 See also under "United States" below. 



