Amateur Championships

To the Editor:

Could not an amateur championship be arranged on the
American tournament principle, with the proviso that the
preliminary results are to be final in certain specified districts
and that the number of entries shall be limited according
to known form to meet the requirements of the case.

When a man has been merely knocked out of a championship
he always has the feeling that if he had chanced to
be pitted against some other man he would probably have
won, but if he went through on the American principle he
would know his exact value for little or much and might
not be tempted to present himself uselessly for the honour in
future Witness recent “championship” play, in which the
winner in his section averages 6 46 and the loser 3.48.”

Personally, I feel very keen on the idea of county championships
and I hope that in some form or other the B.C.C.
will find itself prepared to tackle the amateur championship
question in time for next season. Could not there be county
championships, the winner of which, say in the South-
Eastern district, might contest on the American principle
for the championship of such district, leaving the champions
of districts to contest again on the American principle for
National or United Kingdom championships, so that it
would be known beyond a doubt that the titular amateur
champion was the actual amateur champion, and best amateur
player, beyond cavil or doubt, in the United Kingdom.

The objection will, of course, be raised that this scheme
would involve a lot of playing and a lot of matches, but it
seems to me that this is precisely what the best amateurs
need and that it is the lack of it that prevents them from
showing form more nearly akin to that of the professional.