he V.I. athletic sports records below span the years from
1924 to the present day. Unfortunately, they cannot all be presented in one
comprehensive table for various reasons. Firstly, some of the events are no
longer held, events like Hurdles, the Javelin and the Pole Vault, and even the
quaint Cricket Ball Throwing event introduced by Mr Richard Sidney (a cricket
loving Headmaster). The classifications of the boys present another
problem. In 1939 it was decided that the efforts of the entire house,
not just its sportsmen would contribute to the overall points for the athletics
championship. Each V.I. boy was grouped according to his athletic
coefficient which was calculated from the formula:
Athletic Coeff. = 8 × age in years + 1½ × height in inches + weight in pounds
Thus it was possible for a tall, hefty Victorian to have the same coefficient as that of a frail, short senior much older than him. Boys with coefficients 320 and over went into Class I; Class II included those between 290 and 319 and Class III those under 290. It worked well and the class boundaries was adjusted upwards annually to reflect the increasing physiques of the boys. For instance, in 1947, the year the annual athletic sports were resurrected, the numbers were: Class I - 351 and above; Class II - 321 to 350 and Class II - 320 and under!
This classification system was changed back in 1952 to one dependent solely on age. Class I was for boys 19 and above; Class II, 17 to 18; Class III, 15 to 16, Class IV 13 to 14 and Class V below 13. This lasted only a few years until Dr. G.E.D. Lewis introduced in 1956 another classification: Class I for ages 17 and above, Class II 15 to 16 and Class III those aged under 15.
Adding to the confusion was the switch over to the metric system from the Imperial system in 1963. In one fell swoop every one of the old records was swept away and the slate wiped clean. In the eighties and nineties the Lewis class numbering system appears to have be discarded as the V.I. increasingly fell in line with the purely age directed nomenclature of the MSSWP.
The 1981 Victorian printed a combined table of the imperial records, combining, out of ignorance, the sports records registered under the different 1939, 1952 and 1956 classifications as if they were the same.
Below are the V.I. sports records arranged in several tables. The data in the 1981 table have also been separated into the various tables as far as is possible. However, as explained above, any comparison between the tables is virtually meaningless. Some names/figures have been added/corrected that have been missed out by earlier compilers. Records for some events are impossible to get now because of missing issues of the school magazine or possibly because they somehow got ignored in the 1981 "amalgamation" exercise.
Examining the records over the span of decades, it is virtually impossible for the dispassionate reader to ignore the fact that sports performances have gone downhill after the sixties. Whatever few records that have been set thereafter have been set in newly-defined, minor categories like the "under-13s". Sports Day at the present day V.I. today is a perfunctory affair, held in February or March so that the rest of the year might be devoted to more academic pursuits. Some participants have been seen competing barefoot or in long pants in the events. How well a House tent is decorated and how well a House contingent is garbed and and how impressively it marches at the opening of the sports meet would seem to matter more than the number of records broken (none since 1994). It is a tragic commentary on the neglect of non-academic endeavours, not only in the V.I. but nationwide, that the sons and grandsons of V.I. record holders have been unable to match those of their forefathers.
Prewar Records
