that, in the opinion of the Committee, none of the ascents which have been proposed for the prize, and the merits of which could, according to the stipulations of the competition, be taken into consideration, is of that exceptional importance which one has the right, as well as the duty, to demand for the award of an Olym­ pic Gold Medal; that the Committee is strongly of the opinion that there exists no satisfactory com­ mon basis for a comparison between different ascents, and that, consequently, a just award is impossible. The reasons on which the Committee bases this opinion are; 1. The frequent use of paid, professional guides in mountaineering, which makes it inevitable that the jury will run the risk of rewarding amateurs for what, in reality, is due to professionals, while it also makes it impossible to compare ascents carried out with, and without, assistance received from such guides. 2. The impossibility of comparing ascents of different character, such as, for in stance, a Dolomite rock-climb, a snow- and ice-climb in the Oberland, and an ascent in the Himalayas. 3. The impossibility of judging the conditions of weather and snow existing at the time of the ascent, factors which are of vital importance on every occasion. 4. The impossibility of correctly estimating the degree of safety with which an THE PROPOSED PRIZE FOR MOUNTAIN ascent has been made, it being evident that the sporting value of a climb must be considered very much diminished if the climber has exposed himself to ASCENTS. dangers that could have been lessened, or altogether avoided, by better judgment "7v'; ne part of the programme for The Fifth Olympiad was, and greater skill. <' that an Olympic gold medal should be awarded for 5. The fact that the jury's chief knowledge of an ascent must be obtained from i "the finest performance in mountain ascents during the the account given by the climber, i. e. the competitor himself. i years 1908—1911". On these grounds the Committee begs to propose; < Consequently, in September 1911, the Swedish Olym- that the Olympic Gold Medal for "the finest performance in mountain ascents pic Committee issued a circular "to the various Alpine during the years 1908—1911" shall not he awarded, and clubs and organisations in, as well as outside, Europe — not even that the Swedish Olympic Committee should propose that, for the future, this far-off China being forgotten —- asking them to propose candidates competition shall not form part of the programme of the Olympic Games. for the prize, and in January 1912, Mr. Erik Ullen was entrusted For THE COMMITTEE FOR MOUNTAIN ASCENTS with the task of examining, and reporting on, the answers and entries Erik Ullen. received. Even before accepting this mandate, Mr. Ullen had expressed the strong­ On July 2 the Swedish Olympic Committee decided that the prize est doubts as to the possibility, as well as the desirability, of awarding for mountain ascents should not be awarded. such a prize — an opinion fully shared by the prominent foreign It is, for obvious reasons, only the possibility ot awarding the prize mountain-climbers with whom he had had an opportunity of discussing that is discussed in this memorandum, but it is evident that the the matter — and the answers received only confirmed and strength­ awarding of such a prize, even it it were possible, would be anything ened this opinion. As was to be expected, nearly all the leading clubs but desirable. The hope of accomplishing an ascent that has been had declared against awarding the prize, while those candidates that considered impossible, is a strong temptation for the young and ambi­ could at all be thought of in a competition of this kind, based their tious mountaineer to expose himself to unwarrantable risks, and a claims, as a rule, more on a series of more or less meritorious ascents good many fatal accidents can, undoubtedly be ascribed to this cause. than, as was intended, on a really "Olympic" mountaineering feat. How much stronger would not the temptation be to overstep the On May 31 Mr. Ullen sent in the following memorandum: limits between the justifiable and the unjustifiable, if there also existed the possibility of gaining an Olympic medal, with the glory it entails To both for the winner and for his country? There is no doubt but The Swedish Olympic Committee for the Olympic Games of Stockholm, 1912. that an Olympic mountaineering prize would lead to the loss of many Gentlemen, In accordance with the mandate received by the Committee human lives. There is still another side of the question that must not be overlooked. for Mountain Ascents, the said Committee now begs to state: 51 Fifth Olympiad. 801 800 Source : Bibliothèque du CIO / IOC Library The mountaineer makes his ascents in places far from public ob­ servation, and, as a rule, his feats are known only to a small circle of people with similar interests. As a matter of fact, this has put its stamp on climbing as a sport, and on alpine literature. When the mountaineer describes his ascents in the journal of his club, he does so with an accuracy, and a care and moderation in the choice of expressions, that contrast sharply with the exaggerations, self-assertion, and big words, that so often characterize his false imitator when the latter tries to draw attention to his person in the daily or weekly papers. Were mountaineering feats to be rewarded with Olympic medals, it is greatly to be feared that some candidates, in order to make an impression on the minds of the jurors, and to add to their chances of obtaining the coveted prize, would be tempted to forget this honourable tradition. Indica­ tions of this have not been wanting in the list of merits sent to the Committee for Mountain Ascents. The inevitable result of awarding such a prize as the one in question would be, that the standard of mountaineering as a sport would decline. REPORT ISSUED BY THE JURY FOR AWARDING THE OLYMPIC PRIZE FOR GAME SHOOTING. n consequence of a request made by Baron Pierre de i ( a f: -.) i Coubertin, the Swedish Olympic Committee for the Olym- ; ipic Games of Stockholm, 1912, determined to give an V J Olympic gold medal for the best Game Shooting feat (Q) j I (S'i during the period 1908—1911. This determination, I however, was come to only after much hesitation, for the difficulties were clearly seen that lay in the way of giving proper effect to the resolution. Not wishing to reject the proposal, it was thought pre­ ferable to investigate the practicability of the idea, both for this occa­ sion and for future Olympic meetings. This resolution, however, in­ troduced quite a new feature into the Olympic Games. In the Games already held, the competitors themselves had been present and, by their feats in the arena, had shown that they were worthier of Olym­ pic laurels than their rivals. Performances elsewhere had no validity for the judges at the Games. But in this particular branch of sport, on the other hand, there would be brought before the judges, feats performed anywhere during the period fixed. Under these circum­ stances, the competition tor the Olympic game shooting prize would depend essentially on the entries, and it was very uncertain, of course, if the most deserving candidate would be entered, for, in spite of all public notification of the matter, a great part of the human race, especially in other parts of the world, would remain ignorant of the prize to be awarded. Another point that rendered it a matter of in­ finite difficulty for the judges to award the medal justly would be the fact that, in this case, the judges would have no opportunity ot 803 802 Source : Bibliothèque du CIO / IOC Library gaining any direct and personal knowledge of the feat in question, most certainly in agreement with the opinion of the majority of those but would be obliged to rely entirely on the statements and ideas of that had gone the most carefully into this delicate matter, and who those making the entry, and these again would, perhaps, not be based entertained every desire to consider game shooting as sport. Even on personal knowledge of the facts. Still, the Swedish Olympic Com­ before any decision had been come to in the one direction or the mittee resolved to refer the matter to the further investigation of the other, articles appeared in leading sporting journals, hinting that the judges. The following were chosen as judges and members of the award of the prize in question would not be in agreement with the jury in question: President; Count Claes Lewenhaupt, Lord of the sporting ideal of game shooting. Another proof that such an opinion Bedchamber, Fr. Bjorkenstam, Esq., Master of the Hounds, E. von was very generally held is the fact, that no entries at all were made Eckermann, Esq., Master of the Hounds, Professor Einar Lonnberg, by nations that, otherwise, could, most certainly, have sent in the Professor A. G. Nathorst. names of very prominent candidates. Under these circumstances, and In order to obtain a more precise definition of the phrase "the as it is as good as impossible to choose, at a certain period, the best game shooting feat", many expressions of opinion were asked for, most deserving candidate, and as the award of such a prize seems and the definition given by the proposer of the award,' Baron de to clash with the character of the other Olympic competitions, it would Coubertin himself, viz., — qualities of manliness and probably be most suitable and fortunate if, for the future, there should courage and energy — — — — displayed on one or several arise no question of giving an Olympic medal for game shooting.