SWIMMING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 62, 14 March 1930, Page 13

SWIMMING.

NOTES. AND COMMENTS. HATwBOUR RACE TO-MORROW. FIXTURES. March 13—North Shore Club's Harbour Race". March 17—Girl Guides' Combined Carnival (evening). March IS—Mt. Eden Club's Carnival. March -Mi—Belmont School Carnival. March 22 —Helensville Club's Carnival at Helensville. March 25 —Xrnvhai Junior High School (afternoon). March 2<; —Kowhal Junior High School (evening). March :{" —Land Drill Competition at Miltord. The Mount Eden Swimming Club will bring off its third carnival of the season on Tuesday at the Mount Eden baths, and the club, as usual, has drawn up a very strong programme. The inter-club relay will be a feature, but all grades of swimmers are well catered for. and the carnival should be a great success. Nominations close at the tepid baths to-morrow evening. The success of the first swimming carnival of the employees of the Farmers' Union Trading Company on Wednesday evening should mean that such opportunities for the staffs of the 1 various departments to try conclusions in the water are not likely to end with Wednesday's gala. Throughout the evening the events aroused the greatest excitement among the supporters of the departmental representatives, and now that the handicapper has a line on the ability of the swimmers any future carnivals by the firm should provide keen sport. Twelve-year-old ISTew Zealand junior girl champion, Miss Edna Rainey, of the North Shore Club, is the most promising junior girl swimmer in Xew Zealand. Slie won the 50yds Dominion title in ;*:? 3-ss, and since then has been improving with every swim, as was witnessed at the Waitemata carnival last Tuesday evening, when, in three successive swims, she clocked 33 l-ss. .'J.'is. and 33 2-5s respectively. For a girl of her age, such consistent swimming as this is wonderful. Recent news from Feikling state that Miss P. Sporle equalled the New Zealand junior girl's record of 32 2-os, and on 20th prox., the Shore girl will visit Feikling to meet the Manawatu champion. The result of this race will be eagerly looked forward to as Miss Sporle did not start in the New Zealand championships. Axel Sousaari recently recorded 23 3-5? in an attempt to lower Alick Wickham's long-standing 50yds Australian record of 23 2-as. Although no official world's record is recognised for this distance, the unofficial one stands to the credit of Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, the flying Hawaiian, who shot across the distance in 22 3-5s at Auckland on March 13,' 1013, and again did the same time at Los Angeles on June 7. 1923. Johnny Weismuller is the only swim-; mer of recent years who has-got near. the Duke's time, 22 4-. r ,s standing to his, credit as the American record, although other swimmers have recorded excellent times. The world-famed Swede, Avne Borg, swam the first 50 yards of a 220 yards race in Sydney last year in 23 3-ss; Bill Cameron, ex-100yds New Zealand champion, did the same time in a oOyds invitation race at the 1929 New Zealand championships, while some sixyears ago "Flying" Hines, of the Balmoral Club. Sydney, clocked 23 4-5s for the same distance.

In recommending: (i. Uncison, jvlios v<. Pidgeon, L. Moorhousc and E. Calder in tliat order to the New Zealand Council for the Empire Games, the Auckland Centre must have overlooked the claims of L. Smith, the New Zealand breaststroke champion and record holder. Smith's recent New Zealand record time of 3m 2s for 220 yards places him amongst the first flight of the Empire's best. Hardly the same can be said about either Moorhouse or Calder. The latter would not have a look in with the Australian or English cracks, while the former has three opponents in Australia who will beat him over 100 metres, to say nothing of J. S. Besford, the English champion. Moorhousc had his chance at the Olympic Games and failed. Frank McGure, Australian "broaststroke champion, recently put up a new record of 3m 2s for 220 yards, so the Wanganui man. must have a better chance than either of the southern men. Fire .ana Water. If an oil tanker was ablaze in the harbour and a fireman was wanted to swim out to the ship with half a mile of hose, it's a pood bet that Harry Moore would be the man selected for the job. Fireman and swimming enthusiast, Harry can usually be located in the Mt. Eden brigade station. Big and hefty is this Mt. Eden Club stalwart., who came into the world at Coromandel. At the age of four teen Harry arrived in Auckland, and joined up with the now defunct Eden Club. The Eden organisation w«ut uuu u. existence during the latter stages of the Great War, but in 1918 the present Mt. Eden Club came into being. Harry was the first secretary of the new club and he still holds that position to-day. In the same year he was appointed the clubs delegate to the Auckland Centre, and he has been connected with the Centre even since—as honorary secretary since the 1925-26 season. As a general rule. handicappers in sport are hot the most popular officials but Harry appears to be one of the exceptions. He has been handicapper for his own club since its hirth, while he has held the same portion 'for the Centre for the past eight years. As a member of a force that is liable to be called into action at any time of the day or night, Harry does not set all the swimming he would like, but he has enjoyed his fair share of success in handicap events, while in two starts in the Auckland harbour race he has registered a first and a second. He was. never a sensational performer in a sprint race, but when in form he is as good as the next man over a distance. But for the fact that he is handicapper both for his own club and the local Centre he would probably have contested very many more races than he has done. *To see Harry in the midst of a hectic water polo battle one would never believe that four years or so ago he had absolutely no time for the seyen-a-side game, but it is a face nevertheless. Time "was when lie thought that water polo matches ruined good swimming programmes, but a couple of

matches caused him to alter his opinion, and now he is a staunch champion of the game. For the past two years Harry has travelled with the Auckland i jpresentative team to the natioual championships as manager.