COACHING BOYS TO SWIM

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23750, 23 September 1942, Page 5

COACHING BOYS TO SWIM

PLAN TO ENCOURAGE INTEREST DISCUSSION BY UNITED CLUB The prdalcm of maintaining the interest in svirnming in clubs in the Canterbury Centre while many adult members are serving overseas was discussed at last evening’s annual meeting of the Christchurch and United Swimming Club and it was decided that members should try to find 50 promising boys of primary or secondary school age anti should then coach those boys for inter-club events, members giving free coaching at the Tepid Baths one evening each week. “Wo are out to encourage swimming and any way in which we can coach young people will help," said Mr R. D. Harker-Brown (delegate to the Canterbury Centre!. “We used to approach members of winning teams at the Boys’ High School for instance, and offer them free membership of the club, but mostly we found that they were already members of other clubs. As our main object is to teach swimming it should not matter to what club the boys belong if we can make them proficient. It would pay the chib to bring the boys along here one night a week and let them be coached free by keen members.”

A member: The problem is to find 50 boys.

Mr B. O’Neill: If you could get the 50 boys you’d have a busy enough season and would not miss your adult membership, and you’d be building up membership for the future. Finance would be the trouble as you can’t exnect school children to be paying club fees. A member: But they could at least pay their 3d to come lo the Tepid Baths once a week to be coached free here.

Mr G. R. Laurie: The Snreydon Club has the use of the Tepid Baths from 5.45 p.m, till 6.45 p.m. every Saturday, and they have invited us to take any promising young members along and to take part in races or comnetitions or whatever we like during that hour. If we can find the boys we can guarantee to provide good coaches for them. A member suggested that it would nerhaps bo better to get primary school boys interested in the scheme rather than secondary school boys because, he said, the primary school entrants in competitions almost invariably brought along parents and aunts and uncles to swell the gato-taking.s at carnivals. It was decided to offer free coaching to as many promising young swimmers as could be found and to hold a carnival, with burlesque events included in the programme, early in February.