GIRLS’ MARCHING TEAM

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27226, 18 December 1953, Page 3

GIRLS’ MARCHING TEAM

DISPLAY FOR QUEEN AND DUKE BALMORAL UNANIMOUS CHOICE (From Our Own. Reporter) TIMARU. December 17. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will provide a stimulus to a sport once peculiar to New Zealand by showing their interest in a special display of marching to be performed in Dunedin in January by the Balmoral girls’ marching /team, of Timaru.

It was because the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had both expressed their personal interest in the sport to the director of the Royal tour, Mr A. G. Harper, that he arranged for the display, which will coincide with a Royal athletics meeting at Carisbrook, Dunedin, on the same day.

The Balmoral team was the unanimous choice of the executive of the New Zealand Marching Association, according to the chairman, Mr G. S. Austad, who said that last year’s national and North Island champions, Grenadiers, of Whangarei, had disbanded.

The sport has thousands of followers in this country, and there is no doubt that they are thrilled with the Queen’s personal interest in their activities. Training is hard and takes up a great deal of time, but the Royal interest .shown has made all efforts worth while. The girls of the Balmoral team feel this, and are honoured at the opportunity of giving the display. The team has quite a record of success. Since it was formed in 1949 it has never been further away than third in the annual New Zealand marching championships. Each year since 1949 its members have brought honour to Timaru by winning the South Island championships. Each year also the team has won the South Canterbury .Marching Association’s centre championships. As well, individual members of the team have achieved recognition of their ability, and in the first year of the team’s existence the leader. Miss Fay Hedley (now Mrs D. A. Bryce, oi Waimate), won the New Zealand champion leader's award.

Formation of Team • Miss Hedley was responsible for the formation of the team, but there is a family flavour because, her father, Mr J G. Hedley, formerly of Timaru and now of Dunedin, has trained the team since it started. The task was an unexpected one for Mr Hedley. In his own words: “Fay came home one night and said, ‘l’ve started a- marching team, dad, and you are going to be out in front.’ ” . Mr Hedley has been out m front now for nearly five years. He admits that service, in two w’ars has helped him, but when he started he had no idea of the team’s possibilities. Still less did he have any idea of the final honour that would be accorded the team —the honour of appearing for a Royal performance before the Queen.« In October, 1952, Mr Hedley left Timaru to make his home in Dunedin. The move did not cause him to lose interest in his champion team, ana lor some time before the national championships last season he made numerous week-end trips from Dunedin to Timaru in order to train the team. From now until the team’s appearance before the Queen in January, Mr Hedley will travel the 270-mile round 4rip each week-end to bring the team up to the highest possible standards of performance. His total mileage will exceed 3000 miles. . His enthusiasm for marching has never been in doubt. In 1950, Mr Hedley spent four weeks in hospital and a longer period strapped up as the result of an accident that occurred while he was training the team at the Caledonian grounds in Timaru. As soon as he could move again he was out training the team. The accident itself happened when Mr Hedley, backing away from the team, had moved on to the cycle track that surrounds the oval and he was struck by a sprinting cyclist. The cyclist, the Empire Games representative, Reg. Harris, apent three weeks unconscious in the Timaru Public Hospital. Harris was sprinting all out at the time of the collision. Mr Hedley said recently that he bail worked out a display of 40 movements for the demonstration at Carisbrook. The team has been asked to fill in 10 minutes of a day when the Dominion s Best athletes will appear in a Royal sports festival. Other marching teams will probably be present on the day. but the Balmoral team is the only one to have been chosen to give a special has recorded some changes in membership since it was first formed. It was first led by Miss Fay Hedley. Then in 1950 Miss Claire Campbell (now Mrs P. Caird, of Timaru) took - over control. In 1951 the present leader. Miss Rita McLeod, became leader.

I Training Schedule The training schedule shows practice on four nights a week, on Saturdays and Sundays, and this is only a beginning according to the president of the Balmoral Club, Mr G. Campbell. Mr Campbell, who is also president of the Timaru Marching Association and vice-president of the South Canterbury Marching Centre, says that the team will be provided with new uniforms A committee has been formed to deal with this and other matters. The team’s training for January should stand its members in good stead when they contest the South Island championships at Greymouth m February and the New Zealand championships at Dunedin in March. On past efforts they should be fairly sure of success. Timaru has always been to the lore in recent years, and on one occasion, the 1951 South Island championships. Balmoral was first and a second Timaru team, Penreith, was placed secThere is only one change in the team since last year. In the team are 10 very proud girls. They are Rita McLeod (leader),, Colleen McKenna (marker), Doreen McKerrow, Madeleine Kaveney. Beverley Broadley, Marie Llovd, Maire Bradley, Eleanor Schedell, Denise Foley, and Margaret Broadhead. They are all hoping it will not be necessary for any changes to be made in the team before January.