FENCING

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 28002, 23 June 1956, Page 2

FENCING

SELECTION OF GAMES TRIALISTS nominations may be RECONSIDERED The Canterbury Provincial Fencing Council has not yet selected its nominees for the national Olympic trials, which will be held in Wellington on September 1 and September 2. Nominations close on July 1. Six fencers were selected at an Olympic training squad, but nominations may now have to be reconsidered, because of a change in the qualifications required for Olympic representation. A new set of basic qualifications for eligibility to represent the Dominion has been announced by the New Zealand Amateur Fencing Association. The first is that a nominee must have finished In the first three places in the national foils finals. ’An alternative qualification is that a fencer must have won either an epee or sabre final, or both, and have been

placed among the first six foils finalists. The members of the Canterbury training squad are T. Baltakmens. P. Temple. L. Ewing. D. J. O. Caffin. and Mesdamet E. McElwee and O. Jekyll. Neither Baltakmens nor Caffin conform to the new standard. The Canterbury council has proposed to the New Zealand association that the rule be altered to allow “those with a reasonable chance of success” to be included in trials teams. No reply has yet been received. The association does not meet until Tuesday. The Canterbury council’s appeal by correspondence has so far raised £l5 towards the £lOO required from each province for sending the national team to the Games. The appeal was made to sup-, porters of fencing in the province, but as it / has not had the success expected • by the council, an emergency meeting will be held to discuss other methods of raismg the money. The closing date for the appeal is July 1.

Auckland Nominations The Auckland Provincial Fencing Council has selected eight fencers as final nominees for the national trials. All have had na ti°nal or international experience. nominees, and their experience.. x T^ or^ en .- Mrs N - Egglestone, former Zealand campion; Mrs J. Fenton. 1 ♦ ,«I l 2 pire Games; Miss I. McLean, trialist. 1954 Empire Games, and finalist New »< and championships. en : A - J- Gittos. seven New Zealand ruJPzJ” all weapons. 1950 and 1954 EmyGames; B. A Pick worth, finalist. New ~ ea land championships, all weapons; DWn S h 1 t - former New Zealand cham- & mr ,n al A. weapons. 1950 Empire Garnet: MHler. 1950 Empire Games; A. iwn er » former New Zealand champion in two weapons.