ASHBURTON CARNIVAL

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28540, 20 March 1958, Page 12

ASHBURTON CARNIVAL

Centres’ Dispute Settled

When the country swimming championships are held at Asnburton on Saturday, only affiliated swimmers will compete. For several weeks correspondence has been circulating among the Canterbury and Ashburton swimming centres and the council of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association as a result of a dispute between the two centres as to whether unaffiliated swimmers from the Canterbury centre’s area are eligible to compete against affiliated swimmers in Ashburton Early this year the Ashburton centre wrote to the Canterbury centre seeking swimmers from certain country clubs to compete in the country championships. The secretary of the Canterburycentre (Miss Doreen Brown) replied that her centre was not prepared to give permission for swimmers from unaffiliated clubs to compete at the Ashburton carnival. She said that this was a ruling of the New Zealand association.

The Ashburton centrte again wrote to the Canterbury centre and said that permission had been given last year for unaffiliated swimmers to swim with affiliated swimmers when the Canterbury centre had organised the country championships in Kaiapoi. Rule Broken Miss Brown then replied that Canterbury had itself broken the association’s rule at Kaiapoi. “Bui we had organised the meeting to inaugurate the North Canterbury Swimming Sub-centre, which has now failed through lack of. support.”

On Tuesday evening, the correspondence on the dispute was brought before the New Zealand Swimming Council by the Ashburton centre, which sought an official ruling. “Because it was done last year Ashburton cannot understand why it should not be done again,” said the secretary (Mr Baxter Q’Neill) “Canterbury should be admonished for breaking the association’s rules last year, and we can only advise Ashburton that swimmers from clubs eligible for affiliation and not affiliated, cannot compete. But my letter may reach Ashburton too late, in which case no harm will be done.” said Mr O’Neill.

"We have been waiting for a reply from the New Zealand council for some weeks, and because of lack of time we had no option but to change the programme for the championships and only allow affiliated swimmers to compete.” said a member of the Ashburton centre, Mrs J. Scott, yesterday. The meeting was to have been held last Saturday, but was postponed to next Saturday because of rain.