Surf Life Saving Sumner Wins Provincial Title For First Time

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28821, 16 February 1959, Page 15

Surf Life Saving Sumner Wins Provincial Title For First Time

The Sumner Surf Club, for the first time in its 48 years’' history, won the Canterbury surf championship pennant on the final day of the Canterbury championships at Taylor’s Mistake yesterday. South Brighton again won the Kesteven Cup. A cold easterly wind marred the final day but water conditions were mild. A good surf was running and this enabled competitors to secure many shoots and this added to the excitement of the individual surf races. New Brighton A again won the senior surf race for the Black and White Cup although it did not have a great winning margin over South Brighton A. C. Bidwell and W Pasley opened up a good lead in the first and second laps for Suipner, but the remaining team .members were not equal to the task set them and slipped back into fifth place. Good team work by P. Breach and B. Robertson (New Brighton) enabled their team to go into the lead, but they were closely pressed by South Brighton, which managed to obtain several shoots and they closed the gap until at the finish the run up the beach decided the race. New Brighton only once been beaten in this race since the end of the war. Although South Brighton did not show up well in the water, its superior team work enabled fit to gam a comfortable lead over Sumner at the finish in the Kesleven Cup (six-man rescue and resuscitation). Sumner dropped vital points in the resuscitation. Taylor’s Mistake take the title-holder, was unplaced in spite of good swimming time The junior six-man rescue and resuscitation was almost a repetition of the senior result, Suihner dropping vital points in its resuscitation, notwithstanding top points from swimming time. Taylor’s Mistake made amends for its seniors' lack of success by defeating South Brighton, the holders of this trophy The senior surf ski championship final provided a real upset. R. Ealam (Waimairi), the title holder, established a big lead over his rivals but a series of shoots enabled E. Dasler (North Beach) to catch up on him about 30 yards from home and the skis headed towards each other. Each competitor tried to push the other’s away and -in the ensuing corffusion they came off. This left the race wide open with the result that D. Graham (South Brighton) came in a comfortable winner and the second and third • placings were keenly fought out with R. Dalton (North Beach) and W. Pasley (Sumner) gaining the plapes. Keen competition in the junior, individual and teams’ race resulted in Colin McFadden (Taylor’s Mistake), national swimming champion, having a comfortable win over A. McPhail (Sumner), the present national surf champion, who was ahead of J Turpin (Taylor’s Mistake). Taylor’s Mistake appeared to be an easy winner of the team’s section when three of their team finished in the first four competitors, but its fourth man finished in .the seventeenth position, and Sumner nearly piffled it off, its remaining members finishing close up together. The New Brighton surf boat made no race of it when it competed against the surf canoes; and was an easy winner. Sumner won both the senior and junior canoe races early. Sumner has been undefeated in every race this season. The club finished the meeting with a total of 64 points, 30 f ahead of Taylor’s Mistake, which just beat Waimairi.

Abbreviations used in the results are:—Waimairi (W.); North Beach (Nth. B.); New Brighton (N. 8. South Brighton (5.8.); Sumner (S.); Taylor’s Mistake (T.M.).

Results:— Senior Surf Ski Championship.— First heat: R. Dalton (Nth B.) 1. N. Truscott (S.) 2, W. Earsman (Nth. B.) 3. Second heat: F. Hilton (S.) 1, W. Pasley (S.) 2, K. Williams (5.8.) 3. Third heat: E. Carbines (N. 8. 1. B. Armstrong (N. 8. 2, E. Dasler (Nth. B.) 3. Fourth heat: R. Ealam (W.) 1, D. Graham (5.8.) and D. Stewart (W.) equal 2. Final Graham 1. Dalton 2, Pasley 3. Junior Teams’ and Individual Surf Race Championship.-—lndividual: C. McFadden (T.M.) 1. A McPhail (S.) 2, J. Turpin (T.M.) 3. Teams: Taylor’s Mistake (25 points) 1, Sumner (28) 2, South Brighton A (47) 3. Junior Beach Relay Championships —Sumner 1, Taylor’s Mistake 2, South Brighton 3 Senior Beach'Relay Championship —New Brighton .1, Taylor’s Mistake 2. Sumner 3. Senior Canoe Race (over four races)—Final: Sumner 1, Taylor’s Mistake 2, Waimairi 3. Championship: Sumner 1. Taylor’s Mistake 2. Waimairi 3. Junior Canoe Race (four races).— Final: • Sumner 1, Waimairi 2, Taylor’s Mistake 3. Championship: Sumner 1, Waimairi 2. Taylor’s Mistake 3. Non-Championship Events Senior Surf Relay Race.—New Brighton A 1, South Brighton A 3 Taylor’s Mistake A 3. Junior Six-man Rescue and Resuscitation.—Taylor’s Mistake (66 65 points) 1 South Brighton (65.50) 2. Waimairi (64.30 ) 3. Senior Six-man Rescue and Resuscitation.—South Brighton A (71.75) 1. Sumner (69.35) 2. New Brighton A (68.95) 3.

REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS Contest Against Wellington The Canterbury senior and junior surf teams to meet Wellington in the inter-provincial contest at Taylor s Mistake next Sunday are as follows Senior.—A. Lee (South Brighton) captain. R. Blair (South Brighton). R. Henry. P. Breach, B. Robertson and K. Chamberlain (New Brighton). C. Bidwill (Sumner), D. Graham (South Brighton), reserve. Junior.—A. McPhail, B. Monk and K. McDonald (Sumner). J. Turpin (Taylor’s Mistake). G. Dann (New Brighton). T. Stephens and I. Grieg (Waimairi), K Bird (North Beach), reserve. The teams will train at New Brighton on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings commencing at 6.30 p.m. —Advt. Waimairi Club Choppy seas made conditions slightly difficult for swimmers in the surf races conducted by the Waimairi Surf Life-Saving Club on Saturday. Outright winner of the combined junior and senior surf race was J. Yarr (handicap 30sec), who swam a very steady race to finish 20 yards ahead of I. Graham (20sec). who filled , second place. First home in the junior section was M. Stevens (15sec) Miss L. Leeming, who was the. back' marker, won the women’s surf race by several seconds from Miss J. Molnar, who was also off the back mark. Results, with handicaps in parenthesis, are:— Senior Surf Race.—J. Yarr (30sec) 1, I. Graham (20sec) 2, A. Dean (lOsec) 3. Junior -Surf Race.—M. Stevens (15sec) 1, E. Leask (13sec) 2, R. Ironside (35sec) 3. Women’s Surf Race.—L. Leeming <4ssec) 1, J. Molnar (45sec) 2, M. Huhne (go) 3.