Swimming COAST TEAM FOR N.Z. TITLES

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29108, 21 January 1960, Page 15

Swimming COAST TEAM FOR N.Z. TITLES

Centre Will Not Help With Cost

The West Coast Swimming Centre has declined to assist financially towards the cost of sending a team to the New Zealand championships at Blenheim next month. Holding that a chaperon is not necessary, the centre will pay the expenses of a manager only.

When this information was conveyed to a meeting of the Greymouth Amateur Swimming Club by its delegates to the centre officials of the club expressed bitter disappointment. Last year the Greymouth club sent seven of its members to the New Zealand championships at Palmerston North. The West Coast centre paid half the expenses of the swimmers and the full expenses of the manager and chaperon The Greymouth club nas previously sent teams at its own expenses to championship meetings at Tauranga, Nelson, Napier and' Dunedin, in addition to Palmerston North, where the team was assisted by the centre. The club has gone to a lot of expense this season in sending L. Nolan to the New Zealand Swimming Council’s school in the Waikato, and Miss D. Nolan to Auckland for special tuition by Mr Jack Lyons at the Newmarket Olympic Pool. That the expense has been justified is borne out by the fact that L. Nolan has reduced his time for 220yds and 440yds by three seconds in each instance, and Miss Nolan last week won a special 110yds race at a carinval at Newmarket; in doing so, Miss Nolan defeated among others Miss Beverley Nicholls, one of New Zealand’s best sprinters. The Greymouth club feels that these swimmers and others who have shown marked improvement are worthy of further encouragement.

Consequently, it has nominated Miss D. Nolan and K. Dixon (freestyle), and Miss V. King (breaststroke) in the senior division, and Miss J. Ray and M Nolan (freestyle) and E. Higson (breaststroke and medley) for junior events. In view of the centre’s refusal of support the Greymouth club is faced with an estimated expenditure of about £l5O in sending its team with a chaperon to Blenheim. It proposed to hold a shop day and a special carnival at the War Memorial Pool as a means of raising the necessary finance.