Water Polo STRONG MELBOURNE TEAM ARRIVES

Press, Volume C, Issue 29706, 27 December 1961, Page 6

Water Polo STRONG MELBOURNE TEAM ARRIVES

Eleven bronzed Australians, members of the Melbourne Swimming Club's water polo team, arrived in Christchurch from Melbourne by air yesterday. The Australians will commence their tour this evening with a match against Canterbury at the - Centennial Pool. Several Australian and Victorian representatives are in the team. The club has won the premier grade in Melbourne inter-club competitions in nine of. the last 18 seasons. The manager of the team 'Mr C. McPherson) said that for many of the younger members of the side this was an opportunity to gain valuable experience which might eventually win them a place in the Australian side for the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo Two members of the team, J. Farrell and W. Me* Cabe, represented Australia at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. The Melbourne Swimming Club has among its current members Mr Hicks Ive, a recent visitor to the Dominion in his capacity of president of the Amateur Swim-

ming Union of Australia The late Sir Frank Beaurepaire. an Olympic Games titleholder, was another club representative. The club owes much of its strength, said Mr McPherson to the coaching influence of Mr P Bennett, three times an Olympic Games representative and a member of the Australian team which played in Christchurch in 1951 at the Canterbury Centennial Games Mr Bennett has not come to New Zealand with his team. Training at least four evenings a week, as well as in the week-ends, has built the team into a powerful unit, said Mr McPherson. Unlike water polo players in the Dominion, the Melbourne men all look upon water polo as their major sport. For New Zealand players, it often takes second or third place behind pool swimming and surfing Mr McPherson expects the team to acquit itself well in the swimming carnivals of which its water polo matches will be part. Although expecting to break no New Zealand records. Mr McPherson thinks his swimmers, especially in the shorter freestyle events, will press the Canterbury representatives The goal-keeper, T. Botis. a former Jugoslav, excels in butterfly and breaststroke and K. Wood and T. Harrison are fast freestyle sprinters Two late additions to the touring side are B. Lucas the Victorian junior freestyle champion, and V Wildie, last season’s Victorian surf champion.