Sportsman's Notebook N.Z. Champions In Ice Skating Event

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30230, 7 September 1963, Page 19

Sportsman's Notebook N.Z. Champions In Ice Skating Event

The current New Zealand! champions in figure skating,! Pa.rs and dancing will de-1 'end their Canterbury titles wnen the provincial ice I skating championships are held at the indoor rink in Lentauru* road on Sunday. The school figures will be held in the morning and the frce-skating m the afternoon The free-skating will include the dancing, pairs skating, and ifidoor speed championships. There are three grades for t"ie championships—senior, intermediate and junior—-but jnost interest win centre on the senior events. Miss Grafton can expect some strong opposition from "SS Sandra Jack, a former New Zealand champion, and two previous holders of the national intermediate title. Misses Susan McClea and Helen Glass * ¥ ¥

Strong Challenge McDonald will have a hard Job against G. M. Giover. and Glover, partnered by Miss Shirley Bayne, will also provide some strong competition 'n the pairs. These two are the New Zealand intermediate champions. The main challenge to McDonald and Miss Grafton in the dancing will probably come from Mr and Mrs D. F Hewinson. and L. J. Coxon and Miss Glass (last year's New Zealand intermediate champions). An interesting feature of the championships will be the fact that for the first time in a major New Zealand championship, the open marking system will be used. This is used widely overseas, but up till now, the marks have been kept a secret, and the result only known when the award is made. The open system involves the judge holding up marks alioted for the audience to see. * * *

kelson Relay An annual harrier event that is keenly looked forward to by clubs in the South Island and Wellington will be held tomorrow week. It is the Motueka to Nelson road relay which covers 35.3 miles from Post Office to Post Office. Starting at 12 noon, the seven-lap relay follows the main highway and usually takes just over three hours for the winning teams. When the relay started in 1955—consisting of six laps —there were only three entries, two (one composite) from Nelson and the other, the winner, from Blenheim Greymouth teams started to take an interest and in 1958. Scottish Harners (Wellington) took part and set a new race record. The distance at that time was 32.4 miles. The Olympic Harrier Club of Christchurch competed in 1961. won the event, and broke the race record. Last year. Nelson A won the race when it was run for the first time with the extra lap The team broke Olympic’s record for the original six laps and its time

for the complete distance is 3hr 6min 58sec. Fourteen teams have i.idicated that they will be taking part this year, including three Christchurch clubs. The entrants are:—Christchurch: Anglican, Method .st. Technical; Dunedin: St. Kilda; Wellington: Olympic, Methodist; Greymouth Harrier club (two teams); Marlborough Harr: -r club (two teams); Nelson: Methodist, Harrier club (three teams). * * * Beaten Once Few teams in any grade could equal the performance i of the High School Old Boys under 15 Rugby team, which ! won its competition this seaI son effortlessly. The side played 15 matches. ' won 14 and lost only one. It ■ scored 367 points and had 67 • scored against it. On only [l2 occasions was its line j crossed. During the season iit scored the large total of j 106 tries. Such was the standard reached by the players that seven of them were included in the Canterbury under 15 representative team. Most of the side’s tries were scored by the wings after all the backs had handled. The ’ acks handled extremely well and threw the ball about magnificently The forwards were always quick to the loose ball and also played very well throughout the season. * * * Endurance

An unusual record of endurance and outstanding service has been built up by the Yorkshire county wicketkeeper, J. G. Binks. Since he became a regular member of the county team halfway through the 1955 season when he was only 0. B nks has been wicket-keeper for every county championship match played by Yorkshire since—matches that, to the end of the recently-concluded season, total 252. It has long been predicted that the only thing that would interrupt Binks’s run was selection for England in a home test match but as yet he has not been so honoured. However, some recognition came Binks’s way recently when he was selected to tour India with the M.C.C. It will be his second trip to India as he was called upon in the 1961-62 season when J. T. Murray had to return to England for an operation.