HIGH STANDARD IN GYMNASTIC TITLES

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30563, 5 October 1964, Page 23

HIGH STANDARD IN GYMNASTIC TITLES

The big improvement recently in the standard of gymnastics in New Zealand was' reflected in the exceptionally high standard of performance when the Canterbury gymnastic championships were decided at Cowles Stadium on Saturday. Not only were competitors in the men's and women s open grades up to the national standard, but there was a high quality throughout the whole range of grades. In the novice grades a number of competitors showed confident skill and command of advanced exercises, including hand balancing feats on the parallel bars, which would have done credit tq senior gymnasts. St. Andrew’s College dominated the contest to win all the individual championships and teams’ awards throughout the men’s, youths’ and novice The Canterbury champion, G. Hiseman, retained his title with excellent performances in all departments to gain 106.6 points. N. Nixon, also of St. Andrew’s, was runner-up with 100 points, and B. Hutton, of Crichton Cobbers, was third with 92.1 points St. Andrew’s College won the senior teams’ championships by a large margin from Nelson College. Hiseman, who came fifth in the recent national championships, was clearly the finest performer. The youth champion, G. Griffiths, showed exceptional ability and promise for further development. Women’s Section In the women's division the champion, J. Stevens, of Avonside Girls’ High School, showed a high quality of excellence in her performance. Nevertheless, a high standard was also maintained in the lower grades and some of the very young performers such as Jil Buchanan, who is aged 10, put on a polished display. Women and girls showed outstanding skill and precision as well as grace of form and movement on the balance beam. They

performed forward and backward rolls on a surface only five inches wide as well as combining movements with balietllke steps. The floor exercises, which frequently involved a series of complicated and skilfully performed somersaults, reached a standard usually expected only from professional acrobats. Entries were a record at 153.

Results:— Men's Open Championship.— G. Hiseman (St. Andrew’s College) 1, G. Nixon (St. Andrew's College) 2, B. Hutton (Crichton Cobbers) 3. Teams’ Championship. St. Andrew’s College 1, Nelson College 2, Christchurch Boys' High School 3. Youth Championship. G. Griffiths (St. Andrew’s) 1, D. Goss (St. Andrew’s) 2, W. Stanley (Crichton Cobbers) 3. Team Championship. St. Andrew's A 1, Crichton Cobbers 2, Crichton Cobbers B 3. Boys’ Novice Championship.— R. Graham (St. Andrew’s) 1, I. Henderson. (St. Andrew’s) 2, R. Drinnan (Christchurch Boys' High School) 3. Team Championship. —. St. Andrew’s College A 1, Burnside High School A 2, St. Andrew's College B 3. Women's Championship.—J. Stevens (Avonside Girls’ High School) 1, S. Houlsson (Avonsld G.H.S.) 2, L. Haddy (Teachers' College) 3. Team Championship.—Mairehau High School A 1, Mairebau H. B and Y.M.C.A. Girls (equal) 2. Girls’ Championship. J. Kirby (Burnside H.S.) 1, G. Gibson (Mairehau H.S.) 2, B. de Beer (Burnside H.S.) 3. Team Championship.—Burnside H.S. 1, Avonside G.H.S. 2, Christchurch West H.S. 3. Girls' Novice Championship.— H. Johns on (Burnside H.S.) 1. V. Hepburn (Shirley Intermediate) 2, L. Dawson (Timaru G.H.S.) 3. Team Championship.—Shirley Intermediate A 1, Burnside H.S. 2, Timaru G.H.S. 3.