LETTER BOX

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31333, 1 April 1967, Page 11

LETTER BOX

“On the morning of March 23 you printed an account of a water-polo match between the Combined Services and Canterbury. In this account you stated that the Canterbury team lacked recent hard match play. The Canterbury team had competed with great success at the national water-polo championships only two weeks before and tied for the senior, title. The Combined side had never played together before as a team, but had in fact just finished competing against each other approximately 30 minutes before playing Canterbury. Also you mention that at one stage Canterbury had three men out of the water; at this stage the Combined side also had a man out”— PLAYER.

Our water polo. reporter replies: (1) The national championships were held three weeks before the match. The Canterbury team had played only once since that time. (2) The fact that the Combined Services players had just finished playing against each other and in a close competition throughout the week, suggests they had had recent hard match play. (3) I itemised the order in which the three Canterbury and one Combined Services players left the water. The correspondent will notice this by reading the paragraph immediately following the reference to “Canterbury had three men 0ut...”