Ski Squad To Train For Games

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31449, 16 August 1967, Page 19

Ski Squad To Train For Games

Eighteen of New Zealand’s top ski racers—l2 men and six women have been chosen to attend a special coaching school to be held at Mount Ruapehu in September, immediately before the North Island and national ski-ing championships.

The New Zealand Ski Council has announced that it has until the end of September be fore it is required to send its selections for the 1968 Winter Olympic Games at Chamrousse, France, to the Olym-

pic and British Empire 1 Games Association. This postponement has given the council the opportunity to select a coaching school for training to assist i in the selection of an Olympic team.

Those selected for the school are:

Men.—H. W. Graham and G. J. Sommervaille (Auckland), D. John, R. Dorflinger, P. Quinn and A. Buist (Taranaki), T. G. Huppert (Wellington), M. G. Dennis, M. Gardner, C. P. Womersley and P. R. Hubrich (Canterbury), and G. A. Chance (Otago). Women.—Misses J. Mitchell and M. Blakely (Auckland),

K. Guy and R. Willis (Can-

terbury), A. Reid and S. Ryan (Otago). Four of the top ski racers of last season—T. Dunlop (Otago), P. Willis, J. Willis and G. Nevell (Canterbury) —have indicated that they are not available for selec-

tion to the Olympics and they have not been considered for

the school. R. Womersley (Canterbury), R. W. Palmer and Ben Mitchell (Auckland) are overseas. The training school will begin on September 4, and will last until September 8. The North Island championships will be held from September 9-10, and the New Zealand championships from September 11-15.

The ski council has made

a real effort to get everyone who could be considered a remote candidate for the Olympic team, writes the skiing reporter of “The Press.”

It has at least made sure no-one will gain an unfair advantage over anyone else in the North Island and New Zealand championships. Whether such large numbers will help train an Olympic team, when so many are most unlikely to gain selection, is open to doubt. If the purpose of the school is to help train an Olympic squad, then too many have been chosen, if the purpose is to give racers some training before the nationals, then such a wide choice was fully justified.