Busy Week-End For Surfers

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31548, 9 December 1967, Page 11

Busy Week-End For Surfers

Surfers in Canterbury will begin the championship season in busy fashion with the

Iron Man and Taplin relay competitions today and the

first of the four annual surf life-saving carnivals tomorrow.

Both competitions will be held at Waimairi Beach.

All the local clubs are allowed one entry in each of the three events—surf-swim.

surf-ski and paddle-board—-in today’s contest. The Iron Man event is an individual competition with one man competing in all' three sections, but the Taplin relay is a team event with up to six in a team. The Taplin relay began in New Zealand last season and was won by Auckland. It is hoped that this will eventually become an international event. The relays originated in the United States and evolved round American life guard duties. Australian surfers were enthusiastic about the event after seeing it in the United States and eventually it found its way to New Zealand. It is difficult to pick Canterbury’s Taplin relay team but the most likely prospect

In the Iron Man event Is D. Dalton (North Beach), who won the event last season.

Tomorrow, the events will be of a general nature and the Canterbury selectors (Messrs P. T. Goosey, S. D. Farrant and G. G. Pratley) will be looking carefully at the form of the competitors with the national championships in Wanganui in mind. Most clubs have increased In strength, particularly in the junior ranks, but some have suffered because a number of senior surfers are on national service. An event popular 30 years ago is to be brought back later in the season. This is the single-handed rescue event which has been revived as a result of the Canterbury Surf Life-saving Association’s decision to hold an efficiency patrol competition. Alniost all clubs backed the decision.