End Of Road For Hood

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31633, 20 March 1968, Page 11

End Of Road For Hood

"VEW ZEALAND’S leading springboard diver, R. M. N. Hood (Waikato), announced hit retirement from competition after winning the national men’s three-metre title for the third successive year at New Plymouth recently. Hood, a 29-year-old married nun with two children, said he was retiring for “family and career reasons.” He is an insurance officer in Hamilton. In a long and honourable career as a diver, Robin Hood suffered many disappointments before achieving success towards the end of his competitive days. Between 1959 and 1964 his efforts to win the national championship were constantly thwarted by R.

L. Hodge (Canterbury); In these six years Hood was second four times and third twice. After a spell in 1965 Hood bounced back in 1966 to win the first of his three New Zealand titles. He also captured the New South Wales men’s championship and was fifth in the Commonwealth Games event at Kingston. Last year he was third in the Australian championship, but this year, troubled by a throat infection, he could do no better than sixth. Hood, a qualified diving judge, intends to continue his interest in the sport as an amateur coach. But first, he says, he is going to have a 12-month break from the board.