Swimming Centre Changes Decision

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31781, 11 September 1968, Page 18

Swimming Centre Changes Decision

The pendulum swung the other way again over the “unqualified entry” remit last evening when the management committee of the Canterbury Swimming Centre rescinded its previous motion not to forward the remit to the annual meeting of the national association.

Delegates to the annual meeting of the centre voted in favour of the remit, but the management committee subsequently decided not to forward it to the N.Z.A.S.A. However, after hearing sub-

missions from the selectors last evening, committee decided, by a majority of one, to send the remit after all. Under the present rules, a swimmer who has beaten a qualifying time in only one distance of a particular stroke is not permitted to compete in the other distance at the national championships. The remit seeks to do away with this.

The selectors (Messrs J. H. Johnson, C. A. Harrow and R. N. Smith) made lengthy submissions to the management committee. Mr Johnson said the aim was to make as much use as possible of swimmers who had qualified: it provided more encouragement and more experience for them. "Extraordinary** Move

New Zealand swimmers for the Olympic Games next month had been entered in some events for which they had not qualified. and this pattern should be followed at national championship level, said Mr Johnson.

Mr B. E. Mackenzie said ft was “most extraordinary’’ to overthrow a motion passed at an annual meeting. The committee owed it to the delegates to put the remit forward.

He said he did not think it would be passed at the New Zealand meeting, but it could lead to a fruitful discussion and a compromise between the unqualified entry and the free entry might be reached.

The acting chairman (Mr S. Williams) said he had heard on the “grapevine" that the committee’s decision might create turmoil.

"If this is so, I can say only that there are far too many presssing things in this centre requiring attention than something that is doomed to disaster in any case," he said. “If they will not learn from here, they will learn the hard way from the annual meeting,’’ said Miss Doreen Brown.