Games Selection To Spur On Swimmers

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32214, 5 February 1970, Page 14

Games Selection To Spur On Swimmers

There will be more than medals dangling before Canterbury swimmers this evening when the first finals of the provincial championships are held at the Centennial Pool.

For a few, too, there will be a crucial chance to show the national selectors that they are worthy of inclusion in the Commonwealth Games team. Canterbury has its top competitors competing for the titles, but there will be two guests who will set difficult tasks for home swimmers in their grades. M. F. Treffers, the Southland junior who has been swimming in Christchurch since December, will compete against A. B. Kindred and G. S. Walker in the 200 and 400 metres freestyle. The three have been swimming similar times over the shorter distance, and although Walker qualified with the fastest time, the two breaks to his training last month have put back his performances.

Kindred will have a chance to avenge his defeat by Treffers in the 800 metres. Kindred, who just beat Treffers in the 1500 metres, has beaten the Edinburgh Games qualifying time in the 400 metres, but since then Treffers, without the opportunity to better that target in top competition, has improved immensely, and because he has a higher arm action and strong fighting qualities at the end of a race, he should win. But he will have to

break Kindred’s national record and the target time to do so. The other visitor is an Australian, Karen Hayes, who will swim in the . under 12 section. She has qualified in each of the eight events in her grade and five times was the fastest qualifier with times recorded in the New South Wales championships. Susan Hunter will have the opportunity to further her claims for the Edinburgh team in the medley events. She will swim in the 200 metres medley, in which she holds the national record, and should break the record again; she has lowered it in her last four swims. Miss C. Whiting, who is one of several freestyle swimmers in New Zealand who are close to national selection, must perform well in the 100 metres freestyle to move ahead of the other contenders for the Commonwealth Games team. She has broken the 200 metres record twice but is still lacking in speed in the 100 metres to beat her own time.

The record stewards will have to work hard during the three sessions. Last year. 71 records were broken. This year, the pattern has been the same; in the last week there have been 16 Canterbury marks, and in the month 10 national records were broken by Canterbury swimmers. The stimulus that a provincial championship meeting provides should help the recordbreakers.