West Coast swimmer making presence felt

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32222, 14 February 1970, Page 9

West Coast swimmer making presence felt

(By

E. J. HOBBS)

AFTER only two seasons of affiliation with the Canterbury swimming centre, West Coast swimmers are making a remarkable contribution to the supremacy the province has in age group swimming in New Zealand. At the teleprinter carnival in November last year, several West Coast swimmers were placed in the South Island results and at the Canterbury championships, which have just ended, the two teams of finalists, 11 from Greymouth and two from Westport, broke four Canterbury records, took away 12 titles and filled minor placings in five events. It was a remarkable feat because West Coast swimmers do not have the same competitive opportunities as the Canterbury swimmers. Training can only begin in earnest in October each year, a month after the Canterbury winter championships, and for each swim in Christchurch, the competitors face a long drive before and after the meeting. But in all this adversity, champions are being bred; The Westport contingent, Wendy Wakefield and Bernadette Ryan, all but made a clean sweep of the under 11 age group. They won six of the events and Miss Ryan was second in the seventh. Miss Wakefield is the most exciting prospect in breaststroke swimming for years. In the 50 metres breaststroke final she took 2.9 sec off the record set by Susan Hunter when she was in the age group. Any swimmer who can beat Miss Hunter’s record by such a margin is worth keeping an eye on. Miss Wakefield, now only 11, still qualifies for the under 12 age group next year and she has already

- qualified for the national i age group finals in her > special stroke. But she will - probably be lost to West- - port at the end of the year i for her family expects to > shift to Christchurch. i Miss Ryan won four titles and was second in her other • race. Her performances in , all the strokes augur well - for her medley swimming > in future years. t The Greymouth team had - similar success with six t titles, two Canterbury ref cords and four minor placi ings. Undoubtedly the most , improved swimmer from - Greymouth is the 14-year-s old, David Jones, who i sneaked ahead of the fast Canterbury bunch, Jimmy t Carter, Roy Gray and Tony - Atkinson, to win the 400 » metres freestyle in record s time. He was watched much 1 more closely in the 200 1 metres final but he still 3 managed second place to the top under 14 freestyler in 1 New Zealand, Gray. Jones’s 3 time took him from the bot- ’ tom of the qualifiers in the 3 age group nationals to the top and it appears that he

will improve everaK during the remainder• the season. Rex Harding ana Shirley Anderson were the other record breakers from Greymouth, Harding in metres freestyle under 12 and Miss Anderson in th* same event and age group for girls. The success of the swimmers reflects on the efforts of the coaches in both centres. Mr G. Robertson, a coach who has moved from Hawke’s Bay, Mr J. Rochfort from Greymouth and Mr B. Larsen from Westport have built a strong team of swimmers which will bring further titles and records to the West Coast in future championships. More recognition should be given by the centre to the West Coast clubs than the small attendance at the Westport carnival at the beginning of the season. If the West Coast clubs can come across seven or eight times a season, then the Canterbury clubs can return the gesture once and provide a successful carnival next year at Westport or Greymouth.