CANTERBURY EXPECTED TO RETAIN SHIELD

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32540, 25 February 1971, Page 24

CANTERBURY EXPECTED TO RETAIN SHIELD

(By our swimming reporter)

PALMERSTON NORTH.

After the resounding success of its age-group team, the Canterbury senior swimmers will be looking for similar good fortunes at the national open championships which begin in Palmerston North today.

With a particularly strong women’s contingent, Canterbury should have little difficulty in retaining the Yaldhurst Shield, awarded to the centre taking the most titles.

Although Canterbury’s achievements will be one of the main features of the championships, the performances of several individual

swimmers will be watched with considerable interest. The oldest swimmer at the nationals will be the formet New Zealand representative, Mrs V. Noble (nee Haddon), whose record for the 100 metres breaststroke still stands. Although she is making a comeback after two years in retirement, Mrs Noble’s recent times made her favourite to regain the 100 metres title. ELUSIVE VICTORY With the retirement of the Edinburgh Comonwealth Games swimmer, M. Borrie, the 23-year-old Aucklander, G. Smith, stands every chance of winning the glamour event, the 100 metres freestyle, a title which has eluded him for several years only by fractions of a second.

Some of the Canterbury team members may be lacking a little in energy because of the humid weather. The younger swimmers who were at the age-group titles have become acclimatised, but the seniors, who have been here only a day, find the heat tiring.

Miss S. Hunter, who qualified for nine events, will only be swimming in four. She has a heavy programme at the age-group championships and she would obviously not have been able to do justice

to all the events had she tried to compete in them.

She will swim the 200 and 400 metres individual medleys, and the 200 metres freestyle and butterfly. She has, unfortunately, had to drop the 400 metres freestyle, an event in which she recently broke the national record, as it is only 15min before the 400 metres medley, her best event.

Heats of nin events will be swum this afternoon and the seven fastest qualifiers will enter the finals in the evening. •

The main event on today’s, programme is likely to be the women’s 400 metres free-: style. Although Miss Hunter i has dropped out, there will still be plenty of competition,; mainly between Misses J.! Parkhouse and J. Wright i (both Canterbury) and G. Boyens (Otago). j Miss C. Whiting (Canterbury), who is ’favoured to take the 100 metres freestyle and butterfly and the 200 metres butterfly, should win her first title in the first final of the evening, the 100 metres butterfly. It is doubtful if the championships will get away to a good start as rain has been falling for the last two days and the weather forecast is “unsettled.” One consolation is that temperatures have remained relatively high.