Gymnasts for trials

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 40

Gymnasts for trials

Twenty-two gymnasts, including six from Canterbury, have been named for trials for teams to compete in the New Zealand Games.

There will be two trials for the women’s squad of 13 —at Christchurch on December 18 and at Hawera on January 4—and one for the men at Auckland on December 11. The two squads, approved by the council of the New Zealand Gymnastic Association at the week-end were:—

Men: Terry Sale, Neil Davies, Howard Johnstone, (Auckland); Hans Vanderschanz (Wanganui); Richard Wilkins, Gary Mercer (Waikato); Peter Duffy (Wellington); Greg Robertson (Christchurch); Callum Durward (Dunedin); Women: Carol Armitage, Lynelle Young (Auckland); Laurie Durward, Lynette Brake (Waikato); Wendy Norman (Wanganui); Kirsty Durward, Raeleen Hollier, Rosemary Gallagher, Pam Hall,

Susan Miller (Canterbury); Debbie Richards, Raeleen Souter, Rowena Davis (Otago). The final teams will contain six gymnasts but only four will compete at the Games. The officials for the teams were also named. Mr S. E. Brooks of Christchurch is the manager, and a husband and wife team, Warren Burroughs and Mrs Burroughs, will be the coaches. The men’s team will be named immediately after the trial and the women’s after the second trial. Both will enter a training school on January 5 until the Games start on January 22. A team of 15 Australian age-group boy gymnasts will make a two week tour of New Zealand in January, and will be joined for the tour by a group of New Zealand gymnasts of the same age. The Australians will be in three age brackets —under 19, under 17 and under 15— with five competitors in each group. They will arrive in Auckland on January 12 and compete against the New Zealanders in Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington and Dunedin. They will come to Christchurch on January 21 and leave after the New Zealand Games. The New Zealand team will be selected from junior training squads around the country, ■ and costs for the tour will be kept to a minimum by billeting competitors. The chairman of the N.Z.G.A. council, Mr Brooks, said it was hoped the tour would be the first in an annual interchange between the two countries. The N.Z.G.A. has extended invitations to the Rumanian and Chinese gymnastic federations for teams to tour New Zealand next year.

The invitations were sent about two months ago. it .was revealed at the association’s council meeting on Saturday, but as yet no replies have been received.