Keen surf competition

Press, 27 February 1980, Page 28

Keen surf competition

By

RAY CAIRNS

Far though it is from home, and that generally means reduced numbers and a lesser performance the Canterbury area team and Canterbury clubs can look forward to more than a modicum of success in the Wales Bank surf lifesaving championships at Mount Maunganui this week. .The titles start with the inter-district contest on the balmy Bay of Plenty beach tomorrow, and the club championships are the next three days. And while the Canterbury clubs can not expect the all-round successes of last season at South Brighton, a reasonable share of titles should come south. There must be a very strong chance of Canterbury taking the men’s title from Auckland. It had a more than useful shakedown with the two internationals against Victoria earlier this month, though it will not have, this time, the excellent swimming ability of Chris Ellis. . Nor will Canterbury this time have a boat crew, but events in the past have shown this to not necessarily be a handicap. Instead slightly greater attention has been paid to the beach events with the inclusion of Graeme Ellis. So Auckland will almost inevitably pick up points ■in the boats, and perhaps in the swimming event?, too. and in the club championships, many Aucklanders are likely to feature in : the various senior swimming events. Alan Kindred

and Michael McKenzie are the t.wo who most readily spring to mind, but there is also a big Wellington group, Gordon Dinnison, Jim Robertson and Paul Thomson foremost .apibng them, and the rest of the country is led by Peter Ryan (Taranaki) and Ross Doyle (Western Districts).

Canterbury clubs do not perhaps have the bright winning prospects that they have had in the past, though there is reason for good cheer in the recent belt swimming of Steve Johnson (Waimairi), the tube rescue ability of Carl Immers (Taylors Mistake), and the New Brighton pair of John Symon and John Dimick are perhaps the most likely in the surf race.

But Canterbury does have the current surf ski and malibu board champions, and Taylors Mistake’s Geoff Walker (ski) and Dave Conder (board) will be warmly favoured to retain the titles they won so handsomely at South Brighton. But Walker will be under pressure from the men who did so well in the kayak championships last week-end, the United pair of lan Fergusson and Peter McDonald.

Taylors Mistake will carry Canterbury’s brightest hopes in drill events, and indeed the experienced “B” team must be warmly

favoured to retain the Nelson Shield. But New Plymouth Old Boys, as always, will be a doughty opponent, and Waikanae, Paekakariki, Worser Bay and Fitzroy invariably field strong teams.

It is inconceivable that the tall Aucklander, Russ Hamblett, will not dominate the beach events.. He was, by far, New Zealand’s most successful competitor on the tour to Australia last month, and Francis Lawrence (Spencer Park) is generally the leading Canterbury contestant. Similarly, the canoe strength in Canterbury does not quite match that of other parts of the country; St. Kilda, Red Beach, Brighton and Titahi Bay are all likely finalists.

The junior swimming strength in Canterbury is of a similar level to that of the sen-, iors, by comparison with the rest of the country, and the pickings look slim, especially with Ellis and Grant Forbes not there. The .most consistent has been Lachie Marshall (New Brighton), but his best chance’of success may be as John Koen’s patient in the tube rescue.

In drill events, South Brighton will be looking anxiously to topping off the work of the last two or three seasons and improving on last season’s second place in the 6-man. Waikanae and New Plymouth Old Boys are the teams it most needs to beat.