Swim coach distressed by decision

Press, 4 December 1981, Page 28

Swim coach distressed by decision

A golden opportunity has been missed for several of New ' Zealand’s talented young swimmers to get full mileage from the Queensland team that will visit New Zealand next week. Clive Power, the coach of the Wharenui squad in Christchurch, is distressed that the concept of a New Zealand team to meet the Australians in Christchurch and Hamilton has been dropped. Instead South Island and North Island teams have been selected to swim against the Queensland team of 20. « Sponsored road transport was available to get the North Island swimmers to Christchurch for the first carnival on December 12, and back to Hamilton again with a group of South Island swimmers, for the final carnival at Hamilton on December 15. Some North Island coaches believed that the travel involved was too great, and because of the prohibitive cost of air travel, the national selectors had to settle for island teams. “I don’t think some coaches thought enough about the tour. It was a great opportunity for some of our younger swimmers to chip away at their times, and bring them closer to Commonwealth Games qualifying marks before the national championships in March,” said Mr Power.

"Quite a few swimmers are near the qualifying times and they need the opportunity to get nearer before the nationals when the pressure on them will be intense.” The carnivals against Queensland are a replacement for the annual interregional meeting which has been dropped from this season’s list of national fixtures. “It was at the inter-region-als that a lot of swimmers came out of the woodwork, and this year should not have been any different,” said Mr Power. The teams for the two carnivals have been announced by the national selectors. They are.— North Island Men: Richard Wells, Michael Davidson. Barry Salisbury, Frazer Brown, Mark Kalaugher, Brett Austin, Richard Lockhart, Anthony Mosse, Dean Greenwood, Trevor Yates. Women: Pamela Croad, Myra Snell, Liza Hartshorne. Kathy Campbell, Allison Mitchell, Amanda Hay, Ursula Cross, Carmel Clarke, Sylvia Hume, Sarah Mahon, Roseanne Lockhart. Sarah Morris, Tanya Boone. Susan Kirkup, Anna Doig, Gail Jonson, Margaret Hesketh. South Island Men: Phillip Seal, Gregor McFarlane, Graeme Laing, Andrew O’Donoghue, Kara Taumaunu, Grant Gillard, Gary Manson, Grant Forbes, Andrew Smith, Michael Smith, Alistair Park, Paul Tozer. Women: Jennifer Queen, Teresa Stanley, Liza Chamberlain, Melanie Jones. Kirsten Mclntosh, Kim Dewar, Susan Willis, Megan Tohill, Nicola Chambers.