Canty juniors did well at surf lifesaving

Press, 10 March 1982, Page 24

Canty juniors did well at surf lifesaving

Though Mike Basset, the brilliant Otaki all-rounder, won four titles at the Wales Bank surf lifesaving championships at Warrington beach last week the junior events were otherwise dominated by South Islanders.

Although actual victories were few and far between, young Canterbury lifeguards could be well pleased with their efforts, especially the New Brighton juniors who contributed so much towards their club winning the Canterbury championship pennant.

The victory they did earn was a remarkable effort, too, for it came in the foiir-man rescue and resuscitation. It is 21 years since New Brighton has competed in drill events, but it made a major effort this season with the arrival, as a coach as much as a competitor, of Jo Watt, from South Brighton. One member of the team, Lachie Marshall, had a championship meeting to remember. He headed off a club-mate, Nigel Ward, for second placing to Basset in the iron man; he was second to lan Woolford in the surf race, and his team took second placing also; there

was another second as part of the taplin relay team. In fact, the one failure could be said to have come in the tube rescue, where Ward and Marshall were leading early but slipped back to fourth, a placing behind Frank McMaster and Paul Fidow (South Brighton).

For the fifth successive year, South Brighton’s juniors were second in the six-man, and it was a major surprise that they trailed New Brighton in the fourman for second place again. The North Beach junior boat crew slipped from second to fourth, the club’s seniors also dropping to second; while Simon Duncan of New Brighton was second, in the senior beach flags. Another surprise Canterbury placing was the third by Taylors Mistake in the march past, that after New Brighton had won, and won easily, the Canterbury title.

A dual medal-winner was Michael Mead (Waimairi), second in the ski rescue and third in the ski race, while Gary Connor (Waikuku Beach) was the best of the belt swimmers from the Canterbury clubs with his fourth.' Peter Cox, another Waikuku lifeguard, was third

in the malibu board race. Spencer Park senior beach sprinters attracted considerable attention, and not just because they won the beach relay from North Beach. Tom von Biel, the closest of runners-up to Russell Hamlett (Waipu Cove) in the inter-districts beach sprint, pulled a hamstring which prevented him contesting the national track and field championships. It also put him out of the Canterbury team for the Australian tour leaving tomorrow, -and he has been replaced by another Spencer

Park man, Francis Lawrence.

The latter could consider himself robbed of the beach sprint title, easily beating Hamlett. But the latter complained that Lawrence had made a false start, even though the starter must have been happy with the start for he did not order a re-run, and a re-run was ordered after Lawrence had been announced as the winner. He finished third on that occasion. All round, the national championships were a fitting finale to a memorable season, no individual performing more mightily than did Geoff Walker (Waimairi), while the Taylors Mistake seniors again took out the outstanding drill treble of six-man and four-man and the march past. A number of Canterbury lifeguards were named in a large squad for the tour to Australia next season. They are Simon Davis, Dave Conder, John Dimick and Carl Immers (Taylors Mistake), Bryce Ward, Kelvin Bishop, Fidow and McMaster (South Brighton), Duncan, Marshall, Ward (New Brighton), Walker (Waimairi), Lawrence, Chris Campbell, von Biel (Spencer Park), Chris Ellis and Connor (Waikuku Beach)..