Only two Canty representatives

Press, 11 July 1983, Page 38

Only two Canty representatives

By KEVIN TUTTY Only two Canterbury representatives are in the New Zealand team of 25 to compete in an international swimming carnival in Japan next month. That fact is a dramatic illustration of the mediocre strength of Canterbury swimming. Grant Forbes and- Kim Dewar, both members of the New Zealand team at the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane last year, are the only Canterbury swimmers in the team.

Auckland, easily the leading province in New Zealand, provides 16 of the team, many of them youngsters representing New Zealand for the first time. The strength of the Auckland province is a sharp reminder to other provinces that they have a tremendous amount of progress to make to get anywhere near matching the Auckland province.

The team to compete in Japan is:— Men.—Brett Austin, Mark Kalaugher, Paul Kingsman,

Gary Mason, Anthony Mosse, Kirk Torrance, Brent Foster, Dean Foster, Richard Wells, Michael Davidson (Auckland); Forbes; Peter Gee (Southland); Dean Greenwood (Otago).

Women.—Pamela Croad (Manawatu); Trade Sanders, Sarah Mahon, Andrea Hawcridge, Ursula Cross, Sylvia Hume, Kerrylynne Torrance (Auckland); Dewar, Carmel Clarke (Hawke’s Bay); Anna Doig (Wellington); Gail Jonson (Waikato); Nicola Chambers (Otago). Hawcridge, who is on vacation from university in Hawaii, is a former New Zealand representative, now swimming the best times of her career.

Mason is a former Canterbury swimmer, living and training in Auckland. A fluent and -talented backstroker, he has been dogged by injury in the last few years. A tall, lean young man, ideally suited to backstroke, he could be the surprise of the team.

The team includes twins — the Foster brothers — the first to represent New Zealand at swimming.