Volleyball and rowing add international touch

Press, 19 August 1983, Page 9

Volleyball and rowing add international touch

Volleyball and rowing are the two sports with an international flavour during the school holidays. New Zealand has levelled a four-test series in volleyball with Daito Bunka University, of Japan, at one test each, with the last two to be played at Cowles Stadium in ChrEtchurch, the third tonight and the fourth on Sunday. The Japanese side has toured here twice before, but this is the first time New Zealand has been in with a chance to take the series. New Zealand takes on Australia in three classes of rowing at Lake Forsyth on September 4. ColE, lightweights’ and women’s crews will be doing battle in a test series which has been held annually since 1975. Although there are no Ranfurly Shield challenges to repulse, the Canterbury rugby team will have little chance to rest. It meets three North Eland first division teams — Waikato at Hamilton on August 24; Bay of Plenty at Whakatane three days later and Counties at Pukekohe on August 31. Two South Eland age group tournaments will be played. The Canterbury under 16 team will travel to Invercargill with matches from August 22 to 27;

and the under 18s will be stationed a little further north at Dunedin during the same period. The focal point of rugby around ChrEtchurch will be the two major club finals for the C.S.B. Trophy and the D.C.L. Shield. Both are to be played at Lancaster Park this Sunday. The other local final will be played under lights at Denton Oval on August 24, when the top town and country teams will contest the C.S.B. Shield. The emphasis in rugby league will be at inter-club level during the school holidays. The Canterbury premiership is to be completed tomorrow, the championship semi-finals are scheduled for August 27, the preliminary final for September 4, and the grand final — a highlight of any season — is on Sunday, September 11. The winner of the roundrobin premiership also has another task. It is to defend the Thacker Shield against the West Coast challenger this Sunday. All of these matches will be at the Show Grounds. The cyclisE’ holiday programme kicks off tomorrow at Levin with the Healing Sir Bernard Fergusson boys teams time trial, in which two local schools, Christchurch Boys’

High and the titleholder, Shirley Boys’ High, are strongly favoured. Closer to home, the 150 km round the gorges race will test the slightly more seasoned Canterbury riders, with the Penny Farthing Town Hall Criteriums to follow on Sunday. In a fortnight the Christchurch to Akaroa and return multi stage race will be held, with the Healing novice tour, a four stage race over 110 km, the following day, September 4. The next Saturday, September 10, will bring one of the highlights of the year in the Canterbury road championships. Canterbury cyclisE will also be involved in the Marlborough and NeEon opens on August 27 and 28. BMX riders will have meetings on each Sunday of the holidays, starting with events at Ashburton the day after tomorrow, and then at Hornby, Rangiora and finally Kaiapoi on September 11. Staying with bikes, the Canterbury junior motocross championships will be held at Waipara during the week-end of August 27-28. Canterbury netballers of all grades will be in action. The senior provincial team, which

is joint national champion with Waikato, is favoured to reach, if not win, the finals at Gisborne. It is a vastly experienced team, with the New Zealand representative, Leigh Gibbs, at the helm. The national tournament runs from Monday, August 22, to the following Saturday. There are two Prudential age group tournaments looming. Canterbury under-20 will contest a national tournament at Hamilton for three days from September 1; and the under-18 team is to play at Wellington on August 29 and 30. Burnside is the Christchurch club to play in the Countrywide club championship at Auckland on September 10, and judging by the high standard of play in the Christchurch competition this season, should go close to winning. Secondary school netballers will also get their chance, in the South Island championships at Blenheim, which start on September 6 and finish three days later. Christchurch United, which is languishing in the middle of the points table, will have two matches to play in the Rothmans soccer league. Both are home games; the first against bottom placed Dunedin Technical on August 28 and the second on September 4 against Mount Wellington, which is only a point ahead of United. There appears little chance, though, that United can take the title. The lower South Island will be the main centre for the nation’s badminton activities. First, the South Eland championships are to be staged at Dunedin from August 27 and 28, with the nationals at Invercargill from August 30 to September 3. The junior national championships at Christchurch from September 4-9 will immediately follow the divisional final, at the same venue, with the full Canterbury championships a fortnight earlier. Canterbury players are likely to do well in the national squash championships, which start in Timaru at the end of the holidays and run to September 17. Rod Hayes, who is no longer living in Canterbury but is still registered with the province, is the top hope for the men’s title, with Sumner’s Paul

Viggers also expected to go close. The national teams’ event will start on September 15 and run for three days. The highlight of the pony club year for most South Elanders E the Springston Trophy, which will be held at Richmond, Nelson, from August 26 to 28. A maximum of 50 teams of six riders each will compete in the three phases of dressage, cross country and show jumping. Canterbury E well represented, and the Rangiora club’s A team is expected to finish in the -top six. Last year it finished second behind Central Southland. Junior events feature on the golf programme. School pupils’ coaching clinics will be held at Harewood and Waitikiri from August 29-31, and the Commercial Union New Zealand junior and boys’ championships will be held at Harewood on September 3 and 4. Canterbury’s men’s, and women’s hockey teams will be involved at national tournament from August 28 to September 3. The men will play at Palmerston North and the women at Whangarei, with the Hatch Cup schoolboys’ tournament at Wanganui the same week. The only other major hockey event will be the men’s match between Canterbury A and B on this Sunday. The centre of attraction at Mount Hutt E likely to be the A.N.Z. national freestyle championship, which runs for three days from September 8. The Anderson and Hill secondary schools tennE tournament will be held at Wilding Park from August 23 ’to 28, and E the first major event of the new season. The city’s indoor bowlers will be busy, starting with the Canterbury triples championships at Kearneys Road this week-end. Next Saturday there is a Paterson Trophy fixture against North Otago; championship pairs; town v. combined country for the Craw Cup at Lincoln on August 31; husband and wife pairs September 3 and 4; the Paterson zone final on September 3; town v. North Canterbury at Kearneys Road on September 7; Ashburton v. Canterbury at Ashburton and the husband and wife champion of champions competition on September 10.