SWIMMING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 734, 5 February 1910, Page 12

SWIMMING.

(By Spiash.) ; CARNIVAL DATES. - Swifts Club—February. 12. ''■ ;.' ' N.Z. Championships (Auckland), February 19, 22, and 25,.:. ',■■.;:;■.' Thorndon Club^-February: 26.. '.- ■.' . ■ ■,' Wellington—March 12... ..

■The heats of the second- distance' (100. yards) for ' the - Wellington ..Club's: President's Cup. were decided on: Friday evening of last week.,' They were all keenly, contested, arid provided some excellent finishes, and perhaps . the ' easiest win was that of|L. Silvers (ISsec.). ' vln the first heat he; had about two yards. to spare" from :W. H. Pollock (19 sec), who was closely.; pressed by W. P. Morpeth : (20sec.), although the ..field in this heat was not crowded there, was some "bustling,' 1 : particularly, between N. J. Gandy and ff..L... Wilson, and, contrary to .expectations, -.Wilson, came off second best.- P. J. Kivell (9sec), who is somewhat! out of. training, just managed to -touch .ahead of Lance. ;Bri3ge (b'sec), .who is also out-of form, in the seeond heat., W.O'Meara' appeared a

likely winner up. to 75. yards, I ,when his condition :gave out. ;''.:' The place-getters .in the next heatwere F, Delaney (18sec.),B. O'Neill (scrl), and "Barney" Wilson (lsec). This was a splendid race., between Wilson, and O'Neill. The two fought, out: every inch of the, way.) "Cyril.Ward, although^in receipt j>f.'.28*0.,, to everyone's surprise, failed to obtain a place. The chances of S. Murrell;-and N. G. MTJean were spoilt through being blocked. V; ; The final' was swum off on Wednesday, 'and ■ saw: the . three placed. men in . the first heat fill the places, arid in the.same' order, although ■ the finish ~ was much closer." P. J.! Kivell's, showing was not as food as on Friday's.: Wilson and O'Neill ad another good set-to, ...but, on this occasion, Wiliion finished .'first/ Owing to the greasy state, of, the, turning, board, at low tide most, of the competitors made faulty' : turns.-'■';.'■: ;',:, '■■ '■■'■■;'.■■■■ .On the same evening, .'the', Y.M.C.A.' Club ■ held ' the first' distance (50 yards) for; the, Crouch Cup. The winner turned up in W. P, ■ Morpeth, who ..had- just immediately before competed in the Wellington ■ Club's ,100 yards,' a.'faj)t which, the:handicapper took into consideration, and, was,' therefore," very lenient. with him. ;.- However, he had very little to spare : from E.. : Baker- and E. : Chartres .at the finish,;which was an excellent one.. ■I; strongly advise • Chartres to; practise ,the starting ;:plunge, as his inability to make; a decent plunge .'costs him at the. ■.very least ;2seo. in'a.race. < J. Mawby put up a good. performance. in; this race. ■■ ■ He : 'finished fourth:'- ■: The-annual; sports of the Star Boating. Club .will be,'.'.held' to-day j and .as the for ;the' various: events ■ are Jarge there .should' be.:aj'.oapital. day's sport. The. principal item-will be the MO yards 'handicap "'from the ; Queen's Wharf -; to the skids. '"■:■:■/■;■■[ ''!,;'■';.;'' ,'.;■.'; ; ■'?;':

. .The West Coast championships willbe swum at Feilding, under the auspices of the Feilding A.S.C. on Saturday, February 12.: A; good number, of. handicap ;events are' provided, in./additipn' to' the championship' races. 1 ' Some fourteen.! or, fifteen Wanganui swimmers are in hard training'.for; the meeting, and the Wanganui contingent of competitors and en-; thusiasts .will.'be.large.- .- :.; [■. .-.. . Malcolm Champion, .the winner of all the. ohampionehips in 1901 and: 1908, is reported to be doing good times,.and hisrecent preformance of covering 100 yards in 63sec. shows; that he will be hard toibeat over, the .Last year he. was defeated on the touch by .Ronayne. . A.. M.; Russell, twice winner: of the New Zealand breast. stroke championship,' has again been selected to represent Can-' terbury. He' has been challenged to defend his 1 claim by W. Cookson, runner-, up in last,year's, championship, and. C. Atkinson,. of ■ the Ogawa Club.'. Atkinson has '>' also.issued; a challenge'to F. v E.Dodge for the isprint events..'.; .-• In view of the New Zealand championships to-be held at Auckland' on Febru-' ary ,19, '22, and 25, the Canterbury, Cen-. tre has Selected ,F. ;E.. Dodge for .the' sprints,•; and: H. Rich for the distance events. In swimming circles, • says . the, Christchurch;,"Press," a great deal of dis-. content prevails in regard' toVthe'.selection of Rich,. whose choice cannot in any way be considered: as a judicious one. At the last New Zealand championship meeting, Rich-was defeated in the 880 ydrds' and mile by. W. H. Manhire, of the Addington Club, in which'■; the ..latter . registered two ..standard. performances and finished second to R. Healy in the; mile, covering the distance 'in 27inin. 25 3-sse'c,; Rich retiring "at. .700' yards, when-;,he. was .hopelessly beaten.: In the ' 880 yards "provincial champion-' ship held during the winter months' at' the.; Municipal Baths, F. E.' ; Dodgo asserted his'superiority by defeating Manhire, who' finished' second; and Rich was again' beaten' out of a place..;' On New Year's Day, at the Lyttelton carnival,' Manhire was giving Rich a minute start, yet, despite Manhire'B claims. to be the first selection, we find that he is overlooked and the decision of 'the Centre is-given for Rich.: It is true that Rich is credited with tho fastest time in the mile.'handicap at Lytteltonj but'that is not sufficient to qualify: him as the Can : terbury'. representative against Manhire's recent performances. It. was stated, at : the meeting that the selection was open to ohallenge, and it is understood ■ that Dodge and Manhire have both -issued challenges to'; Rich. •: • :.

. In a trial last week, at the Addington Bath, Manhire covered the mile in 20min. 41sec.,. which is 4 3-ssec. faster .'than Healy*s time last year at Timaru. In reference to the mile at Lyttelton, Manhire made no effort to overtake the limit men, as two of •" •■. his j..' olub mates, Hales and Schwartz,. were leading,' and no doubt he,was content to let them fight out; the finish without exerting himself. If it had been openly stated that there would be a trophy for the .fastest time,: no doubt Manhire's time would have been very much faster.::. "•.'■'■■' . ,

:Tho following interesting article upon last year's swimming in England is from the English "Field* of December 4:— From a championship point oi[ view the season suffered by comparison; with ,last year, when the international character of many of theii events created an unusual amount of interest. , The absence of F. E. Beaurepuire (Australia),. holder of tho 220 yds., one mile, half-mile, and 410 yds. races, was unfortunate, and it is satisfactory under the circumstances' that the winner of these events, T. S. Battersby' (Southpnrt), succeeded in ' beating the Australian's times. by considerable , margins.' As will be gleaned from the ac-' companying table, the principal English championships are a record of the ability of Battersby.' Amateur championship results for 1909 were as follow:— _ , 100 yards: P. Eadmilovic, 1; H. Meybooin, 2. Time, Imm. lsec. Eecord, 55 2-sseo.: . ' ~-.,. 220 yards: T. S. Battersby, 1; P. Eadmilovic, 2. Time, 2min. 32 4-sscc. Eecord, 2min. 28 3-ssec. .-;•"•" 440 yards (salt water): T. S. Battersby (swam over). Record, smin. ■26 2-sscc. | 500 yards: T. S. Battersby, 1; H. Taylor, 2. -Time, 6min. 26 -l-ssec. Eeoord, rOmln. 7 l-isea, ■-' ■ '■'

880 yards: T. S. Battersby, lj H. Taylor, 2. Time, llmin. 47 l-ssec Eecord, llmin. 47 l-sseo. -.'. ; J. _ One mile: T. S. Battersby, 1; H. Taylor, 2. Time, 24min. 1 2-sseo. Eecord, 24min. 1 2-sseo. ■'■:':• _.-. ■- .'■■ i Long distance: H. Taylor, 1; P. Badmilovio, 2. Time, 65min. 34sec. . 200 yards (breast): P. Courtman, lj F. Courbet, 2. Time, 2miu. 46 Wseo. Eecord, 2min. 41 2-ssec. '■■..-.■■'

• 150 yards (back): F. A. TJnwih,. 1; G. H. Webster,; 2. Time, 2min. .2 l-ssco. Eecord, lmin. 59seo. 100 yards (ladies): Miss J. Fletcher, 1; Miss J. Steer, 2. Time, lmin; Usee Beoord, lmin. 17seo. Plunging': Capt. W. Allason, 1; H. . Davison, 2. Distance, 74ft. 2Jin. Eecord, 82ft. lin. Diving: H. B. Pott,;l; H. N.Smyrk, 2. Since these contests were decided F.A. TJnwin has lowered the ' 150yds.:/(back: stroke) record to lmin. 57.'8-ssec, and Miss Fletcher the ladies' 100 yds. to lmin. 13 3-sseo. T. S. Battersby has also created fresh figures at : 300yds., viz., 3min. 31 2-ssec. The previous record time, was 3min. 34 345e0., made by fi. Cavill (Australia) in.1902. '■■ These results reveal: the continued success of.northern: swimmers as>well as the comparative' inferiority, of .those hailing from the south. This will be understood when it is stated . that of the twelve actual swimming races,'ten go to northern clubs or individuals, and one each. to the west (the 100 yds.), and the Midlands (the ladies), whilst the sole: victories for. the south Were the. plunging ,and diving, and thus, leaving out 1 of mind for the moment the present division of the ruling body into ■■ five' districts.- and, returning to the old hard-and-fast line -between north : and south, the" strange inequality between the'swimmers, in the two divisions' of the countrv remains .as- inexplicable as it, has for. more ,than twenty years past. It is.not as"though nothern swimmers-: possessed;, opportunities . for practising'that are withheld from southerners, for the number of baths in London alone; exceeds that, in the of any northern, country: except Lancashire. It is' not .that. the. southerners, are ,less desirous of participating in the sport,' for they outnumber the north; both 1 in clubs and individual swimmers: nor do they lack either encouragement or ardour, for the Southern District Championships and other competitions are both carefully promoted and well, supported. : Most of -the principal championships are frequently won by a single swimmer.' as iB the case this year, but it is none the less remarkable that this winner usually comes from, the north, a : fact easilv verifiable from the lists of victories gained by-such champions as J. >Nuttall. W.- Evans, : - J.' H. Tyers, D.',Billingtoh, and H..Taylor.! Nuttall was pre-eminent in most of the championships' in ,1886. 1887. and. -1888, although ho secured'.the mile race in 1887 only. |In the four contests at die-' tances up to :500yds., Evans was successful from 1890: to .1892. in his day was phenomenal, for;: commencing in 1892, he wen the; 100 yds. and the 220vds. ! : for six years, the 440 yds., 500yd5... half-mile, and mile for four years, ; and the long-distance ,in 1893: and. 1891.. Billington was' successful in .most of. the-events, except-the sprint races, fr0m.,1902 to .1905/ and .in. tnose and previous years the short, races wore won by,J. H. Derbyshire (another northerner),- or'F. C. V. Lane.'. (Australia) . .Taylor, „ it; will be ..remembered; won the swimming, event for England atthe Olympic Games: in 1908, and he secured most, of:the championships in that and the'two preceding years. H« failed only as a sprinter.. .;'>-:..''.•",.

In' addition' to these personal successes the,north, by the aid or the Wigan Club, has won'the club team ohamp'ionship.in this, the first year of. its promotion. A' similar . run >of . success ... has followed northern ■players'.in. water polo, for with- ■ in the last twenty years only.two vie-; tones'.have been gained,.by clubs soutb of the' Line, .whilst since < the institution of the : countv.championship in 1896• Lan-' cashire had won all but three of the matches, 'and of' those;'three;,-' Cheshire, took one.. ; ahd Middlesex the .remaining 'wo. ~; .■],■■;'.'■':■■:■:■.■[■■/:■'.<■.:'.■';■ T"' :-',r.~ -. •More than'enough: has been: stated to ■justify, the claim ■ of ■ superiority for swim-. ,mers in the north of England;:but their record, of continuous viotories would be of /small - value; if ,'■. they; had 'not been accompanied:,by .a'; remarkable advance in ability. j;Ten or twelve, years; ago/J; :H:: Tyers-reached; ; his! zenith- ;iby:ii'.winningi 'every' swimming, championship and ; beating every record, and it was thought. that his. powers: and times, would Temain.'Unapproached .for many years; but -.'so,-, great hasbeen'the progress since/then, that his. name doe 6 not even appear in.the present list of amateur; records,:,and as' with'four' exceptions all. those records are ..held by northern.'swimmers it is clear that credit j is due to .thorn, not, only.because of■;their victories,' but becomes theirs:by-reason,of. their continued inorease of .ability. From' the' table following:it will be seen .that the four exceptions mentioned stand. ,to ,the names'of two: Australians and 'an, American.' . ":.:■;'V; ''■.■-'.'■..^■■'■.■.'.'-'' : '-v''i~'-:':

;, The following are"., the : : amateur I records todate:— '■':■';..■; : ; ;; : ,i, ; ,' '■'•.;.;■'':;'>-;. ::-'■ .'£..

100 yards,' 55 2-sseo., CM. Daniels, New, York.A.a ..:-;':-:.:■;V-'. : '. -.>»'•'."■■'■;•' 150 yards; lmin'.'-82 2;ssec,i C. M. Dan-, iels, New ;T6rk-.'A.O;-'-';''■■'..■> ".

.. .220 yards," 2min.. 28 _ 3-sseCi, : ;F.- : C.--V.; Lane, East Sydney'. •:■"■ '. t'■ ■■' 300..yards]VSmin.'31;2-ssec.; T. S.- Bat.. tersby.-Southp'ort., ,; ;: .' : • .: > ■'. ■ ;' ■'■ 440 yards, smin. : , 26.2-sseo., T. S. Bat. tersby, Southport.' :-•:,• "■• :v: 'i .■■■•• 500 yards, 6min. 7 l-ssec., B. B. Kieran, North '.Sydney, r■. • '". ■-''' -■.' ■■ "■ ■ 880 yards,: llmin. 28 2-ssec., ~H.; Taylor, ;• Chadderton.: '•,'-." f ~ ; ;:' •"' ; ';: :r '„' i,.,,. 1 -"'' 1000 yards, ISmin.: 34 4-ssec., D.-Bilhng-ton, Bacup. . ' "■".: f' _ A vi „ i. ; ■ One. mile, 24min." 1,2-55e0.,. T. • S. Battersby, Southport.-;;; :-. ■..■■-. ..;r •_ ■ 200 vards (breast), 2min. 41 ,2-ssec.,'W.; W. Robinson, Liverpool.; ■:'■;. ... '_'.■'.:■ . 150 yards (back), lmiri.' 57 3-sseo., P. A. TJnwin, Sheffield , ' :.'.:■. _ .-', Plunging, ■ 82ft; 7in., W. Taylor,- Bootle. 100 yards (ladies),, lmin. 13, Msec., Miss J, Fletcher, Leicester., \. .?;.-_, .';;.'. -.