SWIMMING

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 113, 6 February 1936, Page 6

SWIMMING

National Meeting This

Month

MATHIESON’S FORM

Carnival on Saturday

(By

Trudge.)

A week from .Saturday the New Zealand national senior swimming championships will be commenced in Dunedin, and present indications are that the meeting will be one of the greatest ever held in New Zealand. Much interest will centre on the showings of Peter Matliiewii, the. brilliant backstroke exponent, and W. J. Jarvis. Speculation is rife as to the chances of Noel Crump, Bob Frankhani and Peter Hannan, all of Auckland, of depriving Jarvis of his 100 yards and 220 yards titles, but Jarvis's supporters are confident that lie will reproduce his best form. Mathieson’s chief opposition will come from tile brilliant Rotorua Maori, Billy Wiiareaitu, a former title holder,, while that great all-rouud exponent,. L,' J. Moorhouse, is also said to be competing. Len Smith, breastroke, will defend his title, and representative fields will contest the distance events, in which much interest will centre on fthe efforts of the former Olympic representative/ D. P. Lindsay, to wrest the half mile title from J. D. O’Driscoll, Otago, and the mile from R. Watkins, Hawke’s Bay. j The women’s events should be productive of much interest, with such perform mers as . Misses Mona Leydon, New Zealand record holder, Nancy Ludlow, and Judith Webster, Auckland, Edna Ramey, Hawke's Bay, Ngaire Hughes, Canterbury, Maxine Mathieson and latty Sporle, Otago, and Nancy Basstiau, Southland, playing a leading part. . The carnival will open with prelunmaries in the afternoon, and evening sessions will bo held on Saturday, Monday, ami Wednesday following. The Annette Kelle r nian Cup harbour race will be held at Macandrew Bay on Tuesday, February IS, at 10 o'clock in the morning.

Saturday’s Carnival. A carnival of particular interest, and ou6 which should draw a large crowd on account of the splendid programme of events drawn up will be that to be conducted by the Worsen Bay Club at Te Aro Baths on Saturday, commencing at 2.30 p.m. Several centre championships will be decided while two water polo matches by leading teams will be played.

Return to Champion Rank. The women’s diving championship of Auckland, was won. by Miss Edna V alrond, whose return to champion rank takes the memory back about 12 years, when she and her sister, Violet, an Olympic representative of 1920, were prominent personalities in the sport. In those days Miss Edna Walrond displayed her ability as a swimmer, but she has always been a polished diver, and it may be worthwhile giving her a full trial for the purpose of determining her fitness to contest tlie national title a t Dunedin this month. Mathieson’s Capabilities.

The New Zealand swimmers, P. E. Mathieson, and W. J. Jarvis, of Dunedin gave Melbourne enthusiasts a taste of their best capabilities last week. Jarvis s fresh, water time for 100 yards, 54, has considerably dulled the. chances many sprinters have of regaining the New Zealand sprint championship from him at Dunedin thia month, R. B. Frankham’s Dominion record being 54 3-5. Mathiesou's record-breaking at backstroke has caused him (to be freely discussed, as an. Olympic representative. Ho has bene making fast times for 220 yards and 400 metres, but, as the Olympic championship is for 100 metres, it will be .illuminating if, on his return home, he swims this, distance against time to show his class as a sprinter. Len Smith to Defend Title.

Len Smith, of Wanganui, is to defend his 220 yards breaststroke Dominion championship at Dunedin on February 15. Smith is the present 220 yards men’s breaststroke record-holder, and the greatest exponent of this branch of swimming New Zealand has yet produced. He has won the national title on no fewer than seven successive occasions. Last February, at Auckland, he established a New Zealand record of 3-1 2-5. Smith also represented New Zealand at the Empire Games in Londoil in 1934. Nominations For Championships.

The Canterbury . team to take part in Ute New Zealand water polo championship at Dunedin, commencing on February 15, is as follows:—MaeKenzie (2), M. Rattray, L. Moorhouse, L. Newell, A. T. F. Stokes and a, goal-keeper yet to be chosen. ~, The side includes some well-known, swimmers. Stokes is the former national free-istyle champion. L. J. Moorhouse mav be justly regarded as "the father or backstroke swimming” iu New Zealand—he has been many times champion, and lias represented New Zealand at the Olympic Games and at Tailteann .Games., L. Newell, hast performed well in the' 100 yards and 200 yards Canterbury freestyle championships. , i Although no'championship entries have yet been received from the West Coast Centre, a number of eutries have been received from the Westport Club for other events. The first nomination for the Annette Kellerman Cup harbour swim has come I'Sbm this club, this being C. M. Robertson. W. Keesing, formerly New Zealand men’s diving champion—he used to represent Otago, but won the .title for Canterbury in 1925—has entered lor the open plain scratch dive, which is virtual]y the plain diving championship of New Zealand, though not actually a title event, and other handicap entries have also been forwarded. . . Advice has been received that houth Auckland is sending probably four swimmers, and Taranaki has also intimated its intention of being represented. Auckland’s Popular Delegates.

The Auckland Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association will be represented at the annual conference of centres in Dunedin by two experienced delegates, Messrs. J. Enwright and L. Kenny. A former Now Zealand sprint champion for several years, Mr. Enwright has hiul long connection with the sport ns an official,' water polo player and coach Mr Kenny, who has been manager ot Auckland representative teams for the last five years, will again fill the position this year.'He lias a fine record as a niemiicr of the Auckland Centre and has often represented it at the New Zealand Conference.