VITAL TO SWIMMING

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 56, 7 March 1923, Page 11

VITAL TO SWIMMING

THE INTERMEDIATE GRADE

PROTEST FROM WANGANUI.

(BT TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL TO THI POST.)

WANGANUI, This Day.

A matter of vital importance to the 6wimming community throughout New Zealand was discussed at a meeting of the Wanganui Centre of the New Zea^ land Amateur Swimming Association last night, namely, the proposal of the Wellington Centre to eliminate the intermediate championships. The opinion was expressed by Mr. Reid, president, that it would be a calamity to swimming if such a proposal succeeded. Junior and intermediate swimming was brought in as a war measure, but had more than justified itself in the fact that swimming had, as a result, been placed on a plane nuver before reached. One of the strongest arguments in favour of the retention of infaMpnediate swimming was found in the grltfe results achieved by Miss Violet, Walrond, of Auckland, and Mies Gwitha Shand, the great world 440 yds record-breaker, of Canterbury, both of whom had just graduated from the intermediate grade, and cleaned up Australia in championship event's over three distances. There were dozens of other girls just knocking at the doors of similar success. In the men's classes some of the best swimmers of New Zealand, including Cunnold, of Auckland, Murrell and Claridge, of Wellington, and Batcbelor, of Christchurch, had come through the intermediate clase and, like the girls, would probably never have been heard of except for intermediate competition. The real effect of the proposal would be that either the .younp; people would be swimming against the seniors, which should be strongly resisted, or many young swimmers would take up other forms of sport, and would be lost to swimming. The way the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association had catered for its devotees in all grades wa,s the envy of other athletic bodies, and no other sport had reached the eminence swimming had. One of the arguments against'the intermediates used at the oonferenee held at Timaru was that the championship meeting was too unwieldy. The fallacy of that ai-gumcnt was proved at Timaru whcffa. on the last night of the carnival, the services of Con Wilson, Auckland, and Hiok«, _ Wellington, had to be employed to kill time, the programme having been so expeditiously carried through by the South Canterbury Centre carnival officials. Tile- whole trouble was that several larger centres had beon financially embarrassed, and had almost been rendered bankrupt hv taking to championship meetings big polo and surfing teams. ■

A' motion protesting against any alteration of rules giving effect to the Wellington centre's proposal was carried unanimously. Delegates were present from_ Taranaki, Marton, and Wangauui districts, and hope was expressed that Wanganui, would be strongly supported by the Auckland, South Auckkdjd, Manawatu, and Hawkes Bay centres in the North Island.