SWIMMING

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1932, Page 19

SWIMMING

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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

JUNIOR AND-INTERMEDIATE

NATIONAL MEETING

fixtures;

7th January.—Hutt Valliy Carnival,-! Lower 16th January.—Wellington club Carnival, Te -Aro.. . ■.*'.. 22nd and. 23rd January.—National Junior and Intermediate Championships, '' Riddiford Bathß, Lower Hutt. • . 30th January.—Lyall Bay and Uaranul Combined Carnival, Te Aro. 13th to 17th February.—^National Senior Cham-

pionships, Timaru. : f ■,*■'■ sth SXarch.—Primary Schools Carnival, To Aro. 19th March.—Wellington Club Carnival, Te Aro.

The first event of importance in the New Year will be the National Junior and Intermediate Championships, which are scheduled for decision at the Biddiford Baths, Lower Hutt, on the;'22nd and 23rd next. , The. meeting will be under the control" of the .Wellington Centre, and. the various sub-committees set up by that body are now busily engaged in making the'necessary.arrangements incidental to such an important gathering. Although the.meeting will ■be confined!to two days, it will be necessary to hold two carnivals on each day —afternoon and evening—"-in order that the numerous heats and- finals-can be disposed of.-'-. Past years have proved that the' competition in!'the two grades to be decided is well above the average, and usually, far more interesting than the senior championships. That the same will apply this year there is little doubt. Early reports from the several centres that will be represented indicate that strong:teams will be in""evidence, composed of the best of talent. At the time of writing, only one centre (Otago) have, selected their team, but others will shortly follow suit, and by the time that entries! close it will probably- be found that a record entry: will be received. The Southerners - have got together a solid set of young swimmers^ several of whom are title-holders,-and'-they look sure, to be prominent in their respective engagements. One pleasing feature-will be a team from Hawkes Bay. It has. been reported that,: despite ttie severe reverse the Bport suffered owing to "the earthquake, en- ' thusiasm again prevails in the .district, and the prospects of a strong team, being available are. very, bright. Auckland, Canterbury, South Canterbury,- and sev-: ' eral others" will all' be worthily represented, and even this,.early it .is safe to predict that a successful nieeting seems assured. : i '' , -, for the local juniors and intermediates for selection in the Wellington team will .be' presented on Thursday next,, when-the centre, champipnships for ..these grades will be held at! Lower Hutt.i The Hutt Valley Club have been; granted permission to stagb these events, and they will be run in conjunction with'the club's car- ; nival on that date.i: There are quite a,few young swimmers who are worthy of selection, and they will no doubt ■ lavail' themselves'of the chance to earn thafchonour.; -In addition to the cham--pionship events, there are.several inter- ■ rcljib-'.races open to all swimmers, and i thiei.'whole will make up an interesting 'pijo'gramme. . :-'.,>. •'',;.; '.'■ :.-:. (• / . ;liifidsay's record. : ,: jTh© main, topic, of .conversation ;, .among swimmers during the last week .or.two has been the great swim put up .by, Dave Lindsay in 'the recent half- ■ miie Canterbury -, championship. The ■ time recorded, llmin ssec, is .easily.-the-, . best effort by a New Zealand swimmer! for .many years, and pointedly draws attention to his, prospects at the national championships. .-•■; .The previous "best time was Gordon Bfidson's lfmin'2l 3-ssee,; put up at Auckland tw.b .years ago, and the substantial reduction .•■ in ; the record will show! the merit-of the performance^ as; well as indicating the rare, form that Lindsay is 'in. . The water at Christchurch cannot :be regarded as particularly fast, but; even allowing thajt Lindsay: may prefer fresh to salt, it is'certain that hafl the syrim taken place"'at Auckland tepid baths,' the time, would have been under 11 minutes.' This1 is fast travelling and the come-back of Lindsay—-he has been ' practically out'of .the sport' for. some seasons—'-is a splendid one, and 'particularly heartening to himself and his supporters. His sectional times were: . .100 yards, 64sec; 220 yards j', .• 2min . 345ec;;440 yar'ds,"smin 25sec. The'new ; record has been officially: recognised by the New Zealand Association, but may ', be■ further -reduced\at; Timnru in February next; ' ■.-' ; '.-• ■ .-; • '■;! : . : . ': When Lindsay's record established, comparisons with other cracks were" soon being made. It-will be recollected that there , yrds great' excite-' ; mont in Sydney when "Boy" Charlton returned llmin : 5 l-ssec if or the distance in 1923, time which he .reduced to lOniin 51:4^5860 the following year. Charlton was then 'making a name for : himself, but he crowned his efforts'" in ; 1927 when he recorded lOmin 32 l-ssec. : All these three1 times'were recognised | as world's records,- but subsequently J. Weissmuller put up the wonderful] figures of lQniin- 22 1-osea, which is the latest recognised recordi. .This iatter ; time has been further reduced, . but : whether under record conditions re- | mains to be seen; So far" as. is known they ha.ye. not, but the official intimation may be on its way. Admittedly ' Lindsay's time is some!remove from the world's best, nevertheless many-would . scoff at the idea thathe had any chance with Weissmuller, ■. Borg, : Charlton, , Crabbe,! at their best, with a 50-yard' start over half a-mile, but the time test is just about equivalent to that handicap, and gives an indication of the fine performance of the Canterbury man. On this form, he will beat Brid : son over the distance at; Timaru,. but the latter is capable of making a:great duel of it. It will be a great:race. Notes. . The carnival; staged at. the Instituto Baths recently was very poorly attended and those present did not have much' to .onthuse over, although the actual racing was -keen enough and close. Following so closely on the Hutt Club* cai'Dival, the entry was only fair, and several scratchings depleted 'some of tho races, of 'which'there were ■ not a great number on the programme. E; Smy took.on the open 66 2-3 yards handicap, and was successfulin'winning it. He did not have, much' to spare from: Gallate at the finish, but appeared to be moving ! easily. ..C; Clariage. was close up third, .just' beating -Pelhani; The ladies'; race was won by Miss Tunks, who is showing improved: form/ and "looks likely rto" win again; Miss. Webber made her; first! appearance locally, and after putting up a good effort, gained second place. Her opportunities fir competition are limited, but she appears to be in training for future ■ events. . Although the- Insti--. tute Club won the relay, the finish was somewhat marred by excited supporters of their team jumping into the water and, hindering gthar, oompetitoMs ~' r

rag is,over.