SWIMMING

Evening Star, Issue 23496, 9 February 1940, Page 5

SWIMMING

NOTES AND COMMENTS KCMO-IREAKING AT INVERCARGILL [By Hookek.] FIXTURES. February 10.—Toko. Club’s carnival, at Milton; Cromwell Club’s carnival. February 10, 12, and 14.—-New Zealand Centennial senior national championships, at Wellington. February 16, 17, and 18.—New Zealand surf championships, at Wellington. February 17.—Kaikorai Club’s carnival: • Roxburgh Club’s carnival; Kiwi Club’s dual meet with Oamaru, at Oamaru.. ' February 24.—Owaka Club’s carnival: Kiwi Club’s dual meet with West End (Timaru), at Dunedin, . March 2.—Balclutba Club’s carnival. CENTENNIAL WEEK CARNIVAL, With the return of the senior team from the national championships at Wellington and the appearance of the Otago intermediate and junior team, the -carnival being arranged by the Otago Swimming Centre on Thursday, February 22, as part of the Centennial Week celebrations, should be productive bf some of the best performances of the year.' Worthwhile trophies have been presented, and the programme will comprise* 220yds invitation free style handicap, 100yds interclub free style hanhandicap, 66 2-3yds interclub back •troke handicap, 66,2-3yds intermediate atid junior' breast stroke handicap, lOQyds intermediate and junior medley handicap, lOOyds intermediate anc junior free style handicap, interelul diving handicap, junior interclub divinf handicap, 33 l-3yds breast stroke handicap (under 12 on October 1), 50yds junior free style handicap. It is hopec to have attempts made on their owr New Zealand records by the champior breast stroke exponents, Winnie Duni and Bill Dyson, and additional attraction will be the provision of a novelty event-and a water polo match if time permits. Entries will close on Friday, February 16. With a view to catering for members of the Air Force station at Taieri 33 l-3yds and lOOyds Air Force free style handicaps have been included on the programme. BRILLIANT SOUTHLANDER. . ! Miss Joyce Macdonald gave an outstanding display of back, stroke swimming at the tepid baths early las! Friday evening (says the ‘ Southland Times ’) to break the New Zealand record for the 200 metres senior women’s stroke championship by 3 4-ssec. The race was the last of the Southland senior championships to be decided, and was actually a reswim of the event that was held at the carnival on Tuesday night. Because of an error by the officials the swimmers in this race on Tuesday night covered 20ft more than required, and although Miss Macdonald broke, the New Zealand record the championship had to be swum again. Miss D. Mulvey was the only other competitor last night, and she was no match for Miss Macdonald, who had a winning margin of about a length. The winner’s time for the distance waa.2rnin 56 4-ssec,' thus eclipsing her own New Zealand record established at Gisborne last year of 3min 0 3-ssec by 3 4-ssec. When Miss Macdonald established her New Zealand record last year she was swimming in salt water, and as salt water is believed to be about 3sec faster for lOOyds than fresh water if will be seen, that her effort last night was. an outstanding one. Miss Macdonald broke the v existing Southland record by 31 l-ssec. STEWART MAINTAINS FORM. Highlight of the Taieri carnival was the dual win scored by Jack Stewart, «f-the Kiwi Club, who won the open interclub and the intermediate and junior diving handicaps, both from scratch. His win in the open event was the more by reason of the fact that the competitors included Doug. Freeman, the Otago men’s champion, who has coached Stewart throughout the latter’s short career. Although Stewart is now the New Zealand intermediate boys’ champion, he has been diving for only two seasons, and the . consistent improvement he has shown season confirms the view that he is one of the best prospects this province • has had since Roy Calder was showing everyone the way. Stewart dive'd with boldness and confidence, and the facility he showed in getting height from the board, and his command of balance in the,air indicated that he is at present at the top of his form. So far as Freeman is concerned, he has been very jmlucky in the matter of injury this

season, but in his display on Saturday i he showed something like his real form. : No dive is too difficult for him to tackle, and if he happens to strike form in Wellington he can be depended on to acquit himself well. KEEN TUSSLES ANTICIPATED. Clyde Cliff, Canterbury back-stroke exponent, looks like giving P. Mathiesoa (Auckland) a hard battle at the national meeting this week, but com- ■ merit on his record-breaking feat of Imin 41sec for 150yds back stroke in the Canterbury championships last week should be accompanied by a reservation that the previous record-holder, Peter Mathieson, has not tackled this distance since he set his record of liniu 42 4-osec in the national championships at Dunedin in 1936. This distance is no longer recognised as a championship one by the 1 New Zealand Council, but in Canterbury it is still included on the provincial championship programme. Having regard to the improvement made by. Mathieson over other distances, it is possible that had the ex-Otago man tackled the 150yds again he would have left a mark that would have taken still more beating. Last season at Invercargill Mathieson beat Cliif easily in the-400 metres event, but was disqualified for incorrect' turning, and he won the 100yds title after a good tussle. Cliff’s advance in back stroke has, nevertheless, been remarkable, for until a couple of years ago he largely confined himself to free style and represented Canterbury in national title events at free style. , In the 440yds men’s free style -championship 4 of Canterbury Cliff took part, and beginning from a dive start he swam back stroke all the way to take second place to Len Newell in smin 32 3-ssec, Mathiesou’s record standing at smin 25 3-ssec, returned in Auckland championships on January 19, 1939. FAST BREAST STROKE SWIM. Earlier in the season the prediction was ventured that Bill Dyson would be t as fit as any man at the national championships in Wellington, and recent performances by the New Zealand breast stroke record-holder support the fulfilment of that prediction. In cold fresh water at Mosgiel on Saturday Dyson made no race of the 100yds interclub

breast stroke handicap, and pushing oh into the last lap he had placed the issue beyond reasonable doubt, finishing with 3yds to spare in 76 2-ssec, which was only a. couple of seconds outside his own New Zealand record, put up in the Dunedin tepid baths. Dyson must be very hard to beat in the 100yds and 220yds breast stroke events at the national championships at Wellington, and,, it is on the cards that he will go close to his own national marks. So far as the 100yds especially is concerned, he may have his most dangerous opposition from his club and team mate, lleg. Geddes. The ladies’ record-holder, Winnie Dunn, was again in good form, and, in receipt of 9sec from Dyson, collected second place. She, too, will lack nothing on the score of fitness when the titles are being disputed at Wellington. EMPIRE CHAMPION DEFEATED. The absence of, outstanding New South Wales swimmers such as Robin Biddulph, Bill Kendall, and Noel Ryan ! must have detracted from the interest of the Australian swimming championships, which were opened recently at , Perth. Nevertheless, there were some upsets, one o fwhich was the defeat of j Ron Masters, the Victorian and Empire Games champion, by l-10Qth of a point, for the springboard title, which , lie had held for some many years. Masters was beaten by another Vic- - torian, Dave Norris', who will be re- j called by members of the New Zealand team at the Empire Games as a very J keen performer on the boards. Masters retained his, high-tower diving title comfortably. Valerie George, the Vic- 1 torian breast stroke champion, estab- ( lished a West Australian women’s 1 220yds record in winning the State : title by 20yds in 3mm 16 2-ssec. Win- ( nie Dunn’s New Zealand record of 3min 19sec compares quite , well with this time. Percy Oliver, the Empire Games champion, ( was in brilliant form in the 110yds ] West Australian hack stroke champion- , ship, establishing a new State record s of Imin 8 4-ssec. The Australian re- ? cord is held by Oliver at Imin 7 . 9-10 see. DUAL MEET AT CIAMARU, ’ Although several of the senior mem- ] bers will still be iu Wellington after ( the National championships, a strong j contingent from the Kiwi Club will j take part in a dual meet with the ( Oamaru Club on February 17. The i programme has been arranged as fol- j lows; —soyds senior men’s free style, j 100yds senior men’s free style, 50yds i senior men’s breast stroke, 60 2-3ycls ] back stroke, 50 yds senior ] ladies’ free style, 50yds senior ladies’ breast stroke, 50yds senior i ladies’ back stroke, 50yds intermediate 1 boys’ free style, 100yds intermediate i boys’ free style, 50yds intermediate I hoys’ breast stroke, 50yds intermediate i boys’ back stroke, 50yds intermediate 1 girls’ free style. 50yds intermediate < girls’ breast stroke. 100yds fhree-a-sido medley relay (breast stroke, back f stroke, and free style), 133 J. -3yds lour- 1 a-side relay, and, diving. i!

SPLASHES. Joyce Macdonald is still a useful free style exponent. The ' national back stroke record holder not only improved upon her 200 metres back stroke New Zealand record at the recent Southland championships, but carried off' the 50yds ladies’ free style in 32sec. In Mr Dave Reid the Taieri Club has one of the most capable starters in Otago. He officiated at the annual carnival at Mosgiel on Saturday, and his work was uniformly good. The growing enthusiasm for the sport in the Taieri is due in no small measure to his efforts and those of Messrs C. G. Lucas and W. Scott. Mr Lucas was one of the leading lights in amateur cycling cQmpetitiou in Otago for years, and is now secretary of the Taieri Swimming Club. His organisation was responsible for the most successful carnival that has yet been held at Mosgiel. Now sports officer at Air Force sta-

tion at Taieri is W. N. Wood, formerly prominently associated with tlie St. Clair Surf Life Saving Club. He has always interested himself in swimming and life saving activities, and it is pleasing to learn that Air Force trainees will probably make an appearance in special handicap events at the Otago Centre’s carnival on February 22. A new departure was tried at the Southland championship meeting with a good deal of success, this being the Woolworth Cup Handicap, which has been presented to encourage children to Swim a further distance than the 33 l-3yds and 60yds. The events are divided into sections, and no finals are held except in the case of a tie after the last race of the series. , The competitor gaining most points in three races will bd the winner of the cup. The recent New Zealand intermediate and junior championship meeting showed that there is no lack of promising breast stroke material coming forward in Otago to take the places of the present titleholders when they move into higher divisions, and the 12-year-old Shirley Harrison, of the Kiwi Club, has shown marked advance in the last few weeks, her win in the 50yds intermediate and junior breast stroke handicap at Mosgiel on Saturday in 44 l-ssec being an impressive performance. Winner of the Canterbury 100yds championship last week in 67sec was H. Goldsmith, former Auckland swimmer, who actually learnt his swimming in Sydney, where he was a member at one time of the Bondi Club., Goldsmith, who is now a member of the Christchurch United Club, went to Sydney in 1938 at the time of the visit of the New Zealand surf team, and competed there. He is a first-rate surf man. His father is a member of the New Zealand Council.

Islay Purdie, Otago’s hope in the ladies’ free style events at the national championships at Wellington. showed on Saturday that while she has concentrated on distance work during the last few months she has lost none of her sprinting ability, and it was a fine effort on her part to register a shade over 40sec in gaining second place at Mosgiel on Saturday in the 66 2-3yds free style handicap'. Miss Purdie is swimming rhythmically and with all her old dash, and she ns bound to keep all the opposition busy at Wellington from 100yds to 440yds. The Otago. Centre has made an offer to the City Council to arrange demonstrations and instruction at the Chingford and W r oodhaugh Baths, and it has been referred to the superintendent of reserves for attention. It has also been suggested during the centre’s adult “ Learn to Swim ” campaign at the Municipal Baths from March 4 to March 9 the main baths should be limited to non-swimmers at certain periods, and the suggestion is to receive consideration when the arrangements for the week are being completed. Saturday afternoons will be fully occupied for swimmers in Otago during the next few weeks. The Toko. Club is staging its annual carnival on Saturday, and the main attraction will be the appearance of severeal members of the Southland intermediate and junior team in specially arranged handicap events. The following week the Kaikorai Club is holding its annual carnival at its baths, this being the first swimming fixture of Centennial Week. The Cromwell Club is also arranging a carnival on February 10. From Taranaki comes news of a swimmer who held Otago titles some years ago. This is C. J. M'Lcan, now a member of the Ohawe Surf Life Saving Club, who recently reached the semifinal of the Taranaki beltmen’s championship, in which he was beaten by his club mate, F. G. Ryan, who proved the ultimate winner. M'Lean was also a member of the winning six-man team for the Tabor Shield. M'Lean has been in swimming and surf competition a long time, and apparently retains his form remarkably well. At the country clubs’ championship meeting Elspeth Dow impressed as a hack stroke swimmer of possibilities, and the Balclutha girl more than confirmed that impression bv the way in which she won the 66 2-3yds interclub back stroke handicap at Mosgiel. She enters senior ranks next year. The Tokn. Club has many young swimmers coming forward, among' them being A. Wethey, who won the 66 2-3yds interclub free style handicap

from the 4sec mark in 44 2-ssec at Mosgiel on Saturday. Wethey has a nicely relaxed .style, plenty of dash and determination, and he does not make the mistake of hinny young swimmers of over-reaching for his catch. He went a fast lap for his club, which won the 33 l-3yds relay handicap, and another member of the winning team was J, W. Berry, better known as one of the best middle distance running prospects in the prpvince a year or two ago..