SWIMMING

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 21 January 1928, Page 10

SWIMMING

CENTRE CHAMPIONSHIPS. DECISION NEXT WEEK. TARANAKI’S FOURTH GATHERING. (By “Narwhal. 77 ) In accordance with the decision of the Hawera Club at its committee meeting last week and the approval of the centre executive granted on W ednesclay, the provincial swimming championships are scheduled for decision at the Hawera baths next Wednesday. Though the formal announcement of the date was not made until this week swimmers throughout the province have been preparing for several weeks for the season’s trials of speed and endurance, and keen competition may be looked for. „ ~ „ The carnival will be the fourth of annual series since the constitution of the centre in March, 1924. The three carnivals which.have been held have shown steady progress. At the first centre * championship meeting, which took place at New Plymouth on January 31, 1925, entries (exclusive of diving) were received in twelve individual swimming events. The 1926 championships held at Hawera found competitors in fourteen, and at last season’s gathering held at New Plymouth on February 12, the number, in which competition was forthcoming was sixteen.

Last season’s increase was particularly meritorious iu view of the fact that the schedule, being based on the national championship programme, did not include five short distance events which figured at both previous meetings. These were the men’s 50 yards free style, the ladies’ 50 yards back stroke and 50 yards free style, and the 50 yards junior boys’ free style; while a further contest —the 50 yards ladies’ breast stroke—-which appeared in the 1926 list, was also eliminated last year. All of these events offered attraction to entrants on account of the comparatively short distances involved, and the fact that, despite their elimination, an increase in actual competion was shown gave unmistakeable indication of the growing popularity of the sport in the province. SYDNEY RECORD BREAKER. Bonnie Mealing, of the Sydney Telephone’s Club has capped all her other efforts by covering a 100 yeards backstroke in 77 4-ssec, surpassing Ena Stockley’s Australian record by 2 1-osec, "and her Australian champion sister (Mattie’s) Australian-born best of 82 3-ssec, by 4 4-ssec. Bonnie swam in a woollen costume. It was an astonishingly good effort for a girl just entered her teens. Bonnie Mealing’s performance places her with Andrew Charlton, at the top of the list of candidates for inclusion in Australia’s team of swimmers for the Olympic Games. No giri in the world has recorded such speedy time for 100 yards at back stroke singe the death of* Olympic swimmer Sybil Bauer.

Bonnie Mealing’s swim was put up in the Domain Ladies’ Baths in a club handicap on December 30, and was clocked by tow reliable timers. Bath manager Mr. Chas, Griffiths is quite satisfied that the time is correct. Bonnie was competing in a 100 yards tree-style handicap, but swam backstroke, and was handicapped to do Slsec. Hazel Taylor and Marjory Shade handicapped to do 74sec, never got near her. At the rate she was swimming Bonnie would have covered 100 metres in better than 85sec.

Tlie world’s speediest woman backstroke swimmer over 100 metres today :i« Miss M. den Turk, of Rotterdam, who recently won the 100 metres championship of Holland in 86sec. No English girl has done better than, 79 sec for 100 yards this season —in fact, the championship of Britain Southern Counties was recently won by Miss Ivy Clifford in S2sec, who defeated the national champion. x America’s best 100 yards time by a girl at backstroke this season is 78 4-ssec, put up by E. Delaney in the U.S.A. title.

BEST SINCE FANNY DURACK. Another Sydney girl whose claims for inclusion in the Olympic team are good is 17-year-old Violet Armstrong, of Telephone’s Club. In successive swims Violet—a splendidly proportioned athlete —has swum 100 yards in 68 l-sseo and 67 3-ssec, and last Saturday she delighted her clubmates by winning a heat of 300 yards handicap in 66 4-ssee, the fastest time put up by an Australian girl since Fanny Durack’s record of 66sec at Googee Aquarium in 1912. In the final on Saturday, conceding 2osec to her nearest opponent, Miss Armstrong recorded 68 sec, without pace. Despite the fact that English girl Joyce Cooper has been credited with 63 4-ssec, the championship of Britain was recently won in 68 l-ssec, by Miss Mabel Hamblen, while Martha Noreluis won America’s title in 64sec in a short pool.