SWIMMING

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVI, Issue 11, 24 December 1925, Page 15

SWIMMING

r pHE Heretaunga Club’s weekly club night last Friday was well up to tlie high standard set by previous carnivals. The attendance was good, the swimming well up to standard, and some of the diving remarkably good.

Geddes is in fine form his season as far as diving is concerned, and is showing tlie results of earnest and specialised practice in this branch of the sport. As recently as last season Miss Hood am] Miss Jones were always capable of extending him, and more often than not they beat him. This season, however, he has added to his repertoire of fancy dives, and is, moveover, executing them with a neatness and precision that should make him hard to beat in any company. Miss Hood is also diving well, and should again be hard to beat in the ladies’ diving championship. * * * Crooks is showing good form at present, and though to the eye he appears to carry a bit too much condition he is really at his best when a little on the big side.

Rose is swimming well, but his judgment is not ol the best. In one of 'his races last week he dawdled along over the first part of the race, evidently expel ling his field to come back to liim towards the finish. However, they had other ideas on the matter, and his final dash was too late to land the trophy.

The teams race, as usual, provided a dash of excitement, and it is the means of bringing a lot of young swimmers to the front. The last meeting of the Centre, by the way. devoted a good hour of its valuable time to a discussion of the certainly inelegant names favoured by some of the teams figuring in this competition. One would have thought such a small matter would have been easily disposed of, but the heads took the matter quite seriously, and the matter was exhaustively discussed in all its bearings. A resolution was eventually passed calling the club’s attention to the inelegance, not to say vulgarity, of some of the names, and we may accordingly look for an improvement shortly.

Miss Ena Stockley. the Auckland crack, who is to go to Australia shortly at the invitation of the swimming authorities of New South Wales, was in Wanganui last Saturday night. She was the principal attraction at an evening carnival, where her swimming made a great impression. During the evening she made an attempt to break the 50 yards record, but though she swain well, the best she could do was 30 3-5 2-ssec. outside the record. Swimming is flourishing in the riverside town, and Miss Stockley’s visit is expected to still further stimulate interest.

The question of compulsory swimming in schools was ventilated at <1 recent meeting of the Auckland Primary Schools Committees’ Association. The’ Education. Department wrote to the el feet that a resolution had been passed by the New Zealand Educalional Institute that while swimming w;i:-> to be encouraged wherever possible, conwulsion was impracticable and inadvisable. The Department further stated that this resolution coincided with its frequently expressed opinion on the subject. The Minister of Education also wrote stating that he approved of the granting of subsidies up to a maximum of .£2OO on local contrihut ions towards the cost ol baths. The Alinistcr added that it was gratifying to learn that the subject of swimming had been enthusiastically taught in ii large number of the schools in New Zealand, esneciaily during the last year or two, 12,500 certificates having been issued last year. The, Auckland Education Board has also been moving in the direction of having swimming made compulsory in schools where facilities exist, but the Department secs no reason to alter its previous decision in the matter. * » * Kronfeld’s record 1.50 yards at Auckland recently, when he cut the distance out in 99 3-ssec., beat tlie_ previous record bv no less than 7 2-ssec. We have still some distance to go before we get New Zealand times down to the Australian standard, for the. Australian record for the distance stands at 94sec., sec., put up bv Cecil Healy in 19T0. ’*’ * * 1 rank Doyle, the Australian 100 yards champion, put up a good performance over 220 yards recently, when ho swam the distance in 2min. 35sec., the fastest time recorded by a Sydney swimmer this season. Queensland has discovered a boy marvel in M. J. Bliss. 17 years of age and 6ft. 2in. tall, who looks likely ro make Frank Doyle, the present Australian 100 yards champion, go for his | life when they meet. A week or so ago he won dm Queensland 100 yards cham-pi-e.Jiip Hl .‘<7 l-fisoc. great finio for '<• . ;•! |y 111 lhe -e.l'Oll.