SWIMMING ITEMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22353, 26 February 1936, Page 21

SWIMMING ITEMS

DOMINION CHAMPIONSHIPS OTAGO'S YALDHURST SHIELD SECRETS OF ITS SUCCESS Tho Otago Swimming Centre's victory for the Yaldhurst Shield at the Xew Zealand championships, the first accomplished by its representatives, creates the belief that, free of the necessity of travelling, it simply had the best swimmers in adequate numbers to outpoint Auckland and Canterbury. However, this assumption is misplaced, as behind the victory were systematic plans, which may hold the sliield in Otago's keeping for two or three seasons more, The resources are there, one instance being the manner in which Otago youngsters swept the pool nt the recent intermediate and junior championships, retaining the War Memorial Shield. Enthusiasm was the root of Otago's all-round superiority. An arresting feature was the pleasantness within the centre and among the various clubs, all officials being imbued with eagerness to advance the sport. The centre is fortunate in having an honorary secretary with the capacity for organisation, such as is possessed by Mr. E. C, Isaacs, whose energy and enterprise seemed infectious. For developing swimmers, Dunedin excels in New Zealand, the methods resembling American and Japanese. A visit to club swims revealed the thoroughness with which a knowledge of correct swimming is being taught. Held in the early evening, the swim of the .Kiwi Club, which is claimed to be the largest in New Zealand, was attended by over 100 children, who were grouped for coaching by seniors. The Zenith Club has its own tepid pool, 25 yards long, in the buildings of the Young Men's Christian Association. Members contribute to the upkeep of the pool, and are constantly supervised by their coach, being required to attend classes daily according to their grading. The winning of the War Memorial and Yaldhurst Shields is the logical outcome of this unrestrained keenness. Whether the trophies themselves are of value to the sport is questionable, but the fact that Otago has surpassed the rest of the Dominion will attract public interest to the work of its city and country clubs. THE FOREMOST SPRINTER HUNDRED YARDS TO FRANKHAM Of closest interest to Aucklanders were the wins of Frankham and Miss Mona Leydon. Many southerners considered Frankham hicky to be sprint champion, questioning his obedience to the regulations, but whatever mistakes he made, if he did commit any, he was undoubtedly the foremost sprinter. It was refreshing to see him, a very temperamental swimmer, gather in the field by sheer determination after failing on a turn. Not cnce did he break from his glide and balance. Hanan, the runner-up, also did remarkably well and is worthy of every commendation. 111-health and staleness have been named as tho reasons for W. J. Jarvis' defeat. Plainly, he was not carrying enough weight, yet it seems he failed in the championship alone. In the flying squadron race he clocked 56 2-ss, as did Frankham, this time bettering the latter's in the titlo event by four-fifths of a second. TITLES FOR MISS LEYDON FINE TECHNIQUE IMPRESSES To anyone accustomed to seeing Miss Leydon swimming, her successes in the 220 yds. and 440 yds. were never in doubt. Her task in the furlong was lightened by the failure of Miss Nancy Basstian, Southland, to reproduce her form at Auckland last season, yet she could not afford the slightest easing of effort against the solid rivalry of the improved Otago girl, Miss Maxine Mathieson. Miss Leydon left Dunedin enthusiasts as delighted as Aucklanders by her rare ability and fine technique. The Auckland lady sprint champion, Miss Violet Coulthurst, owes her defeat in the 100 yds. chiefly to her greater deficiency of stamina, as she was leading at 70yds. Steady improvement has been her commanding asset this season. Her main hope of becoming a national champion is by precision and smoothness of style, and in this respect her chances are quite favourable. SPORT OF CYCLING DOMINION CHAMPIONSHIPS CHANCES OF AUCKLAND RIDERS ~ 7 1 Keen interest is being taken locally j in the Dominion cycling championship meeting to be held next Saturday at j the fast, asphalt track at Cook's Gardens, Wanganui. Auckland will be rep- ; resented by the largest and strongest i team it. has entered during the past j 12 years. M. P. Byrnes appears to have a splendid chance in the unpaced kilometre event. The Wellington provincial j title was won by R. Ulmer in Irn 18 j 2-ss, while A. Giles won the Canter- j bury event in the same time. Byrnes, j a past master at sprinting and equally | outstanding at unpaced track work, ; holds the Dominion record at 1m 10 .'{-ss, a time he established in 1933 at j Western Springs Stadium. At his own | club's championship this season Byrnes ; clocked lm 17 4-ss. R. T. Taylor, the j Pa pa toe toe Club rider, who won the j Auckland provincial title in lm 19 | 3-ss, is another rider with good pros- j pects in both the unpaced and sprint ! events. j Auckland's strongest riders in the j kilometre sprint event will be Byrnes, | Taylor and, should he be able to par- j ticipate, A. G. Patrick. C. R. Gooder j did well at the Dominion meeting last | year, but rode disappointingly at the i local championships this month. The I 10 miles title race promises to provide a duel between F. ,). Grose and Giles, of Canterbury, It, Ulmer, P. and T. lioe, of Wellington, and Byrnes, Taylor and Gooder, Auckland. Unfortunately L. H. Dwight, winner of the local championship, will not be available. The junior half-mile event is fairly open. The Aucklander, J. H, Gillbanks, is definitely a fast sprinter, but he should meet with strong opposition from the Pet-one rider, P. Hoe, who won the Wellington title event in 6-3 l-ss. The Manukau Cluh has another splendid recruit in a junior rider, E. G. Mynott, who won two races at the Ota huh ti Club sports Inst week. In both the half-mile and mile, he displayed rare speed and his acceleration from the mark was pronounced. He has had four months as a junior and is de,finitely a back-division rider. A. McInnarney, the well-known scratch junior of the Papatoetoe Club, had a hard ride to finish second to Mynott. The Papatoetoe rider, C. W. Allan, finds the Sturges Park grass track at Otahuhu admirably suited to his style of riding. He won the two miles event from G. H. Cunningham, who distinguished himself at the last scratch race meeting by winning five races in six starts.