SWIMMING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19351, 11 December 1924, Page 5

SWIMMING.

By Neptune.

The new ivaikorai baths, which will be opened on Saturday, are the biggest in New Zealand, being 45ft wide and 145 ft long. In addition to the actual ceremony there will also be a short programme of championship events for boys and girls, one or two races for adults, and several (living events.

The dangers of surf bathing can not be 100 strongly emphasised to swimmers, and to the strong swimmer especially there is often a great temptation to venture beyond the breakers. Countless drowning accidents have occurred in this way, and Dunedin unfortunately has also had its .share of such fatalities. St. Clair and St. Kilda are not lieaches where one cun afford to take risks, as the currents are always changing and are very powerful. I know this from experience, and others have lost their lives through finding it out too late. St. Clair Club does its best by placing rod flags at certain spots whore it is safe to bathe and if swimmers confine themselves to these places they are reasonablly safe. In Australia the Government has given every assistance to the Surf and Life Saving Clubs, and there is little or no danger to the surf bather, providing ordinary care is exorcised in not going out too far to sea. The clubs are allotted a particular area of the beach which only one club controls at one time. The men are composed of enthusiastic young swimmers who have banded together for the sole purpose of training and perfecting themselves in the art of life-saving in tho surf. All members must pa.ss a , very severe test, and if they do not pass the test after a period of three months they forfeit their membership. The clubs insist than all members take up patrol work, safeguarding bathers on Saturday afternoons, Sundays, and holidays. For this purpose tho membership is divided into patrols, of four to six, who work to a roster, relieving one another like soldiers at the expiration of their period of guard. During the summer these swimmers give up practically the whole of their spare time in the interests of their work. America has initiated an idea in developing junior swimmers along champion lines, and the East Sydney Club has adopted the scheme. A board is used, similar to a surf board, though not quite so big, for teaching the juniors the correct kick and timing. Tho learner will bo supported by the hoard in the water, his position being as natural as possible. Then, instead of using his arms, ho will bo instructed in the art of kicking, special attention being paid to timing and stylo. To perfect his kick the beginner may have to spend many months on the board before his arm work is considered. When he is theoretically all right he will be taught to swim over the distance which suits him best.

The Americans do things thoroughly. At the Olympic Games they arrived provided with their own diving boards, which they substituted for the French boards. They took good care, too. that the opposition did not get any tips from them while they were training, for they guarded their training operations jealously against observation by representatives of other nations. All their preparations and care, however, were of no uso against a better diver, and the Australian, Dick Eve, got the verdict of the judges. Kalsua. Takaishi, the swimmer, lives somewhere in Japan. The swimming authorities in Australian have learned that, to their dismay, and are at their wits’ end to find him. Nobody seems to know where the youthful Japanese has settled since his return from Paris, and the authorities, who cabled nn invitation to him, care of a Nippon newspaper, do not yet know whether he will visit Australia this season. There is not a great dea! of time to spare, either, if he is not to miss the season. Fortur ately, the Japanese Consul in Sydney has taken up the matter, so that Takaishi should lie located soon. The Japanese is not much more than 15, and was really one of the surprises at the Olympic Gomes, where ho swam splendidly. The opinion is that ho has since improved considerably, and should give Australia’s best representatives as much strenuous swimming as they desir.

Mr H. R. Kelly (hon. secretary of the Australian Swimming Upion) has received n definite acceptance by Sam Kahanamoku, the Hawaiian swimmer, of the invitation to participate in the New South Wales and Australian swimming championships to bo held in Sydney shortly. The visitor is a brother of tire famous Duke Pao Kahanamoku, who performed sensationally in Sydney some years ago. The Hawaiian is a good swimmer over distances from 100 yards to tho quarter-mile, and is, also an adept at the back stroke.

American critics rank fhe coming visitor as their next best sprinter to the world’s champion, John Weissmuller. The Victorian Amateur Swimming Association has taken steps to recognise the performances of Frank Beaurepaire who for the past 16 years has been the leading swimmer of the State. It has been proposed that every season there will bo a points competition for championship events only, and the winning club will gam possession for 12 months of the Beaurepaire Shield. Thus the trophy is for perpetual competition. It is also intended to present Beaurepaire with an illuminated address. The Christchurch Ladies’ A.S.C. has commenced its series of races for the Brown Oup with the 25‘ yards race. Seven entrants competed, with the following result: —Mrs D. Henry 1, Miss T. Morrissey 2, Miss K. Gray 3. Not since, 1906 have the prospects of swimming been so poor in Auckland (says a northern writer). No spirit of pessimism pervades this declaration, he adds. With only two definite and two indefinite carnival dates announced before the New Year, no other conclusion could be arrived at. The reason is not hard to discover, for the restriction on attendances at the Tepid Baths has demoralised t.bo sj out. When the graving dock was dismantled there were misgivings amongst those who realised that with its closing went the finest swimming pool in Now Zealand. The generosity of the Auckland Harbour Board extended before the free use of the dock. It imposed no disabilities in the way of restricted attendances or irksome regulations. It is high time that the twimming community of Auckland made it* influence felt in municipal matters, with tho definite object of removing the hardships under which the sport labours in Auckland. Tiro Auckland City Council professes to be alarmed at the possibility of a panic at a crowded carnival in tho Tepid Baths, but at the same lime it shuts its eyes to a real danger in the overhanging cliffs at the Point Resolution Baths. Already one fail of several tons of clay has wrecked a shed and, beyond clearing away the debris and repairing the damage, nothing has been done to improve the position. “Header,” in the Evening Post, observes that the tendency seems to be of late to concentrate on winning the sprint event (100 yards) at tho national championship, and although this event is generally regarded as being the blue riband of swimming tho other events carry equally as high honours, and should bo just as much coveted. Boy Charlton’s Olympic honours were gained over a distance, and ho probably received greater recognition in this manner than if he had won the sprint event, so that in a similar, though smaller degree, the same could be taken to apply to our national championships. During the coming season there is an, excellent opportunity of some really good distance swimmer securing ebampionshio honours, especially remembering that C. Atkinson, the present quarter, half, and mile championship holder, may, by reason of his occupation, find it a matter of difficulty to put in tho required amount of training necessary to successfully defend his titles." lie is so thorough in his methods that if not properly fit he would rather not contest those events than swim and do himself and Ins province tin injustice. This is not an indication that he will not be a starter, and nothing is known to that effect one way or the other, but even if ho does compete that fact in itself is ns reason why other distance swimmers could not have equal opportunity of gaining tho high honours. During last week an enthusiast and ex-competitor, who covers a good deal of the North Island, during tho course of a discussion, said; “Tell me why so many of our swimmers nowadays go for the 100 yards championship and leave the distances alone? I do think that as far as New Zealand is concerned at the present time, tho further the race tho easier it is to win. Roughly estimating the starters in this season’s 100 yards championship, there will bo about six from Auckland, two from Wanganui, four from Wellington,' Christchurch three. South Canterbury, Napier, and Otago one each, say 17 nominations, and in the half and mile about five. Now, I ask you, which is the easiest to win? I understand that Leo Kronfold is coming back to the game this season, and bearing in mind his swimming of former years, and his efforts during the latter end of last season, I do not think ho will have any difficulty in doing 58 seconds for tho 100 yards. In fact. 1 would go so far as to say that, if he trains seriously and gets into first-class condition, ho could win tho Australasian championship. What chance, then, have our other swimmers got of boating him? I ebliovo ho is going to confine himself mostly to the shorter events.

in which case half of his expected opponents would surely do better if they trained for the longer distances.” There is much to lie digested in these remarks which were made for the guidance of those swimmers (“Header” adds), whose energies have perhaps been misapplied in the past, and not with a view to discourage them. Certain it is that many competitors in past sprint events have bad little chance of success, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that better results would have been achieved by them over longer distances. The present, period of the season is a good tune for swimmers to estimate for themselves which particular distance is likely to suit them, and by the time the Christmas holidays are over, the strict training necessary |o obtain the proper fitness for whatever the distance may be. can he seriously entered upon. The old saving, “never venture, never win,” still holds good. Private information from .Auckland confirms the intimation that L. Kronfeld will be an active competitor during the coming season. The news will be welcome to swimmers and supporters throughout the dominion. On the previous occasions that iAo has been a competitor at national chamnionships he has been one of the most prominent contestants, and several smart performances stand to his credit.