SWIMMING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20322, 2 February 1928, Page 5

SWIMMING.

By Neptune.

And so Uio championships are finished—and the local swimming world’s glorious and crowed week has come to an end. And what a week it was! We actually saw m action champions whom we know only oy repute. Wo iiad all heard that Lindsay was a champion; after his wonderful displays, w© know now he is. Ena block icy, Moorehouse, Fairgray, Dowsett. Cameron, ami Gladys I’idgcou arc now more than only names. As far as (he conduct and organisation of the meeting wore concerned, it was an unqualified success. Of course, hitches occurred now and then, but these m no case interfered with the general smooth running of the carnival. Moreover, it must be remembered that the present executive, as a body had not had the experience previously of running a meeting on such a big scale, and therefore, to the members everv credit is due for bringing the championships to such a successful conclusion. In its chanmionsbip secretary Mr L. O James, the centre was fortunate in having the right man in the right place. .His unflagging energy, keenness and organising abilitv had much to do with the success ol the meeting, and in the initial stages ot preparation for the carnival, he drew on a fund of experience in championship matters which proved invaluable to the executive. Another who worked hard throughout was the centre president. Mr J. MTncloc, "n° attended to a muitilr.de of minor details as well as his official position in a particularly efficient and whole-hearted fashion. Another official who was rarely in uio limelight, but who, nevertheless was responsible to a 'large extent for keeping the wheels running smoothly, was Mr E. \ • Gcrrard, the carnival superintendent. H)s "‘as an onerous and somewhat thankless job, but is doubtful whether anyone could have pt formed if as efficiently or with as. little fuss as he did. A word of praise is also due to the Property and Entertainment Committees. The former committee es specially performed its duties admirab y and always had such material as wasi required on hand punctually and ni good order The baths custodian, Mr • Mathieson. and his assistant were also J groat assistance, and gave then gratuitously night after night. r • time did they appear to be much m e denes, but one and all, the carmva offic. and the competitors are loud m thei praises of the willing help given by tnc-e tV Tho°hS, as I have already .mnarked^ were few and far between, but I should bo sorrv to s.eo the most °f £ which was distinctly against all mines taasrA in “ & SfGS&S, t ! ia r t r Mr a W^Jonkms’-s"ability as a lEtc?“b» t a r •&&S&SSXS. unfair thing to da M do aJssis tanl til approved of Mi J<* k rcle(r , atc d him to starter, and then ca , y need for his sevtho " ba J Now' 1 Mr°Jenkfns has had 15 vices arose. INo ".; , art in ß and everyone years’ experience “J 5 • t;i , the starting who has seen him off <>' ° ag {pw> i£ anv , board recognises that then, superiors m A™ a “ o inlcd? The startMr could have been unproved on cqnsuleiabl >• during the The ventilation o/, th « d d ’Question, meeting was a m the public were led and the centre thc mim c would to understand that the u havc done attend to the matter. | £ y l n noticed, fhi ,»re fat'd did Ih. asmosplicrc ol from the meeting. v near to r.v«'Sfiittio U, SZ; for C^trophy|w<mld Otago players te any peat £ he as [ime 3 Itv m-tising they did remarkably' well, but the point arises Whj and none of the referees appeared to be able to control the games. + i.. Congratulations toC a nterbui> inc the Yaldhurst Shield, also to Otago for scoring second highest points. £ere fact of our own province thus running into second place shoukl gn e ade cided boost to the sport locally, tt is a peculiar fact that in the matter of a P° i ; esnecially in swimming, we have been in SiS to deprecate onr own J™ we know what we can do, and it theraor behoves us to bring on all our promising material as much as possible, and see it wc cannot within the next two years wrest the shield from the holders. W. Cameron again put up a gieat su in the 100yds intermediate boys chain nionship and proved that, if he is not overcome by the honours he has won he Vn« a great future before him. tie nas M1 S thp g cmalifications of a champion but youthful athlete has been SP Writin|rfcA„eld.ndS.ar.,"A,.phibfm” !»«t before the chanpiojn.hip meeting commented as follows: Meut has sometimes to force itself, and tajun,. of the lay-out of the championS omi»“te| d Sr“h“ «oydi Sr chSionship, which, eventuates after her programme as an intermediate las been fulfilled. This will enable her to have a tilt at Miss Miller over the latter’s pet distance. It may savoui ot a A..;,,™ hirrh caTne/* but more unlikely thS g ha -e happened. Should this mateIS, the ladies controlling the destinies of swimming in Australia will be greatly mat™ . In view of their experience in 1923? when Miss V. Waldron’s defeat of Miss P. Hocft at Timaru upset their calculations, a postponement until after the holding of the New Zealand championships would have been adVl ]?ossibly so. I also should have liked to see Miss Champion pitted against M ss Miller in the 440yds. In • icw ol the Otago champion’s easy win and the fact that she was by no means extended, it would have been an interesting go between Miss Grant and Miss Champion for second K. Sylow, Auckland has a breaststroke swimmer of more than average merit, and it was unfortunate that ho was unable to try conclr ions with the Can*' ury exponent and holder ot tne title E. C. Heard. Sylow is delightful to watch, and I have rarely seen anything so near perfection as his breaststroke. As present day standards have it, ms stroke is somewhat unorthodox, ae he keeps his head up all the time. Nevertheless, this appears to detract neither from his speed nor his grace. . . ~ , f Another pretty exposition was that ot Moorehouse in the backstroke event. He is one of those exponents of a particularly difficult stroke who come to light only once in a while, and it is doubtful whether there is his equal in Australia or New Zealand to-day; unless, perhaps, it is h airgrny, of Auckland. . . The following progressive times, tor Lindsay’s swim in the Half-mile indicate what ;i wonderful distance swimmer the burly Canterbury champion is:—looyds, 65 4-ssec; 200yds, 2min 19 2-ssec; .'100x1,;. 3min 44 2-ssec; 400yds, smin 6 2-ssoc: 440yds, smin 38 2-ssec; 500yds, Cmin 30.se ; 600yds, 7min 52sec; 700yds, Omni 15sec: 880yds. llmin 45 4-sscc. Does anyone know how long J. Lnvvright, the Auckland veteran, has been swimming? I recollect him in flic forefront of the Lomiuions swimmers mamyears ago, and he appears to be s fresh as ever. Even now it is doubtful if any swimmer in the South Island could run away from him over the 100 yards, and his amazing swim in the Kollerman Cup contest bowed that he is by no means a back number over a distance. Ideal i nditions attended the Kellerman Cup contest, and as in tne case of the championships, the organisation was excellent. R. J. Webster, who returned the fastest time last year, managed to do the same in this race, but he had to swim to beat Emvright’s time of Ihr 22min 28src by 13scc. Miss Copplestone thoroughly deserved her win, and although on her time, and the distance she won by, she appeared to have been somewhat leniently treated by the handicappcr, she really put up an excellent performance, and certainly swam by far the best course of all the competitors. Morpeth, the Wellingtonian, who is well-known in connection with the Kellerman Cup swims, was unlucky in not getting second place, ns by swimming the course over which he was piloted he must have covered quite

a quarter of a mile more than any of the other swimmers, in addition to having to contend with a nasty tide-rip at the end of the retaining wall. As was expected, the men’s diving title did not leave Otago, and that doughty pair, Calder and Walker, worthily' upheld the honour of the province. The ladies’ championship was quite safe with Miss Hood, who dived beautifully throughout. Miss Foote, the runner-up, also gave a good display, and with mere experiencewill be hard to beat. The other Otago lady competitor, Miss Eggers, could hardly be expected to dive up to championship form, as she had been in training only for a short time prior to the championships. Notwithstanding this, some of her dives were very good, and her display generally was considerably above the average. With practice, she will make a good diver. The surf championships were an unqualified success, and the work of the winning teams was an eye-opener to the thousands of spectators who thronged the beach. Apparently, however, most of these spectators who were undoubtedly given a good day’s amusement, failed to realise that the competing teams were at any and all times entirely at the service of the public, and that whilst their efficiency is brought about by hard practice, their uniforms and gear have to be paid for. Of course, the club subscriptions go a long way towards tins, but outside help and recognition are always welcome. It was, therefore, distinctly disappointing to find that the collections for the day amounted to a little over £6, or, roughly, a halfpenny per head for each spectator. Yet, each and every one of them would be only too glad to avail themselves of life-savers’ services if they wore caught by the undertow; so, to help these sportsmen along, they subscribed on an average of one halfpenny each. Splendid!