SWIMMING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23689, 22 December 1938, Page 5

SWIMMING

By Neptune

COMING EVENTS January 15.—Batt Cup Harbour swim. Macandrew Bay. January 21.—Country Clubs' Cham pionships at Cromwell. January 26 to 28.—New Zealand Intermediate and Junior Championships, at Rotorua. February 14 to 18.—New Zealand National Championships, at Invercargill. INTERMEDIATE AND JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS The following is the programme for the national intermediate and junior championship meeting, which is to be held at Rotorua from January 25 to January 28:— nn „ , Wednesday. January 25.-100 Yards Intermediate Boys' Freestyle, 220 Yards Intermediate Girls' Freestyle, 220 Yards Junior doys' Freestyle, 50 Yards Junior Girls' Backstroke, 100 Yards Intermediate Boys' Backstroke, Intermediate Girls' Dive (No. Ba, backward header; No. 20b, backward spring, forward dive; No. 25a, halfscrew forward, running; all from 10ft board; three voluntaries); 75 Yards Junior Boys' Breaststroke. Thursday, January 26.—440 Yards Intermediate Boys' Freestyle, 100 Yards Intermediate Girls' Backstroke 100 Yards Junior Boys' Freestyle, 50 Yards Junior Girls' Freestyle, 100 Yards Intermediate Boys' Breaststroke, 75 Yards Intermediate Girls' Breaststroke, Junior Boys' Dive (No. 2c, somersault forward, low board; No. 20, half-screw forward, running, low board; two voluntaries); Junior Girls' Dive (No. 2c, somersault forward, low board; No. 25, half-screw forward, running, low board; two voluntaries). Friday.—Free day. Saturday, January 28.-220 Yards Intermediate Boys' Freestyle, 100 Yards Intermediate Girls' Freestyle, 75 Yards Junior Boys' Backstroke, 100 Yards Junior Girls' Freestyle; 50 Yards Junior Girls' Breaststroke, Intermediate Boys' Dive (No. 3, flying somersault forward, running; No. 15b, Mollberg, full Gainer, running; No. 27a, one screw forward, running; all from 10ft board; three voluntaries). In addition to the championships, a lengthy programme of handicap events has been included in the meeting. The carnival will be held in the famous Blue Baths, which, it is understood, will be specially filled with ordinary water. HONOUR FOR A VETERAN In recommending that the grand old man of swimming in Otago, Mr Alexander Greig, be the recipient of a New Zealand honorary blazer, the Otago Swimming Centre is seeking for him an honour that is no more than his due. Recognition of services such as have been rendered to the sport by Mr Greig can hardly be tendered adequately—he has done so much, and done it so unassumingly. One has only to consider the champions he has turned out in the past 10 years to realise what an immense amount of time and work he has given voluntarily to the cause of swimming, but it should also be recognised that the competitive side of the sport has only been incidental to his principal aim—the teaching of any youngster who wished to learn to swim. Irrespective of what club they belonged to, those who desired to learn or to improve their strokes had only to ask Mr Greig, and his knowledge and advice were always available, and. what is more, at any time. Looking back, one can recollect such fine breaststrokers as Geoff. Chambers, Winnie Dunn, W. Dyson. Reg. Geddes. Mary Stewart, Bob Peat, every one of them a champion and a record-breaker, and many others, who owe everything they ever knew to "Grandpa." As a breaststroke coach, he has a record that will probably never be equalled in the Dominion, and now that he is retiring it will be difficult to imagine a carnival without some of his pupils taking part. As one.of the centre's official timekeepers, Mr Greig has held a watch at practically every important meeting that has been held in Dunedin during the past 15 years, and even without a watch he had an uncanny faculty of knowing just how.' any swimmer was going. On the administrative side of the centre's activities he served as a delegate for his club (Kiwi), and as a vice-president, and his utterances at centre meetings were always characterised by a knowledge of what he was speaking about and sound common sense. Every swimmer in Dunedin will miss him, and he will retire with the knowledge that he has the respect and goodwill not only of the centre, but of every club affiliated to it. THE REPRESENTATIVE TEAM Although small numerically, the team chosen to represent Otago at the National Intermediate and Junior Championships has quality, and on performances there are at least three of the chosen seven who are reasonably sure of being at or near the top of the placings at Rotorua. First and foremost, there is Christine Garvin, who, in view of her times at the Otago Championships, looks to be a distinct prospect for the intermediate girls 100 and 220 yards freestyle events. Then there is the sturdy young Kiwi lad, Colin Sell, who has some fine performances to his credit. Whoever beats him at Rotorua, particularly in the junior boys' 100 and 200 yards, should become the proud possessor of one or two New Zealand titles. Mary Stewart is the province's hope in the intermediate girls' breaststroke event, and here, again, Otago should come very near capturing another point Noeline Peat has to do 41 seconds for the 50 yards before she clinches her place as the representative in the junior girls' breaststroke, but she should manage this without difficulty. The holder of the intermediate girls' diving title, Rita Smith, will go north to defend it, and J. Purdie and Mavis Strong will contest the junior boys' and girls' dives respectively. All of these have more than an even chance of bringing home a championship, so that, taken all round, Otago's little team might succeed in having another plate for the province affixed to the waMemorial Shield. SPEEDY AUSTRALIANS A new distance swimmer of unusual promise has been found in Rex Blow, of Sandgate Club, Brisbane, who recently won the 400 Metres Metropolitan Championship in smin 30 3-ssec, compared with Queensland champion, Merv. Witt's time of smin 34 l-ssec in the Queensland title race in the same baths. Blow had a great tussle with surf champion Alan Imrie over the whole distance. This pair, with Witt and Bill Fleming, promise some dazzling racing in this year's title races. Sprint champion, Bill Fleming, the Queenslander who toured the South Island three years ago, is striking his best form early, and in two fast 100 yards sprints recently recorded 56sec, 55 l-ssec. He followed with 440 yards in smin 24 l-ssec. Fleming has registered smin 20sec for the quarter, but his time is excellent for so early in the season. AUCKLANDERSIN FORM Several of the performances at the North Shore Amateur Swimming and Life-saving Club's carnival in the tepid baths last week indicated that there are swimmers in Auckland who will be extremely successful in championship events this season (says the New Zealand Herald). Although the swimming and competition were well up to anticipations, the scant interest of the public was discouraging. In this respect the carnival added weight to the opinion that carnivals should be promoted by the Auckland Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association and all clubs in combination, equally sharing any losses or profits. Unity would increase competitive interest, tend to more spectacular carnivals, attract greater public support, and lighten the financial burden generally. The present system has. season after season, proved itself to bo at fault, and no more can be lost if the system by which clubs join forces is ?iven a trial.