SWIMMING EDUCATION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16946, 30 January 1926, Page 11

SWIMMING EDUCATION.

PROGRESS OF RECENT YEARS. A SPLENDID WORK. Swimming as a sport lias made rapid strides during recent years, and this no doubt is due in a large measure to the attention paid by the New Zealand Council and tile Centres througout tlio Dominion to educating the children attending school in the* art of swimming. Some evidence of this advancement was given by Mr W. H. Benson, vicepresident of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Council, when speaking at Napier, at a function at which the swimmers of New Zealand extended their congratulations to their president, Mr W. IC. D. Bishop, on having for twenty-five years held the position of president of an administrative swimming body. “These few facts should' be of interest to tho youngea- swimmers,” stated Mr Benson, “for they will show the advancement made since Mr Bishop was elected president. Three members of the council at that time still hold their seats. Wo madb one of the wisest moves' in September, 1918, when wo elected Mr Bishop as our president.

“At that time there* wore nine associations .affiliated to the council hut in we find that number increased Ic>Vthirteen centres, a gain of 50 per cent, in seven years. In 1913 the New Zealand ladies’ 100 yard's record stood at linin. 15 2-sseo. Now it is linin. 5 3-ssp.c., an improvement of nearly 10 seconds. In tho schools we show a. big step forward, the certificates issued throughout tho Dominion in 1918 being 2308, as compared with tho big total of 12,539 in 1924. In 1918 wo inaugurated tho intermediate! championships. Going hack a little further, nineteen clubs were affiliated to the council in 1902. Twentythree years later wo find 85 clubs in the Dominion with .a. declared membership of 6668: In 1902 our total receipts, exclusive of the Government grant, amounted to £2O, hut in 1925, also exclusive of the Government grant, they were £250. Last year over 18,000 letters and circulars were dealt with by the Council of the Association. Our hope is that with increased Government assistance wo will be able to do more in the ischools and soon he. able to increase our certificates from 12.001) do 25.000.