SWIMMING

Southland Times, Issue 23182, 24 April 1937, Page 19

SWIMMING

FINISH OF RACING SEASON (By “Lifebelt”) Wednesday evening saw the curtain fall on Southland’s racing season, when the final championship events were swum. Some good racing was seen, but times were not up to standard, This was partly due to the new method of starting and although some of the spectators appeared to blame the starter, to anyone understanding the new rule Mr Kingsland was quite in order. The new law states that:—“The starter shall use the preparatory command take your marks and there shall follow a sufficient length of time before the signal to start is given. The competitors shall remain stationary until the actual signal (shot, whistle or starting word) is given.” It should be noted that the words “take your marks’ is only a preparatory command and has nothing to do with the actual is in no way a warning such as “Get ready.” After that command, “a sufficient length of time before the signal to start is given” must follow, and this clearly shows that the actual starting word is a separate part of the procedure. This is the portion which deceived the swimmers that evening and caused false starts. The swimmers are used to “Get ready” and “Go” and mostly are moving on the “Get ready, the length of time elapsing before Go depending on the starter, and as Mr Kingsland has in the past always been with the swimmers, good * and fast starting has been seen. This has apparently led the swimmers to try once more to anticipate the actual command, but it cannot now be done. Unfortunately, the inception of this method saw a false start in all events but one, a very unusual happening for. Southland. The racing opened with five contesting the senior men’s 50 yards championship and began with all five hitting the water before “Go” was given. As a result of the rule which now disqualifies the person who breaks in the following start, everybody stood on the mark and a good half second at least was lost. Davis went to the front immediately and led Springford to the end b ytwo feet in 0.16 3-5. Osmond and Malthus were a similar distance behind Springford, with Kidd close. Coming to the distance, Davis finished with four feet to spare from Springford, who was two feet ahead of Osmond, who narrowly headed Malthus. Kidd was a further two feet back. The time was 0.26 1-5. The intermediate girls’ 50 yards saw Joyce Macdonald an easy winner from a novice in Margaret Kennedy. Once again a false start occurred and at the second attempt Miss Macdonald, although slow away, was well ahead of Miss Kennedy, and reached the 33 l-3yds with a lead of six feet, going on to win by more than four yards in the slow time of 0.34 4-5. Miss Macdonald was not troubled and did not appear to hurry. Her opponent, who is a beginner swimming for experience, swam a plucky race and will be heard more of next season. Junior Boys’ Event Lance Blaikie had a task to stave off W. Clouston in the junior boys 50 yards event. The only other starter, B. Challis, was outclassed. The time of 0.31 2-5 was only fair, but as in the other races there was a false start and the restart saw all three boys dwell badly and they lost at least one second on the mark. Going down the first lap Blaikie and Clouston were neck and neck, the former touching first in 0.19 3-5. Blaikie improved his position back to the rope and finished with three feet to spare. Challis was well back. It was a good race between the first two boys. The intermediate boys’ 50 yards saw the first true start of the evening, but all were away slow for all that. Keith Shaw took the lead early and gave his opponents no chance, covering the first lap in 0.16 3-5 and the 50 in 0.26 2-5 very fast times for an intermediate. Couling, who was fastest away, swam a good race to gain second place and recorded 0.28, finishing well in front of the other starter, Duthie. The events finished with an attempt by D. C. Berry on the time set up by Allan Brown of 0.84 3-5 for 110 yards backstroke. Swimming confidently, Berry swam well under the record and set up new figures of 0.81 2-5. He passed his first 100 yards in 0.73 2-5 and showed that he is still improving in this style. A doubt exists whether Berry should have attempted to swim 100 metres or 110 yards. In either case the record will probably stand, as 110 yards is the longer distance of the two. The Murihiku Club has finished in an unassailiable position for the Martin Cup, which is awarded to the club gaining most points in provincial 1 championships in all grades. The unofficial figures are:—Murihiku (167pts) 1, Ex-Pupils (102pts) 2, Collegiate (37pts) 3. The stimulus given to swimming at Hamilton by the holding of the New Zealand junior and intermediate championships in the Municipal Baths last year has disappeared entirely this season, principally because of the unpleasant summer weather. Attendances and performances at the South Auckland championship meeting are very disappointing. Compared with the 45,000 admissions to the baths during one season a year or two ago, only 4747 have been admitted so far this season. Of these children were in the minority for the first time. Last year there were almost twice as many admissions. This report is more or less typical of the reports from all centres this year and no doubt the local pool

will have the same to tell. One of the most unfortunate aspects of this year, is the loss of swimming instruction which is carried out by the baths staff with the primary schools. It is customary for the children of the fourth standard in all the primary schools to come to the baths and undergo a course of 13 lessons. There is no cost to the children and this is undoubtedly the finest educational scheme in any New Zealand baths. The effectiveness of the tuition is borne out by the last year’s figures supplied by the bath superintendent. They are as follows:—Number started, 374; average attendance, 336; off feet and able to swim, 345; percentage of swimmers or off feet to number started, 90.8; average attendance, 98.4 per cent. Cost to Education Board This is a summary of the fourth standard classes attending the baths during the months of February, March and April 1936. The small expense of approximately 7d a head is borne by the Southland Education Board. The total account amounted to under £l2. The last meeting of the City Council decided that the Herbert Smith Trust Cup races should be abandoned for this year. This seems to be the best course to follow. To hold them now would not reflect the true worth of the swimmers and in all probability very small fields would be entered. So far no information is available about the primary schools championships, but it is expected that these will share the same fate. At the last centre meeting it was decided to hold a social evening in the near future and a sub-committee was set up to go into the matter. The general opinion seemed to be that a social evening was perhaps a good way to bring the swimmers together again after the disastrous season, and also it is a splendid opportunity to present the various championship trophies won during the year. A date has not been set for the evening so far, but when it is definite it will be posted at the baths. The centre is counting on the support of all swimmers and those interested.