SOUTHLAND SWIMMERS PERFORMED WELL AT ROTORUA

Southland Times, Issue 23734, 4 February 1939, Page 12

SOUTHLAND SWIMMERS PERFORMED WELL AT ROTORUA

By

LIFEBELT

CLUB HOURS Monday, 6.15-7.ls—Murihiku. Tuesday, 5.45-6.45 —Ex-Pupils Wednesday, 5.45-6.45 —Collegiate. Thursday, 6.15-7.ls—Murihiku. COMING EVENTS February 4 and s—Beach Carnival at Oreti, Otago teams competing. February 14-19 —New Zealand senior championships at Invercargill. February 18-19 —New Zealand surf championships at Auckland.

Entries for the senior national championship meeting close positively at the baths office at 9 o’clock tonight for all events, for the week. Southland swimmers are expected to play their part to aidXhe local centre in making a great success of the first senior meeting to be held in Invercargill, and they can do a great deal in that respect by liberal entries and also by competing in all events in which they enter. ~ , Although Southland was not successful in winning the War Memorial Shield at Rotorua the team acquitted itself remarkably well and emerged from the contest with the particularly good total of four first places, three seconds and two thirds, which must be considered a very satisfactory effort. The star of the team was Miss B. Westerby, who took no fewer than three titles herself. Her record in New Zealand championship races is one to be proud of, consisting as it does of five wins and six starts.

Miss Joyce Macdonald supplied the other win when she established thq remarkable time of 74 l-ssec for 100yds backstroke in what is considered to be very slow water, and improved on ' her Auckland salt-water time by 2-ssec. She swam all these events without a pacemaker. Darcy Kirkland gained a second and a third. Maris Gerrard a second, Sylvia Brown a second and Ivan Mitchell a third. J. Alexander, J. Cameron and Miss Dixon were unplaced, but they gave of their best and that is all they are expected to do. It would be idle to say that his supporters were not disappointed when J. Cameron failed even to gain a place as he was expected to figure prominently, especially as he held two titles. But it was not to be and all those who know his fighting qualities know that it was not his fault that he failed. Lack of an efficient leg-drive would affect him in water with such low buoyancy as that at Rotorua. Plenty of slow , swimming and attention to stroke details should be his lot now until next season. Miss Dixon gave a noble display and was actually leading for 60yds of the 75yds journey, just failing to see the distance out, but she was close up at the finish. Alexander swam gamely, but could not find quite enough pace to go with the place-getters, all of vzhom broke the existing record. Maris Gerrard impressed all who saw her with her diving displays and considering that she has three more years in this section her prospects are bright indeed. All three breaststrokers swam good races. They were beaten by small margins and all in good time. Mitchell . improved considerably on his local performances and gained third place, and Miss Brown impressed to gain a good second to the Otago girl'who won in very smart time. Miss Dixon and the Otago intermediate Mary Stewart both competed in the two-mile lake swim and caused a great amount of interest, finishing close together. They both receive a certificate for their swim; it was a creditable effort on their part to complete the distance. A. V. Osmond gained second place in this race and third fastest time, but he will go better at Bluff as he swims much better, in salt water with its high buoyancy. Mrs Lynch, chaperone and manageress for the tourists, was a popular and efficient person for this responsible position, and the happiness on the trip and its success were in no small measure due to her efficiency. Apparently the Southland team was popular with everyone, and the discipline and behaviour excited much favourable comment. Southland’s swimming teams have once again proved a happy advertisement for the province. SOUTHLAND TITLES Last week two Southland championships were swum off at the Murihiku hour and in addition a 440yds invitation handicap was also swum. Miss Lynch had no difficulty in winning the 100yds breaststroke from her only opponent Miss Hannon. She won by a good margin in quite good time. Miss Hannon, although some distance back, showed a good style and if properly fit should

be capable of extending most New Zealand women breaststrokers.

K. Shaw was the only starter for the men’s breaststroke title and he completed his swim-over in good time also. With the object of giving senior swimmers some race competition over their championship distances an invitation 440yds handicap was swum. Three freestylers and two backstrokers took part. Miss M. McGrath won by. a touch from Miss Mair and C. Martin, with Berry some feet back, followed by Johnson. It was an interesting tryout and although the times were only fair the whole idea was excellent. That was the first opportunity any of these swimmers had had to compete over that distance this year, Southland being rather reluctant apparently to sponsor these races at carnivals. Without large fields to draw on for distance events there is a fear that entries will not be forthcoming. However, this race would have been an asset to any carnival and it is to be hoped that one or two more special events such as this will be included in future; it is the only way to encourage distance swimming, which, after all, is really the test of a good swimmer. Almost anybody can race 50yds, but how quickly the fields drop from 100yds onwards! In this race the performance of Miss A. Mair was most encouraging and she is to be congratulated on entering and swimming such a good race over what to her was a long and unusual course. Miss McGrath swam well to win and she will be hard for the northerners to beat in the 440yds national championship. None of the competitors reproduced his or her best time, but Berry did not appear to be trying unduly and Johnson seemed content to treat it as more of a training swim and swam apparently without exertion.

Advice from Palmerston North shows that P. McGrath, one time Southland and New Zealand champion swimmer, who is now residing in that town, is proving a very valuable addition to the local swimmers. At a recent carnival he won the Manawatu 50yds championship in 25 4-ssec without being pushed and he thus clipped 1 l-ssec off D. Lindsay’s long-standing record. As club captain he is much in demand as a coach. Apart from his championship record of 25 4-ssec he has also recorded 25 l-ssec in handicap events and has been timed to break 36sec for 66 2-3yds, times which prove him to be still in the first flight of the Dominion’s sprinters. He is a son of the Southland Centre’s president, Mr A. E. McGrath, and his sister, Miss Moira McGrath, is woman champion of Southland and a runner-up to Miss Mona Leydon in the New Zealand 440yds championship last year at New Plymouth.

In conjunction with the beach carnival at Oreti today and tomorrow the Surf Club is holding a number of surf life-saving events. Chief among these will be the four-man alarm rescue and rescusgitation event in which three Otago teams and five Oreti teams will be in competition. This event is probably the most spectacular of all the surf life-saving events. It will be run off in heats, with four teams a heat, and all off the same command. Buoys are moored in the surf in a straight line and the teams- line up on the beach. The command comes without any warning, as it would if it' were an actual rescue, and the teams race into position, don the belt, pick up the reel and go into action. .. Speed m the surf is the main point, although points are gained or lost on drill and movements. The spectators can follow the varying for-, tunes of the teams right out to the buoy.

In the past some fine contests have resulted from these four-man races and with the added interest of any Otago v. Southland competition to spur on the swimmers this race should hold the interest right!to the finish.

The Otago surf relay championship which was postponed from St. Clair last week-end will also be held. With this in addition to the other fare the displays should prove the best ever staged on Oreti beach. The following are some of the more prominent of the visiting Otago surfers: H. D. Gillies.—One of the mainstays of the St. Clair club of which he has been a member almost from its inception; a reliable man in the heaviest surf; he will never let the team down. . x J. B. Roberts.—Secretary of the St. Clair club; he has coached many junior teams for his club and was captain of the team which was runner-up for the William Henry Memorial Shield last year; a good reliable man in the surf. H. R. Callinder.—A former intermediate breaststroke champion of Otago; his water-work is excellent and his land-drill well above the average; an excellent man in any position. C. J. Lawrence.—A boy in his first senior year; has represented St. Clanin junior teams for the last two years and was a member of the team which won the William Henry Memorial Shield.

A. G. Beadle.—The captain of St. Clair club; a good strong swimmer in the surf and worthy of a place in any surf team.

C. W. Elliot.—A strong breaststroke swimmer and St. Clair’s champion beltman; he was one of the two men nominated by Otago for the New Zealand team which visited Australia last year; he was a member of the team which won the Nelson Shield last year; he will take a great deal of beating in a heavy surf. R. Leckie.—He has held several Otago intermediate titles and has been in winning St. Clair teams at the last two New Zealand surf championships; a good reliable man in the surf; his first year in senior ranks. E. B. Toase.—Otagc senior sprint champion; he has proved his worth many times in the baths and is now proving an excellent surf man; he was

in the St. Clair team which won the Nelson Shield at Christchurch last year. Southland, already unfortunate in the loss of leading swimmers, is losing yet another. Miss Ngaire Dixon, intermediate breaststroke champion, who represented Southland so well at Rotorua, leaves this morning to take up residence in Nelson. Miss Dixon should have a bright future- at breaststroke, and Southland swimmers wish her good fortune and much success at Nelson.