SWIMMING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16330, 20 January 1921, Page 3

SWIMMING.

notes on events. (Bt XATATOR. ) The name of ALss Ethelda, Bleihtrey 13 on all lips at th© present moment and her appearance at the Tepid Baths on Saturday and Monday evenings will bo sure to draw large crowds- Alisa Bleibtrey proved at the Olympic .Games that she is without equal as a lady swimmer, and her swimming has delighted largo crowds everywhere whereshe has appeared during her tour of tho Dominion. Likewise the cancellation of her visit to Gisborne caused very great- disappointment. The tourist is at present in Christchurch and has already had one or two practice swims in the Tepid Baths. Although she has not yet been seeni going fast her style yesterday morning gave Rome indication of what she might do when* trying hard. In compamy with Miss G. Shand she swam two* lengths and she then went, the same distance with Aliss K. Bristed- Later sho swam the hack stroke for a short, distance. Those who saw her aro looking forward to Saturday night’s carnival, when she will give. a. 100 yards exhibition swim and probably compete in the ladies’ events. At Monday evening’s carnival she will give an exhibition swim of 220 yards.

Another noted swimmer who appeared at the Tepid Baths yesterday morning was Leo Kronfeldt, p\' Auckland, and New Zealand champion over several distances. He swam two lengths with Carl Atkinson, who is nearly recovered from the injury to his ankle, and appears to be in. good form. Of th© two the local man swam the more attractively, but Kronfeldt is better suited for longer distances. Carl Atkinson has been swimming now for the last week or two and may yet be able to represent Canterbury at Dunedin. His ankle, however, is by no means strong and he has not been able to get fit, having had only a tow swims during the sea.‘»n.

This week is a very busy one in local swimming circles, schools’ championships, and intermediate and senior trials being held each dny. Some very good performances have been put up during the week, particularly in the girls’ trials. Aliss Alma Mather, of the Sydenham School, in winning the schoolgirls’ provincial championships for 2o yards and c 0 yards, broke two records and proved to b© far and away the best swimmer of her age in Canterbury. On Monday she won the shorter' distance in Io 2-osec, which was 2 2-ssec better than the record, 17 4-ssee. and on Tuesday her 36sec for 50 yards smashed the previous record otf 41sec by osec. She won both these races by big margins, and might have been capable of better times hiad she been hard pressed. For a schoolgirl her performances are exceptionally good. She swims a very nice draw 1 stroke, and though she was unplaced in the 7o yards girls’ intermediate trial, can be expected to rank amongst, the foremost of our lady swimmers in a short time. Her age is, 1 understand, fourteen years, so that she h*,s plenty of tim*s in which to improve. In inter-club events she swims tor United Club. V. M’Tigue (Marista Bros ), who won. both th© 75 and c-0 yards schoolboys’ championships, should develop into a first-class performer, as slimid G. N. Ben fie Id (Christ’s College), who trailed home in each race-. The 75 yards was a great race and M Tigv.e only won through being quicker, at th© last turn than Benfield. The 100 yards on Saturday and 150 yards on Monday should be good races between the two. M’Tigue won the .50 yards easily and j h© 75 yards by inches, and Benfield strikes one as being probably the better stayer, as he i& much, the bigger boy. In the 75 yards girls’ intermediate trial yesterday Alisa G wit ha Shand again demonstrated than she is the best lady swimmer in Canterbury. Her time, o2sec. was one second over the record. She is expected by many to give Miss V. AValrond a hard tussle in one or two events at Dunedin.

The 100 yards men’s trial took place at the Tepid Baths last eight. Contrary to the popular rumour Carl Atkinson did not start. Evidently his ankle is not yet too good. The race was a good on©, Sutherland and AVkeeiev, swimming together, led Alain Batchelor and Sitnes for ffh© first two lengths, and Sutherland started the lastlength with a lead, which maintained, winning by about as yard from: Batchelor, who edm© very fiast over the last length and just secured second place Tire other two wore well left in the last, length. Sutherland’s time of 64sec is 4sec above the New' Zealand record,. 60seo, hut is* one secornl better than he did in winning the 100 yards provincial championship at Lyttelton on New Year’s Dai-.

The timing for this event was moat unsatisfactory, four watches each giving different times, so that th© medium between longest and shortest time recorded was taken. This is most unsatisfactory for a championship trial, and it is to be hoped that the timing will b© better for the carnivals on Saturday and Monday.

The 100 yards dual relay race held by the United Swimming Club at the Tepid Baths on Tuesday evening was like the majority of races put on by that club in that it drew a big entry. The winners eventually turned up in Aliss F. Wilkinson and \Y. Sutherland, who defeated Aliss B. Cook and R. B. AVheeley by th© narrowest of margins-

Various improvements have been made to. the Sydenham Club’s baths, which should be quit© presentable when the painter has finished with them. The baths were badly in need of repair and had the City Council not com© to light with £3O at the beginning of the season they might have been past repair by the end of this year- Alainly owing to the strenuous efforts of two members of the committee they have been new made quite ship-shape

Air W. J. Putnam, president of the Sydenham Club, used one time to donate a cup for annual competition. During tho war the club was unable to holvi races, but now that things have brightened up Air Putnam has again presented a cup lit* competition this season. The trophy will probably be swum for over three distances, 25 yards, 50 yards and 75 yards. Air Putnam some years ago donated a fine challenge cup for an annual quarter-mile handicap, which is still swum for.

The East Christchurch Club last Afonday held the second, distance of th© Dalton Gup competition, 220 yard*, which was iron by L. Hill, with N. S. Batchelor second and A. E. Dalton third- Hill swam very well, winning by about four yards. Batchelor was prominent for a last sprint at tho finish.

The Sumner Lit© Saving and Surf Bathing Club did the right thing when it passed the following resolution at its. meeting early in the week: alt members a'tid intending members must take a course of at least lour periods of instruction in methods of life-saving during the first season, and that all members must take a fair share of the patrol work as provided by the rules.” The club is in this way doing what it can to protect unwary visitors who venture into danger whilst bathing. Other improvements in the same direction which the club decided upon during the meeting were the establishment of telephonic communication in case of accidents, and the painting of instructions on reels for the use of strangers in cases of emergency. The club is evidently doing nil it can to protect visitors to the beach. The objection of “a certain section of supporters of life saving work” to the carrying out of surf competitions on Sundays, as embodied in a letter received by the Sumner Club from one of its vice-presidents, is nothing more nor less than an example of priggish narrow-mindedness and it is to be hoped that it will not affect the club’s Sunday activities. Life saving is a branch of swimming which no effort nor opportunity should be spared in encouraging and, as was pointed out at the meeting of the club, the Sunday competitions aie to encourage volunteers to prepare to risk their own lives to save people in difficulty in the surf, and it is on Sundays that there is more likelihood of people getting into difficulties than during all the rest of the week. Supporters’ of life saving who would be so narrow-minded as to discourage it on the day when it is most likely to be needed and also on the most convenient time of the week for practice can not be called assets to the sport. The relay race for the combined Banks’ Challenge Cup took place at th© Tepid Bath* last evening, five teams competing. The event aroused a great, deal of interest amongst the bank clerks and the last lap in which Ralph AVheeley garrely tackled the impossible task of catching the last man of th© National Bank's team was marked by vociferous barracking by a good crowd of spectators. Despite the fact that they had in their team two well-known swimmers in B. B. AVheeley and Cecil Crosbie, Bank of New Zealand could only get second place. National Bank established an early lead which was maintained throughout the race- Detailed results appear in another part of the paper.

Detail?, of last night’s trial and Bank race and this rooming’s intermediate trials appear in another part of the paper,