Swimming And Surfing.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18640, 18 December 1928, Page 13

Swimming And Surfing.

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

(BY ‘

“CRAWL.”)

FIXTURES. January 12—Amberley. January 16 —United. January 26 Opawa. February 2-9—'New Zealand Championships. February 26—Fendalton. j.j Diving Championship. The following compulsory dives have been fixed for the New Zealand championships : Men. Low Board—Hunch dive, running and one screw, backward, standing. High Board—Header, backward, and one borer, forward, standing. Ladies. Low .Board —Half screw, forward, running and pike dive standing. High Board—Hunch dive, running and half borer, forward, running. Intermediate Boys. Low Board- -Header, backward and half screw, forward, running. High Board—Pike dive, standing and half-borer, forward, running. It will be noticed that in the selection of the dives this year a great deal of attention has been given to screw dives. The reason for this is that in the last championship contests there was a noticeable weakness in screwing as compared with the other departments. The aim this year, therefore, is to make divers devote more attention to a department in which most of them proved very weak last s^ear. Invitation to Charlton. The New Zealand Council has forwarded an invitation to the Australian Union for "Boy'’ Charlton to pay a visit to the Dominion this season. Though it has been stated that Charlton intended to retire after the Olympic Games the New Zealand Association has received advice that there is quite a good * prospect of inducing him to tour New Zealand. Such a tour would provide as great an impetus to swimming in New Zealand as would a tour by Weissmuller. So far no reply has been received by the New Zealand Association from Australia. Should < hariton prove to be unavailable. it is possible that an invitation will be extended t<-» others of Australia' best watermen. Lindsey to Represent Wellington. D. P. Lindsay. New Zealand distance champion, will repre cut Wellington at the coming national championships. For some time past there had been speculation as to which centre Lindsay would swim for, as he had not returned to Christchurch since h._ came back from the Olympic Games, having remained in Wellington. Lindsay paid a visit to Christchurch, however, at the commencement of this week, and he then announced that it was his intention to represent Wellington this year. With Lindsay and Miss Kathleen Miller recruited to their ranks it looks pretty certain that the Wellington swimmers will this year carry off the Yaldhurst Shield. A good deal of attention is being given in the capital to ;

water polo, and Lindsay is confident that Wellington will wrest from Canterbury the supremacy it has so long held in this department. Taken all round, Canterbury's championship prospects at the present time do not appear at all bright. k Kellerman Cup. Competitors taking part in the Annette Kellerman Cup race in Wellington this year will be required to furnish on their entry forms a time for at least a mile distance. The handicapper (Mr P. Coira, of Wellington) considers that no competitor can be serious in his intention to compete unless he trains over at least a mile, and that therefore there should be no difficulty in arranging for a time test over such a distance. Two Conferences. The annual conference of centres of the N.Z.A.S.A. has been provisionally fixed lor February 5 next. Remits must be in the hands of the secretary of the New Zealand Council not later than January 15 next, and the names of the delegates to represent the centres must be notified by January 22. There are indications that the conference this 3’ear will, for part of its time, take the form of an “ inquest ” on the last Olympic Games. For the first time since 1924 a conference of educational officers is to be held at the time of the New Zealand championships. The suggestion that another conference should be held came from Mr H. Le Has, educational officer for the Hawke's Bay’ Centre. Other educational officers were approached with a view to ascertaining what support would be forthcoming lor the conference, and it was ascertained that a representative attendance could be secured. The conference was thereupon convened for Friday’, February 1. The venue of the conference will probably be the Clyde Quay School. Mr IJ. R. Fisher, educational officer for the Wellington Centre, is making the necessary' arrangements for the meeting, the outcome of which ma}’ mean some important alterations in educational policy on the part of the N.Z.A.S.A. A Slow Beginning. So far the amount of competitive swimming in Christchurch this season has been negligible, and the encouragement for swimmers to train has been practical!}* nil. Under these circumstances tnc outlook for Canterbury at the New Zealand championships is decidedly poor. There is only one way to produce swimmers, and that is by swimming, and any amount of it. It has already been pointed out that the great fault of our swimming is that training is not undertaken nearly seriously enough. The present apathetic state of things in Christchurch is not likelv to bring about a remedv. as Keen Competition. Competition is apparently going to be. keen among South Island centres for the. honour of conducting the New Zealand championships in 1930. Already’ the South Canterbury, Westland and Nelson Centres have lodged applications to have the championships allotted to them.

Life Saving Events. The annual life saving competition for the Nelson Shield is to take place on Lyall Bay beach on February 3. The indications are that the number of teams will constitute a record and there seems to be some doubt at the present time as to whether it will be possible to complete the competition in the one. day. The annual conference of life saving head centres has been fixed for February’ 7. Australian Swimming. Ready proof xif improvement by Edna Davey since her Olympic tour was the easy manner in which she retained her title of 880 yards champion of New South Wales at the Randwick Coogee Ladies’ carnival at Coogee Aquarium on December 1. When she touched, her nearest rival Sydney’ Club champion Betty Taw, was 45 yards away*. The latter did well to complete the long swim in 13.16, an improvement of 4sec over her previous best. Swimming with little effort, Edna Davey’s time was 12.54 3-5, thus beating her previous year’s best in Bondi Baths by 10 2-ssec. The Olympic representative was side by side. with Betty’ Taw for.second place to Rene Knight at the first turn, after covering 50 yards. She gained a slight lead on Betty’ at 150 yards, and gradually the pair increased the distance between themselves and the rest of the competitors. Mattie Mealing overhauled Rene Knight at 250 yards, and took third place; but the issue was then beyond doubt. At 500 yards Edna Davey’ had established a record of 7.11, and was pushing farther ahead. Mattie Mealing’s time was 13.58 for the full distance—4s y’ards behind Betty Taw. Two new races have been included in the programme of the New South Wales State championships’ carnival this season, which is to be held on January 12, 16, and 19. They are 50 yards interclub scratch race and 100 metres scratch race. The programme has been announced as follows: January’ 12.—Water polo, springboard diving championship, 440 y’ards championship, 100 y’ards backstroke. 220 yards junior, 100 y’ards country championship, 500 yards breaststroke teams’ championship, 100 y’ards first second, and third grade scratch races, 50 yards interclub scratch race. January 1G. —Water polo, 220-yards, 500 y r ards teams’ race, 100 y’ards junior championship, 440 yards first grade scratch race, 100 metres scratch race, 220 y’ards Kieran Memorial Scratch Race. January 19. Water polo, 100 yards championship, high spring-board diving, BSO yards, 220 yards breaststroke, 50 y’ards junior championship. 100 yards junior, 880 yards teams’ race, 100 yards first, second, and third-class scratch races. 100 yards Cecil Healv Memorial Handicap. The speediest performers over 220 yards in Sydney so far this season have | been B. Dixon, in 2.38, L. Johnson 2.59, and N. Newman 2.41. Following a suggestion of Mr O. J. Kemp, president of the Sydney Metropolitan Swimming Association, two new championships will figure on the Association’s programme this season. They are the 100 yards breaststroke and backstroke titles, and will substituted for 100yds first and second grade scratch races. frank Doyle is back in the ranks of .Sydney Club. This young swimmer purposely delayed his initial appearance this season, contending that he had previously begun preparations too earlv. Judging by his form when he surged over 50 yards in 24 2-ssee, in his first competitive swim, it will lie surpris-

ing (says the “Referee") if he does not soon produce his form of two years ago, when he set up the Australian record of 51 l-ssec for 100 yards.

Swimming Elsewhere. Mdlle Braun, the Dutch Olympic swimmer, recently created a new world's breaststroke record for 400 metres at Brussels. She covered the distance in 6min 45 3-dsec—a second faster than the time of the German swimmer, Fraulein Schrader. In October Walter Spence broke the men’s 220yds breaststroke record of U.S A., his new mark being 2min 56 l-ssec. Miss Agnes Geraghty lowered the women’s 100 metres record for the same style of swimming .from lmin 33sec to lmin 26 2-osee. In the same month John Weissmuller, swimming in a 25 yards pool reduced the national figures for 125 yards free style to lmin the Olympic Games Martha Noreb'us covered 400 metres in smin 39 l-ssee, thus beating the record of smin 42 2-ssec, which she established at the Olympic Games. The 100 yards championship of England was won this year by Paul Samson (Illinois A.C.) in 54 2 ssec. a new British record. The same swimmer lowered the British record for 220 yards to 2min ■ 23 2-sscc.