Swimming.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18935, 4 December 1929, Page 7

Swimming.

The Australian Champions. V Tl ?® arrival yesterday in Auckland of *,°. "Y an a nd Owen Griffiths to start eir New Zealand tour, and the to ' ni ght by the East Christurch Club of the first inter-club carnival to be held in Christchurch this season, are a reminder that things nataonal have started to move in earnest or the new season. It promises to be ‘ le \r mo ? t notable season we have had iN< r w Zealand for some years, despite e tact that, nationally, it finds us e poorer by the loss of quite a numoer of the swimmers who were in the orefront in Dominion championship class during the past few years. i i P er haps, the losses may be looked at. The greatest of these is undoubtedly the loss to New Zealand by the departure of Miss Ena Stockley. In many respects Miss Stockley was New Zealand’s best swimmer, and it is doubtful if even yet it is fully realised Just how good she was, and perhaps still is. She won the New Zealand ladies 100yds championship five years in succession, a feat never equalled by any other swimmer, man or woman, in the history of swimming in New Zealand. The nearest approach to it among the ladies was the triple success of Miss Annie O’Leary in 1912-13-14, while among the men the veteran Jack Enwright, of Auckland, came nearest to ranking beside Miss Stockley by taking the men’s classic sprint title four years in succession. But Miss llllllllHllllllllllllllllllliillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllUll

Illllllllllllllll!lllll!ll!ill!llllllllllllllllllll!llllilllll|||]||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||!l|||| Stockley was more than a champion swimmer. In matters of coaching and in giving educative displays to schoolchildren she was something of a genius. In this respect she proved last season, wheh she toured in company with Misses K. Miller and L. Hood, that she was probably the greatest asset that New Zealand swimming possessed. Her loss is a real blow to the sport, and, though Miss Peggy Robertson, the speedy young Aucklander, will probably fill the gap adequately so far as championship swimming is concerned, New Zealand m&y go many a long day before it possesses a lady champion to equal Miss Stockley in the important field of encouraging swimming among the members of the younger generation. The second big loss in the realm of championship swimming is being caused by the departure for Australia of W. Cameron, of Wellington, New Zealand sprint champion. Just how good Cameron is we do not yet know. He has to his. credit 55 4-ssec, established when he won the 100yds title at the last New Zealand championships, but he will probably go a good deal faster than that. Like Miss Stockley, Cameron has accepted a position in Sydney. Other defections among prominent swimmers are Miss D. Grant, Miss D. Magee and Miss Edna Champion, all of whom have announced their retirement. So many retirements mean that a considerable gap is going to be left in the championship swimming lists, and it is hard at the moment to see the swimmers who are to fill them adequately; In the north we have still Miss Natalie Stratton, of Wanganui, and Miss Simmonds, of Napier, but in the south there appears to be still that dearth that has characterised swimming here since the retirement of Miss Gwitha Shand. That is the shady side of the picture. Fortunately there is a bright side. Of immediate importance is the tour of Ryan and Griffiths. This is the first occasion that Australian swimmers have toured New Zealand since Solomons, Riddington and Hay were here in the pre-war days, and, in view of the number of tours that New Zealand ladies have had in Australia, the visit was long overdue. Tremendous interest will attach to the meeting of Ryan and Bridson in the 440yds event, in which they are to be opposed to each other in Auckland. Just the other day Bridson, in an attempt on Lindsay’s record • for this distance, set up new figures of smin 16 3-ssec, as against Ryan's best time in Australia last year of smin 16sec. On the other hand, it is not unreasonable to expect that R\an has improved since last season, in which case he should prove too good for the Aucklander. The advantage is on the side of Bridson swimming in his home water under conditions to which is thoroughly accustomed, while Ryan will have little chance after leaving the boat to get himself into racing trim, as he has to start travelling immediately. Apart from Auckland, Christchurch is the only place where Ryan is likely to be called upon to face any serious opposition over his favourite distances. In the New Zealand championships last season honours were even between Gordon Bridson and Alec Stokes, the former winning the 440yds and 880yds events, while Stokes

won the 220yds and the mile. Ryan will be the first outside swimmer of note whom Stokes has met, and it will be very interesting to see how the Canterbury champion fares with him. Ryan ’is scarcely likely to find the Christchurch conditions to his liking. He has done practically all his important swimming in salt water, over long laps, and a short course in fresh water is likely to worry him somewhat. The contests between the pair should be worth going a long way to see. A notable feature of this tour is that arrangements have been made for including in the itinerary a large number of the smaller places in the country where the opportunities for seeing good class swimming are very rare. The tour should have the effect here of giving swimming a much-needed lift forward. The second important happening of the season will be the visit of Miss Jean Cocks, Australia’s girl wonder, and Miss Edna Davey, ex-Olympic representative, both in the class of the world's best swimmers. Ever since Miss Violet Walrond visited Australia in 1920 the New Zealand lady champions have proved too good for their Australian sisters. Misses Gwitha Shand, Ena Stockley, Piri Page and Kathleen Miller have, in turn, proved too speedy for the best girls that Australia could range against them. It may be now that a change is coming about and that Australia is to have a turn again. Of course it is by no means certain that Miss Cocks, wonderful as she undoubtedly is for her age, will prove a better swimmer than Miss Peggy Robertson. The young Aucklander gave evidence last season that she was improving fast, and if she carries out this season the promise she gave last season, then she should succeed in defending the title her predecessors have won. And, incidentally, if she does so, she will prove herself in the forefront of the world’s best swimmers, for the women swimmers in the world to-day who could beat Jean Cocks could almost be counted on the fingers of one hand. Miss Davey is not quite so brilliant as her younger companion, but is a better known swimmer. She had some great battles with Miss Kathleen Miller when the latter was last in Australia, and she extended the best lady distance swimmer the Dominion has produced to her utmost to win. The tour should be productive of brilliant swimming, and should keep interest high during the autumn swimming months. The girls are due to leave Sydney immediately after the New Zealand championships. A Bombshell For the Surfers. Some time ago the Canterbury Surf Association asked the New Zealand Swimming Association for a ruling as to the status of swimmers who accepted remuneration as beach patrols. The answer of the association was that such swimmers became professionals, and that, under the law as it stands in New Zealand, they could not apply for reinstatement until after a lapse of two years from the date of the offence. The Surf Association found on inquiry in Australia that it was the practice of the New South Wales Association to regard such breaches as nominal, and to grant reinstatement after a lapse of a month. This has since been officially confirmed by the Australian Union in answer to the inquiries of the N.Z.A.S.A. The Swimming Association, however, submitted the matter to the International Federation, which has now replied stating that New Zealand is quite correct in assuming that such swimmers become professionals, but that . New Zealand is quite wrong in granting them reinstatement even after

llllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillfllllllllillllllillllllllllllllllllilllllllljlllllll a lapse of two years. “Once a professional, always a professional” is the stringent rule of the Federation, and its secretary has advised New Zealand that it expects asiliated national associations to act in accordance with this rule. New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, he said, where the only nations affiliated with the Federation who permitted a reinstatement rule to operate. The secretary of the New Zealand Association has communicated the effect of the Federation’s reply to the Australian Union, and, in the meantime, the Federation’s letter has been referred by the New Zealand Association to its rules committee for consideration. It will be extremely interesting to see what the outcome will be. If the New Zealand Association accepts the plain hint given by the secretary of the International Federation, it will wipe from its books the provision

that at present exists for reinstatement, in which case a swimmer who takes a position as a paid beach patrol will say good-bye to amateur swimming for ever. Miss Lily Copplestone. Miss Lily Copplestone, New Zealand lady title holder for 220 yards breaststroke and diving, has taken up the teaching of swimming as a profession. Her main reason for this step was a medical fiat that she must find outdoor work, and she has turned naturally to the work for which she is best adapted. She proposes to make a circuit of small centres, teaching mainly at schools and country clubs, in which respect she will be breaking entirely new ground. If her venture proves successful, swimming in New Zealand should benefit considerably. Miss Coplestone has had considerable experience in good class swimming, and she is excellently fitted for the task she has undertaken.