SPLASHES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20232, 16 February 1934, Page 11

SPLASHES.

Notes and Comments.

(By “ PIKE ”.) During the past 'week the new bath at St Albans has been the Mecca of local swimmers. Anxious to become acquainted with the peculiarities which any mw bath possesses, many of the local entrants for the championships have confined their training efforts to this bath. The majority of the visitors from Auckland are finding the southern water much slower than the fast, tepid salt water to which they are accustom d. It is generally thought that the 100 yards will be won in the region i of 58sec this year, whereas the Auck- ' landers have been registering between |55 l-ssec and 57sec in the past year. The Auckland water is recognised as b.ing the fastest in the Dominion, and fully 3sec faster for the “ hundred ” than the local fresh water. Therefore, it appears as if the South Island will be “ in the hunt ” after all. A Dark Horse. \Y. Whar: a-itu (South Auckland), the holder of the New Zealand record \ of 24 2-ssec for 50 * yds, was the first of the northern contingent to appear in Christchurch. He has been here a week, already. Is he a dark horse? Wliareaitu is now becoming vised to the colder water, although he still thinks that even the Tepid Baths are slightly chilly! lie has been vised to water with a temperature of 95deg. However, he has a distinct advantage over the late arrivals, and if anyone gives Crump and Co. a shake it will be Whareaitu. The clivers have been paying plenty of attention to the new boards at St. Albans and have commented favourably on them. W. Keesing (West Coast) put in an appearance about the middle of the week and showed himself to be in the best of form. J. C. Blakely (Wellington), was another early arrival and he impressed favourably. D. P. Lindsay arrived on Wednesday. Ho is showing: plenty of dash and looks like holding' his distance titles. :: Breaststroke Title. L.. Smith, Wanganui, arrived yesterday and had a plunge at the Tepid Baths in the morning. He is a forceful swimmer and remarkably neat in the water. His.style is well worth copying. Smith should retain his breaststroke title. George Bow simply “ ran away ” from Whareaitu yesterday morning- when the pair had a " try out ” backstroke swim. The North Island man lost badly on the turns although he was not much inferior to Low in the actual swimming. Whareaitu has .been at the backstroke for only two months and has . made great progress. R. Thomas, the brilliant Aucklander, i trained by Professor Anderson, showed i himself to be a much-improved swimmer I when he visited the St Albans bath yesterday. Since the last championship meeting Thomas has changed his stroke and improved his starting dive and turn. He is swimming lower down in the water than was the case last year. R. Frankham, his team mate, and the holder of the New Zealand 100yds title, trained by Malcolm Champion, gave a good display, and showed that h«b, too, is a much-improved swimmer. Camparing Crump and Frankham under fresh water conditions, it would appear that Frankham lias an advantage over his vounger opponent. Prank ham has not altered his style, but he should manage to retain his title. T h e Auckland women also visited the new bat'll yesterday. Miss “ Bobbie " Lewin lias completely changed her st3 r le during the off-season. Adopting a fish-like turn —the Japanese flick roll—which was started again in Auckland by the; Australian chain-; pion. Miss Prances! Bult, Miss Lewin glides through the water. It is stated that she is the most conscientious swimmer in Auckland. Miss Farquliar l who swam both backstroke and freestyle, has gone back lately. She looks, like losing both of her titles. Miss.. Judith Webster showed good form at the breaststroke. Given favourable weather she should set new figures. The southern contingent arrived last night, and had a work-out to-day. 55 K 55 SCellennaxi Cup. Many surprises were in store for intending competitors in the Annette Kellerman Cup race when the handicaps were declared. Miss Maxima Mathieson, the holder, has not been treated with leniency. On 7min she has a poor chance. A. Thomas (Otago), on ltmin 30sec, appears to be well situated, although 17min is a big margin for him to concede to the limit men, J. Logie (Wellington) on 15m in 15sec. should be hard if he can see the distance out. C. P. Evans (17.’.min) may not be able to “ stay.” but he is on a good mark. D. A. Parley has been treated handsomely considering that he finished well up in last year’s contest. Misses A. Keen, Basstian and Birchfield should all be able to stay,” but the pace may be too hard for them. If A. K. Asher can produce the form of a few years ago he will be a hard proposition on 14£min. His lack of fitness, however, may put him out of the running. Peter Hill, the veteran in the race, is on a hard mark, his wonderful performances of the past going against his chances. The winner should come from between the 17min and 24.1 min marks. Championship Programme. Swimming enthusiasts are reminded i that to-morrow’s championship carnival will, be held in the afternoon. There will be no ra<es to-morrow 1 night, and the heats will be decided in ■ the morning. On Monday and Wednesday the carnivals will be at night, with the heats in the afternoon. There will be no carnival on Tuesday, when the Annette Kellerman Cup race will be decided in the inner harbour at Lyttelton at .‘l p.m. In the event of bad weather the carnival for the day will be held at the Tepid Baths.

Dominion Championships Open To-morrow.

Great interest attaches to the meeting- of the cream of New Zealand's swimmers at the senior national championships, which will open at the new St Albans hath to-morrow afternoon. Swimmers have gathered from both ends of the Dominion and most of them were to be seen training yesterdaj-. The glimpses of form shown during training were sufficent to convince experienced swimmers that this meeting will be the best seen in the Dominion for some years. This is the first time that a national championship meeting has been held in Christchurch for nine years, and no e-ffort is being spared to make the meeting a success. The men’s 100yds championship. which is the classic sprint of the year, will be deluded to-morrow afternoon, and has attracted such swimmers as Crump, Frankham, Thomas, Whareaitu, Jarvis, Kymes, M’Conville and others. With such a collection as this in one race, the best of racing is assured. The first stage of the men’s diving championship, which lias attracted the Dominion's leading fourteen diveis, will be contest-

ed to-morrow. The men's mile will see D. P. Lindsay, the Dominion’s great champion, in action, and he should retain his title, although the opposition is very strong. The women’s sprint event will be begun, and, with Misses Lewi-n, Farquhar, Ludlow and Grange, will provide excellent racing. There are a number of handicap races on the programme, all of which have drawn excellent entries. The programme will conclude with two interprovincial water polo matches. The championship meeting will be continued on Monday and Wednesday evenings, when further splendid racing will be seen. East Ashburton Club Holds Carnival. (§s,pecial to the “ Star.”) / ASHBURTON, February 15, A club carnival was held by the East Ashburton Amateur Swimming Club this evening under fair weather conditions. All the club’s perpetual cup competitions ■were completed., most of the events furnishing keen finishes. Results:— Nicoll Cup, open—D. White (12 points) 1, L. Armstrong (11 points) 2. Bowman Cup, for juniors—D. White (14 points) 1, I. Henderson (10 points) 2. Curtis Cup, open events—A. Bradford (11 points) I* R. Keeley (6 points; 2. Barnett Cup, women —xMiss H. Lithgow (I'B points) 1, Miss L. Glenie .(a points) 2. 50yds, Nicoll Cup—First heat: H. Field (2sec) 1, F. Schluter (4sec) 2, Lb Glossop (6sec) 1. Time—22 l-osec. Second heat: D. White (6see) 1, T. Henderson (4eec) 2, L. Armstrong (3sec) a. Time—34sec. Final: White 1, Armstrong 2, Field 3. Time—33 2-ssec. Opfen Dive—K. Waters 1, Doreen Tilley 2, It. Keeley 3. Schoolboys’ Dive, Hunt Shield—GEyles 1, R. M’Quarters 2, L. Fit tick 3. Relay Handicap—First heat: L. Livy, D. White and S. Thompson (3sec) 1, Miss F. Anderton, M. Thompson and R. Keeley (scr) 2, Miss D. Tilley, Miss O. Wilson and L. Armstrong (7sec) 3. Time—47 l-ssec. Second heat: Miss M. Schluter, T. Henderson and N. Thomson (3sec) and Miss L Anderton, J. Hardie and F. Schluter (3sec) dead heat 1, Miss H. Lithgow, G. Glossop and H. Field (l&ec) 3. Time—4 Beec. Final: Elvy’s team 1, Miss Schluter’s team 2, Miss Anderton's team 3. Tim® —46 4-5 25yds Schoolgirls’ Handicap, Hardy Shi-eld—First heat: Jfean Hill (12sec) 1, Pat Loftus (4 sec) 2, Daphne White <6sec) 3. Time—27sec. Second heat: Joan Dailey (lOsec) 1, Norma Valentine (ssee) .2, Olive Wilson (scr) 3. Time—--25 3-ssec. Final: J. Dailey 1, J. Hill 2, N. Valentine 3. Time—24 4-ssec. 100yds Junior Handicap, Bowman Cup —T. Henderson (scr) 1, D. White (3sec) 2, G. Glossop (3sec) 3. Time—lmin 17 2-ssec. 75yds Women’s Handicap, Barnett Cup —Hassel Lithgow (scr) 1, M. Schluter (ssec) 2, M. Sutherland (9sec) 3. Time —lmin 4 2-ssec. 75yds Handicap, Curtis Cup—First heat: A. Bradford (scr) 1, F. Schluter (7see) 2, R. Keeley (7sec) 3. Time—4s 4-ssec. Second heat: K. Waters (2see) I. M. Thompson (ssec) 2, N. Thomson (Osec) 3. Tinre—49 3-ssec-. Final: Bradford 1, Keeley 2. Time—44sec. 25yds SchotJboys' Handicap, Hunt Shield—F’irst lveat: Noel M'Rae (Ssec) 3, Ray Crum (Ssec) 2, Geo. Eyles (scr) 3. Time—2ssec. Second heat: Ralph Childs (3see) 1, Cordon Smart (7sec) 2, Ken Litligow (6sec) 3. Time—l 9 4-ssee. Final: M’Rae 1, Lithgow 2, Childs 3. Time—24sec. Schoolgirls’ Dive—Olive Wilson 1, Daphne White 2.