SWIMMING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 450, 16 December 1930, Page 4

SWIMMING

WANGANUI CENTRE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS. APPROVAL OF PROGRAMME. The executive of the Wanganui Swimming Centre met last evening, the president, Mr A. Muller, presiding over an attendance of the following:— Mrs Svcnson, Messrs P. L. Dickson, D. R. Robbins, H. W. Cooper, G. Howartson, H. Tyler, W. Roydhouse, and A. Haworth, and the secretary, Mr A. R. Byres. The Raetihi Club notified their intention to become affiliated to the Wanganui Centre. The New Zealand Amateur Swimming Council forwarded approval of the championship programme. The Gonville and Avenue Clubs gave notice that they intended to enter two teams in the Wanganui water polo championships.

Resulting from a circular letter sent to the various centres asking for their opinions regarding the championship programme, a letter was received from the Hawke’s Bay Centre which stated that they were pleased with the proposed arrangement for runhing off the events.

The Gonville Amateur Swimming Club intimated that at a special meeting of the club it was decided to make the following alteration to the rules: The clause that “no lady member be admitted to the club” should be deleted and the following rules substituted: “That competitive lady swimmers be admitted to membership of the club and that the committee shall decide the eligibility of each applicant for membership.” “That no lady members be eligible to hold any office.” The letter was referred to Messrs Dickson and Cooper to bring down a report at the next meeting of the Centre. The Gonville Club applied for permission to hold a carnival on Friday night, March 6. It was decided to hold the matter over until a later date. The Avenue Club was granted permission to hold a carnival late in January. It was decided to notify clubs desirous of sending junior and intermediate representatives to the New Zealand championships to be held at Ashburton on. January 30 and 31, that they could do so provided they paid their own expenses. Messrs Robbins, Cooper and Dickson and the secretary were appointed a/ programme committee and were instructed to report to the next meeting of the Centre what would be the most suitable dates for holding the Wanganui district championships. In moving that the Centre should rescind a resolution relating to the holding of the Annette Kellerman Cup on Saturday, March 7, and that the Wanganui Head Centre o f the Royal Life-Saving Society should be offered the day for the holding of the Nelson Shield‘Contest, Mr D. R. Robbins said that the Life-Saving Centre had met and decided to hold the Nelson Shield contests on the Friday. . Saturday would have proved more suitable but the day had already been booked by the Swimming Centre. The Life-Sav ing Centre had received protests from Wellington and Manawatu regarding the selection of Friday and pointing

out that extra expense would have to be borne by members of the competing teams if that day was retained. There were seven members in each teain and it would mean the loss of three working days, whereas it. the contests were hold on Saturday only half a day would be lost. There was also the question of suitability so far as the swimmers in the national championships were concerned. If the present arrangement stood it would mean that the field in the 440 yards championship would be very small as most of the likely swimmers would prefer to take their chance in the Kellerman Cup. If tho Cup race was held on a different day the chances were in favour of :i satisfactory field. Tn addition to the quartcr-milo event, there was also the 50 yards invitation scratch race, the 500 yards flying squadron, and the finals of the water polo to be decided on Saturday evening. It was more likely that a member of a life-saving team would bo fitter after a contest such as the Nelson Shield than a competitor who had swum in a threemile event such as the Annette Kellerman Cup. Life-saving enthusiasts, concluded Mr Robbins, regarded the Nelson Shield contest as an educational event but they had no desire to dictate. Mr Roydhouse, in seconding the motion, said that the difficulty in getting boats for the Annette Kellerman Cup race if it was held on the Friday could be easily overcome. Air Dickson did not agree with this, pointing out the difficulty met with in getting sufficient craft for the annual bridge to-bridge race. Mr Bishop, president of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association, was particularly strict regarding the rule that each competitor must be accompanied by a boat. Mr Tyler asked whether it was the duty of* the controlling centre to provide boats and was answered in the affirmative. The mot’on was carried, Messrs Dickson and Cooper voting against it.