SURF LIFE-SAVING

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 46, 26 February 1935, Page 4

SURF LIFE-SAVING

DOMINION CHAMPIONSHIPS OASTLECLIFF AND PATEA Great improvement on .their standard of work at the Taranaki championships held at Opunake a fortnight ago was shown by the Patea Surf Lifesaving Club at the Dominion cnampionships at New Plymouth last week-end. In competition with the best of the Dominion’s life-savers and swimmers, the Patea team showed the result of their training with credit to themselves and their instructor, A. B. Currie. Although the team does not comprise such well-known swimmers as St. Clair and Lyell Bay. for instance, include in their teams, the swimming times put up by the Patea teams in both the four-man alarm and the senior championship events were very creditable. With the change from Fitzroy to Ngainotu beaches, conditions w’ere more in favour of those teams which included champion swimmers. Besides this, also. Patea -was in one of the heats swum at Fitzroy and later cancelled and swum again. These trying conditions in the morning certainly had their effect on the times put up by these same teams in the afternoon. Patea’s times in Ihe first heat of the four-man alarm <■ -it of 4min. 35sec. as against the I by East End of 4min. 24 2-ssec, : o winners of the heat, St. Clair B. -limn. 26 3-ssec, was good. The judges’ placing gave Patea second place in the heat, points being gained for linework. Milliken drew the beltman’s position, and swam very well and despite his trying and extremely difficult swim amid driftwood for a-quarter of an hour at Fitzroy in the morning when his line finally foundered a tree. This was unlucky for Patea. as for others in the first two heats, and their good showing in spite of it, adds to their good standard. Patea’s team in this event was: W. M. Milliken, S. Pauling, E. Oakley, and A. B. Currie. In the Nelson Shield senior reel championship, Patea were in the fourth heat, swimming against St. Clair, who had W. Jarvis, champion beltman, Fitzroy and Lyall Bay B. The draw for positions was very much in Patea’s favour, Milliken again having the beltman’s position and J. Richardson that of patient. Milliken again added honour to Patea with his swim out, Patea hauling in close behind St. Clair, with the fastest, time of the heat. Lyall Bay B, although their swimming time was much slower, decreased St. Clair’s and Patea’s lead in hauling in. Lyall Bay were successful in gaining both their teams in the final, which Lyall Bay A won in 7min. 45sec, a whole minute slower than Patea’s time in the third heat. In this, Patea’s swimming was very impressive, a straighter course being kept than any of the others who included such well-known swimmers as Dawkins (Lyall Bay) and Geddes (St. Clair). St. Clair were unlucky in not drawing Jarvis for the beltman’s position, but even then swam fastest time with Ginin. 45see, only 10 seconds ahead of Patea. Patea were placed third in this heat, with Lyall ; Bay B first and St. Clair second, i Patea’s team was: A. B. Currie (cap- - tain), W. M. Milliken (belt), J. Richardson (patient), R. Adams, S. Paul-

ing and W. McPike (linesmen) and E. Oakley (reel). In the most spectacular event of the whole meeting, the march past, Patea had the position of first team, leading the others on to the arena. Their coloers of maroon and gold showed in contrast to thv blues, blacks and the majority of whites. The full team comprised Adams (banner-bearer), AliPtken (belt) and T. Burgess, E. Oakley, S. Fouling, W. McPike, J. Richardson and A. B. Currie (captain). Signed bv officials and ‘captains of competing teams at the Sydney Bridge opening gala surf life-saving champion- | ships, the Australian Bone of Goodwill

was the trophy competed for in the surf teams’ race. Al any are the interesting names engraved on this trophy. Lyall Bay A, the holders, were again the winners. E. Oakley (Patea) was the first of his team in after swimming out to and round the buoys and back, a distance of some 50(1 yards. W. Jarvis, Blakelev ami Pelham were tho first of the 50 swimmers in and in the bunch close behind, Oakley showed up well In the beach relay race, which was straight-out running relay on the sand, Patea ran in easy winners by 10 yards, but had lost their baton which disqualified fliPin,