Swimming & Surfing

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 22, 19 November 1948, Page 5

Swimming & Surfing

Enthusiasts Here Are Fortunate (By “Splash”) Now that the warmer weather is here(?) beaches and swimming pools are again becoming the centres of attraction. Swimming enthusiasts in Whakatane are especially fortunate in this direction with Ohope beach and various spots on the river. Ohope for surf swimming must be regarded as one of the best and safest beaches in New Zealand. Proof of its popularity can be found any time during the summer months by the crowds that flock there. On such a beach it is important that there should be some system of surf patrols. For this reason Ihe Whakatane Surf Club is very necessary and important to the beach. Surf life saving is one of the most popular sports in the country. Beside making beaches safer for the unwary swimmer, the surf life saver takes part in a thrilling sport. The art of body shooting is one not easily acquired and takes hours of practice. There are surf competitions which clubs train for every year. The climax is the Dominion Championship Carnival, to be held this season at Waihi, where clubs gather from all the surf beaches in their various coloured costumes and present one of the most colourful of sporting attractions.

During the last few years the Whakatane Club has had a struggle to survive. What is wanted is members, both men and women, from the age of about 15. Young members can be trained, and in a club are very necessary as the senior members, swimmers of the future. Women have an important place and can do the work as efficiently as men. This was proved during the war. For men, women and juniors there are separate competitions. In training, a surfer must have the ordinary fundamentals of life saving, such as the various methods of rescue and release and artificial resuscitation. To qualify, the candidate undergoes the Bronze Medallion examination of the Royal Life Saving Society. If successful, he is then at liberty to be tested for the medallion of the New Zealand Surf Association. For this examination the surfer is required to be conversant with surfing generally and must be able to take a place in any of the six positions of a surf team. A high standard has been set for this test and it must be passed before any surfer can compete in a National Championship. This season the Whakatane Club has plans to commence training early with a view to having trips to Gisborne, Tauranga nnd the New

Zealand championships at Waihi in February. Solid training and plenty of enthusiasm is all that is required. While the standard of other clubs is high, Whakatane could easily be the same in competitions and also on ordinary beach patrols whicii. after all, should be the chief aim of any surf club. How Many Can Swim? It would be interesting to know how many people in Whakatane really can swim. The large number of children who cannot is something to be deplored, and' no excuse can be offered, especially with the river and Ohope Beach both so close to the town. When the Whakatane Swimming Club was formed it could not take part in Competitions because of lack of swimmers. It therefore undertook swimming instruction, and has met with some success but an apathetic attitude adopted by many people has made the task very much harder. Tomorrow competent instruction commences for boys and girls and anyone else who is interested, at the school baths. Swimming today is almost a science, but the ordinary person (toes not have to worry about doing ''GO yards in 60 seconds. Just being able to swim is sufficient, but it cannot be learned properly without some instruction. Wherever possible every man, woman and child should have enough knowledge of the art of swimming to be confident when bathing. In a place like Whakatane that is essential and, with the help of the Swimming Club, more local people will have the chance to discover the pleasure obtained from that ability.

With more swimmers in the town it would not be difficult to commence competitive swimming. Then, possibly, the time might not be far distant when a swimming bath could be constructed, an amenity which is., at present badly needed. But, as Kipling once said, “that is another story.”