Daltons To Lead Canterbury In Surf Carnival

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30977, 5 February 1966, Page 11

Daltons To Lead Canterbury In Surf Carnival

’THE inter-provincial surf 1 life-saving carnival at Lyall Bay (Wellington) on Saturday will be a very special occasion for the outstanding North Beach competitor, R. Dalton. He will be representing his province for the first time and in spite of this has been chosen as captain. For years Dalton has been the top surf ski exponent in the Dominion. He has won more Canterbury titles in his specialist events than any other surfer in Canterbury surfing history and is the present holder of both the New Zealand surf ski and surf ski rescue championships. In the past he has been denied a place in the Canterbury team because the inter-provincial carnival programme did not include a surf ski event. He was an excellent beach sprinter as well but the selectors over the years felt that they could not afford to send him for one event only. Now the situation has been remedied and Dalton

will take his rightful place in the team for Saturday’s carnival—one of the main events on the New Zealand surfing calendar. His appointment as captain was a very fitting gesture on the part of the selectors, considering his past disappointments, but there is no doubt that he is the right man for the job. Canterbury can now feel reasonably assured of taking maximum points in the surf ski race. Dalton’s strongest rival will probably be the former Canterbury surfer, K. Macdonald (Wellington). However, he will have to be in top form to provide Dalton with any real trouble, especially as there is unlikely to be any real surf running at Lyall Bay.

Last year Canterbury did not do particularly well, finishing a poor third, well behind Wellington, the eventual winner, and Auckland. On that occasion the team scored only 12 points but this year the team is very optimistic about revenging this defeat. Wellington will be without B. Crowder, a former national surf race champion, for the first time for some years and although it has some outstanding performers in M. Haxton, M. Harvey and C. Billing, it may find its task more difficult than usual. With R. Harker (Auckland) contesting both the surf race and the belt race, Canterbury appears unlikely to win either of these important events. The Canterbury belt champion, J. A. Lee, G. Le Cren and L. McIntosh. should, nevertheless, be able to earn valuable points by filling some of the minor placings.

In the main team event, the senior six-man, Canterbury stands an excellent chance of victory. Club teams have been regularly getting their deductions down to five points or less and there is every likelihood of it being reproduced in the provincial side at Wellington. The march past, which Canterbury won last season, is another event which could bring maximum points. Dalton could add to his personal tally in the beach sprint He has been nat-

ionally ranked in this event for some years and could very easily beat the Wellington champion, Billing, who won last season. Canterbury’s two juniors, C. Read and B. Leask, could well make a name for themselves. Read, notwithstanding his comparative inexper-

ience, is one of the finest surf swimmers in Canterbury while Leask won the provincial belt title only a fortnight ago. For Canterbury and Wellington, the Griffiths Trophy will also be at stake. Wellington at present holds the trophy.