WRESTLING TITLES

Evening Star, Issue 23372, 15 September 1939, Page 12

WRESTLING TITLES

AMATEURS REVEAL GOOD STANDARD CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT The finals of the Otago amateur wrestling championships were decided at the association’s gymnasium last night, the bouts generally being very evenly contested and producing a good standard of wrestling, the most pleasing feature of which i\4is the promise shown by several of the newcomers to championship competition and the sound knowledwge of the, basic principles of wrestling - balance, timing, and leverage _ evidenced by many of the competitors, whose physical fitness Wlls a credit to their instructors. .The bouts were decided under Olympic rules, and were each listed for one six-minute and three three-minute rounds. A competitor winning by a tall received no bad points, while Ids opponent was given 3 bad points. When the bout was_ decided by a vote of the judges, the winner received 1 bad point and his opponent 3 bad points. When the vote of the judges was 2 to 1, the winner received 1 bad point, his opponent receiving 2 bad points. A competitor having accumulated 5 bad points was eliminated.

o .-fl l6 , w <3ight divisions were Bantam, 8.11; feather, 9.8; light, 10.5; welter 11.4; middle, 12.6; light heavy, 13.9; heavy over 13.9.

J. Donaldson, one of the cleverest boys in the lighter divisions, retained Ins _ title in the bantam-weight class, taking a fall from R. Fraser, who gave a good account of himself in filling the position of runner-up. A new champion was crowned in the feather-weight class, the titleholder N .Thomson, having graduated into the 1 t-\vo]ght division. L. Hastie, one ot the most improved wrestlers in Dunedin, won a strenuously-contested final against C. Flowers, both competitors » good display of wrestling. The New Zealand light-weight champion, F. Keach, and N. Thomson each wrestled his way to the final without the loss of one bad point in four matches, and, as anticipated, their meeting provided some of the cleverest work of the tournament. Keach held an advantage of more than half a stone, and this, together with his aggressiveness, enabled him to call the tune. Although he did not take a fall Keach had a fair margin of points in his favour at the final.

One of the most keenly contested matches of the tournament was provided by the final of the welter-weight championship, in which the titleholder, A. Jdour, gained a points decision over H. Stevens by a very narrow margin. Idour, who was runner-up in the New Zealand welter-weight championship last year, conceded only one bad point in winning his four matches, and Stevens gave one of his best displays during the last cqpple of seasons. R. Tourrell, who has been a consistent and successful performer in local competition for some years past, scored his first title win in the middle-weight class, taking the final on points after a stern tussle with J. M'Lougblan. L. Goughian, who has had a long career in championship competition, added yet another title to his long list, winning the light heavy-weight crown by taking a fall from another experienced amateur, G. Terry, who was conceding Goughian more than a stone in weight. E. Swain had only one match in defence of his heavy-weight title, defeating R. Baker to retain the championship. The Thorn Memorial Belt for the most scientific wrestler was awarded to P. Keach. Messrs W. J. Goughian and M. Goughian were the referees, Mr T. Samson acting with them as a judge. Messrs J. J. Hall and C. Hntt were the recorders, and Mr T. M'Cracken was the timekeeper. , WINNERS OF TITLES. The 1939 titleholders are:— Bantam-weight—J. Donaldson; run-ner-up, R. Fraser. Feather-weight—L. Hastie; runnerup. C. Flowers. Light-weight, F. Keach; runner-up. N. Thomson. Welter-weight—A. Idour; runner-up. H. Stevens. Middleweight—lß. Tourell; runnerup. J. M'Lougblan. Light heavy-weight—L. Goughian : rnnner-up. G Terry. Heavy-weight—E. Swain: runner-up. R. Baker. - Results BANTAM-WEIGHT. FINAL. J. Donaldson'(B.lo|) beat R. Fraser (8.95) by a fall, the bout going 2$ minutes. FEATHER-WEIGHT. FINAL. L. Hastie (9.5) beat C. Flowers (9.6) by a fall obtained after seven minutes of very even wrestling. s LIGHT-WEIGHT. FOURTH (ROUND. N. Thomson (9.9) beat R. Richardson (10.4) by a fall after a tough and solidly-contested bout. F. Keach (10.35) beat E. Josephson (10.3) by a fall, Josephson shaping well against his experienced opponent. Richardson and Josephson, each with 6 bad points, were eliminated. FINAL. F. Keach (10.35) beat N. Thomson (9.9) on points after one of the most keenly-contested matches of the tournament. Keach was on top of his man most of the way, but Thomson defended stoutly and Keach was unable to pin him. WELTER-WEIGHT. FINAL. A. Idour (11.25) beat H. Stevens (11-3 s) on points after one of the best bouts of the evening, there being very little between the contestants. Idour ■gained the decision by reason of his aggression and superiority during the period the men were on the ground. MIDDLE-WEIGHT. FINAL. R Tourrell (12.25) beat J. M'Lougblan (12.5) on points after a very strenuous match. Tourrell kept on the attack throughout, but M'Laughlan showed good defensive qualities, and though Tourrell had a good margin in his favour at the close of the bout ho could not pin his opponent. LIGHT HEAVY-WEIGHT. FIRST ROUND. G. Terry (12.5) beat H. Wilson (13.15) by a fall. L. Goughian (13.65) bad a bye. SECOND ROUND. •L. Goughian (13.65) beat H. Wilson (13.15) by a fall. G. Terry (12.5) had a bye. Wilson, with 6 bad points, was eliminated.

FINAL. L. Coughlan (13.6}). beat G. Terry (12.5) by a fall, obtained after tour minutes of wrestling. HEAVY-WEIGHT.

FINAL. t E. Swain (13.13) beat R. Baker (13.12) by a fall.