SPORTS BUDGET

Southland Times, Issue 24882, 23 October 1942, Page 6

SPORTS BUDGET

Bowls Tournaments Popular The popularity of the one-day bowling tournament has once again been demonstrated in Southland. Entries for the Northend Bowling Club’s Labour Day tournament closed with a surplus of rinks I and now the Waikiwi Club has received 1 many entries for its tournament, also on i Monday. A third tournament is that of the Gore Bowling Club. It is also possible that ether clubs will hold semi-official tournaments on Monday. First Carnival The Southland Centre's first swimming meeting of the season was a greater success than the opening meeting last year, both on the score of numbers of competitors and times. On the whole the times registered were good, and apart from the general standard, two Southland records were eclipsed. Both, however, were i.i handicap events, and are not recognized as records. Patricia Smith swam the width in Bsec, four-fifths of a second under Audrey Fitzsimmon's record of 1934. Jack Macdonald was four-fifths of a second below David Doake’s 75 yards junior boys' backstroke mark of 59 l-ssec. Otautau Sports Given fine weather on Labour Day the Otautau Athletic Society can look forward to a successful meeting. Smaller prize money will be offered for the cycling, bushcraft and running events, which will undoubtedly not be as fully patronized as at previous sports meetings. No change will be made in the prize money for the piping and national dancing events. Oats on Golf Course To reduce expenditure at a well-known Otago golf course, and, at the same time, assist the war effort, the St. Clair Golf Club has sacrificed the whole of its “new” paddock, which has now been ploughed and prepared for a crop of oats. This measure, which would be unthinkable in normal times, and which illustrates the extent to which the game has been affected by war conditions, has deprived the club of five holes and has necessitated the adoption of alternatives, which have been cheerfully accepted by members. The “course" now consists of the first 13 holes and Nos. 1,2, 7, 8 and 9 played a second time. New Chaperone With the departure from Invercargill a short time ago. of Southland’s swimming chaperone, Mrs T. Lynch, a gap which appeared hard to fill was created. However, at last Wednesday’s swimming carnival a worthy successor appeared. She is Mrs Davis, better known to Southlanders as Miss Nancy Basstian, who made her mark in Southland and New Zealand swimming not so long ago. Now the wife of one of the province’s leading swimming enthusiasts, Mr Owen Davis, Mrs Davis was the right person in the right place at Wednesday’s carnival. When she is familiar with th? large crop of youngsters who have appeared since her competitive days, her stewardship at swimming galas should be very helpful. Tied Twice The history of cricket reveals many curious tie match coincidences. Records, obviously, are Incomplete and it is, therefore, not possible to say if the recent experience of the Blackpool Services is unique, but in any case it must be extremely rare. A few months ago the Services eleven, under Flight-Lieutenant V. E. Blunt, tied al 109 each with Leyland (England) in the Ribblesdale League. Hayes, of the Surrey ground staff, distinguished himself by taking nine wickets for 66, catching the last man and scoring 46. A week later the Services scored 116 against Kirkham after losing six wickets for 21. Kirkham ran to 110 for six, only to lose their last four wickets foi 6 runs, thus bringing about another tie. Class For Swimmers Beginning next Wednesday, a physical culture class for swimmers will be conducted under the direction of Mr H. C. Bradley, of the Physical Welfare Department. The class will be exercised in a skilled manner, the sole object being to improve the general physique and strengthen muscles and parts of the body upon which the attainment of really high | honours at the sport depend. Mr C. A. Stewart, principal of the Southland Technical College, has made facilities available on the college grounds. £3OOO For Golf Ball Bob Zeddies, an American collector of gc.lf relics, has in his possession the world’s most expensive golf ball. It is a ball Chick Evans played at a Red Cross match at Lake Shore Country Club (Chicago district) in 1918. The ball has a small red cross painted on it. With the ball Mr Zeddies has a cancelled cheque for 10,000 dollars with which the late Julius Rosenwald paid the Red Cross for this souvenir. Cricket Competitions Entries for the competitions of the Southland Cricket Association were to have closed last Tuesday, but the date has now been changed to next Tuesday. It is practically certain that there will be six senior teams, and perhaps without one from the High School, which will enter a senior team only if this is necessary to avoid a bye. The prospects for the season may therefore be regarded as quite good considering the difficulties that all clubs are having in finding enough players these days. Owing to Labour week-end holiday, the Splash Club will not meet until the 30th October at 6.15 p.m.—Advt.