SWIMMING DIFFICULTIES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 851, 20 December 1929, Page 12

SWIMMING DIFFICULTIES

COMPETITIVE swimming in Auckland this season will have one of the sternest lights of its existence in succeeding in finance and in public..support.

The poor results of the carnivals held so far this season have made clubs enter into carnival proposals with scant hope of success; indeed, some clubs (each is compelled, under Swimming Association rules, to conduct at least one carnival a season) hold their events with the expectation of a loss. The Auckland Centre lost heavily on the carnivals at which the Australians, Ryan and Griffiths, appeared; and what profits there were went to the New Zealand Council, the body which organised a tour which has not been over-impressive.

Since then, the prospects for the clubs have not been encouraging, especially when the sparse financial returns of last season nearly resulted in the disbanding of a City club. The sport itself is not to blame. Auckland has the best talent in the Dominion and the clubs provide bright carnivals. Much of the cause is in the growing counter-attractions of the City; then again, there are the heavy incidental expenses of conducting a carnival.

The City Council charges &5 for the holding of a night’s programme in the Tepid Baths. It is a large sum, which is hard to overcome these days, and it seems that the clubs should represent their difficulties to the council. As a sport, swimming, perhaps, does the most, community service. Local bodies must appreciate the voluntary work of the Auckland Centre last season in testing over 5,000 successful children in the province for certificates. This year, perhaps 10,000 children will gain certificates —surely a tribute to a splendid public work. The swimming outlook is indeed and no time should be lost in taking vital questions in hand. Aii effort should be made to reduce the expense confronting each club carnival, but means of drawing public interest from many other attractions are admittedly obscure. The clubs’ only aim is to secure sufficient funds to carry on a sport which serves the public.