EXPENSE FOR SWIMMING TEAMS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 867, 10 January 1930, Page 7

EXPENSE FOR SWIMMING TEAMS

WITH most swimming centres in New Zealand experiencing a difficult season financially, the holding of the Dominion championships this month in the minor and remote centre of Greymouth has come into question in several quarters. The Auckland Swimming Centre, for instance, had to vpte £l5O as the maximum sum to send its team to Greymouth; such expenditure means a huge outlay in the limited resources of such an organisation. Auckland wants to send an adequate team to the South Island to defend the titles for the North, but such heavy costs are likely to have the effect of restricting the numbers of represenatives and, it follows, the excellence of the championship sport. The New Zealand Council’s policy of distributing annual championships as much as possible throughout the country has its flaws. In the present case, will Greymouth have a population to give sufficient support to carnivals spread over four or five days’ swimming time? Would not more benefit have been obtained, considering the enormous costs to all the centres, had the championships been allocated to Christchurch, to Dunedin, to Auckland, or Wellington, Wanganui, Napier or Timaru? The council will argue that it is encouraging sport in all parts of the Dominion, but it must be admitted that swimming in New Zealand is faced with financial problems. Easy and cheap transport to the larger centres is the only solution for championship costs. Over 90 per cent, of the principal swimmers are from the main centres, and Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, as the senders of the largest and most costly teams, must be considered.

The argument that the Greymouth public will develop an enthusiasm for swimming as the championships will he held in the town is scarcely sound. The council’s policy could be better > illustrated by the competition against the swimmers of Greymouth of a touring party of three or four prominent swimmers from the cities. There would be local significance to the event and that is a point forgotten in the present expensive policy.