Smallbore Shooting

This was one of the few sports at which Victoria performed well in at Winter Tournament.

The Vic team of G. Adlam, E. Voyce, A. Bland, T. Fair, and P. Hosking shot well for Victoria to score a total of 2326.140 points, to finish 2nd to Canterbury's 2367.169 pts.

Auckland was third with 2317.133 points, followed by Orago 2282.116 and Massey 2278.109.

Vic's T. Fair and G. Adlam with totals of 592.43 and 592.39 were among the six best shooters competing. The others were N. Mann (596.48), J. Hobbs (594.39), I. Cassar (593.4) all from Canterbury; and R. Charlesworth (593.43) Auckland.

Both T. Fair and Gavin Adlam were fittingly included in the NZU Smallbore Shooting team.

Skiing

Winter Tournament was noted for the earnestly serious tone of the racing fraternity and the almost frivolous neglect givin to the more humanly demanding aspect of social intercourse and interaction. Otago's attempts at organising a successful, boozy, shabby ski tournament were thwarted by the unfortunate, mature, sober, senior med. students and the matronly Home Scientists.

Perhaps they felt that the rising standard of University skiing demanded a serious approach. They provided electric timers, radios, French-Canadian course-setters and even mathematicians capable of calculating the odd result or two.

They never did decide how the winner should be decided but in characteristic fashion argued over the relative merits of addition or multiplication while the final splosh of Tournament Dinner at Arthur's Point should have been moving.

We appreciated their efforts in making it rain every day on Ruapehu while we at Coronet could see for miles and miles in all directions; up and down the shirt-front and even right up the Gleensleeves trail.

The two giant slalom courses were of near-Olympic standard and managed to use most of the rolls and hollows characteristic of Coronet Peak to full advantage.

As a spectator's spectacle the events were unsurpassable. People could fall and break a ski anywhere on the course and be in the full view of at least 22 full-time practising sadists.

The slalom was held in the fog one associates with Grenoble and competitors were generally grumpy. It was very encouraging to have a different course for the second run of the event.

The technically difficult courses challenged the top racers in both memorising and skiing the correct line properly. A few falls and timing errors marred the tense excitement of the overall placings but seldom before has there been such a large number of excellent skiers of tournament.

Two N.Z. team members and five N.Z. B grade racers were the notables, but even the third and fourth team members could finish within ten seconds of first place.

The full-blown downhill race was not held because of doubts the organisers had of the ability of racers. This should never happen again and racers must always be tested to the limits of their abilities.

We found the drinking-horn obnoxiously over-organised and before a man could down his brown a chief of race had to call a checklist including four judges, two timers, four spillage-control and two chunder control.

Only then could the starter commence his spiel. We were moderately successful in the girl's team drinking, second; but the men suffered from antagonistic judges, spillage, and finally regurgitation. Victoria Hanna won the men's individuals and, in the opinion of many, the filthy joke contest.

The Beer Slalom turned into a pathetic farce with the last team shivering their way Through ditches, over fences, roads, woodpiles, three ounce glasses and mist at 6 p.m. This event must surely be a test of drinking and not ability on skis.

Otago redeemed itself in some measure by shouting gallons and gallons of beer and gin at tournament dinner.

The spectacle of Gus and Tony disappearing over balcanies with their guitars and banjos delighted almost everyone except their immediate next of kin and current intimate female accompli.

The final results we suspect lie somewhere in the dregs of the Otago Hut but we have some general placings:

Teams Overall: Otago 1, Canterbury 2, Lincoln 3, Victoria 4, Auckland 5, Massey 6.

Men's Individual: Bob Sevy 1, John Armstrong 2, Tony Chance 3, Mike O'Brian 4, Henry Wauchop 5.

Women's Individual Robyn Willis I, Sue Ryan-2.

The members of the Victoria Team comprised Ann Armstrong, Kathie Eggers, Liz Pike, Bettina Prior, John Armstrong, Tim Haiselden, Phil Jones and Robert Ongley.