Part 11
In the year 1915, we started for the first time work in track and field athletics. A dual meet was held here on May 17 between Howard Payne and Stephens. It met with such overwhelming success that we have planned to make it an annual event. There were several physicians present at the meet, and they were very enthusiastic in their praise of the work, saying that it was one of the finest moves that had been made within recent years for the development of our girls. Notwithstanding these facts, there is still a great deal of prejudice against this particular form of athletics, and the two questions that are uppermost in the minds of a great many are: “Are we taking chances with the girls’ future health by allowing these sports?” “Do the advantages gained overshadow the possible danger?” These questions should be given careful consideration by the physical directors and they should see to it that the girls under their charge receive careful training and supervision. It is only in this way that we shall be able to break down the prevailing prejudices. I should say that under proper conditions and supervision the gain in health and strength far outweighs the risks of danger. Here in our own school the girls who are most active in athletics are the healthiest and are rarely ever absent from classes because of illness.
Since the meet held here in Fayette in 1915 was the first intercollegiate meet of its kind for girls in this section of the country, it might be of interest to include in this article the various events used:
Target shooting 50-yard dash Base ball throw 60-yard hurdles (3 hurdles) Discus--2-l/2 pounds 75-yard dash Shot-put--8 pounds Running high jump Basket ball throw Running broad jump 220-yard dash
Girls’ Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League
Among the sanctioned activities of the Girls’ Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League are the following team games for the Elementary Schools: End Ball, Captain Ball, Basket Ball, Punch Ball, Indoor Base Ball.
_End Ball_ can be played by a varied number of players. The playing rules are to be found in the Official Handbook of the Girls’ Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League, published by the American Sports Publishing Company. This book says: “The object of the game is for the guards on one side to throw the ball over the heads of the guards on the opposite side to their own basemen, at the end of the opposite field. Each such ball caught by a baseman shall score one point for the side catching it.
“The object of the intervening guards is to intercept the ball before it can reach the basemen at their rear, and to throw it in turn to their own basemen at the rear of the opposite court, over the heads of the intervening opponents.”
_Captain Ball._--“The main object of the game is for the basemen of a team to pass the ball from one to another, each pass successfully made scoring for the team, as described under ‘Score.’
“The object of the guards is to intercept the passage of the ball and send it back to their own basemen for similar play.” For the rules and details see Official Handbook of the League.
_Basket Ball._--The Spalding Athletic Library rules for the line game are used.
_Punch Ball._--For this the league rules as set forth in Official Handbook. “The object of the batter is to hit the ball into the field in such a way that it may not be caught by the fielders, and to run to first base. The object of the fielders is to return the ball to their catcher, who shall stand on the home plate and hold the ball before the batter reaches first base. If the fielders muff the ball and are slow in returning it to home plate, the batter who has reached first may continue on to second or third base, or as far as in her judgement she can get before the ball reaches home plate. The player running the bases may always advance a base whenever the opportunity occurs and the ball is in play. The final object of the player running to the bases is to touch each base and to reach the home plate without being put out, thus scoring one run for her side.”
Besides these team games, the league sanctions the following activities, which are conducted according to rules and regulations set forth in the Official Handbook: Folk Dancing, Walking, Swimming, Horseback Riding, Ice and Roller Skating, Rope Skipping, Bicycling, Coasting, Golf, Lawn Tennis, Hand Tennis, Heavy Gymnastics, Track and Field Events, Field Hockey, Volley Ball, Newcomb and Pin Ball.
Intercollegiate Alumnae Athletic Association
BY MISS LILLIAN SCHOEDLER,
Originator and Honorary President of the Intercollegiate A. A. A.;
Chairman of the Alumnae Committee on Athletics of Barnard College.
New York witnessed the establishment of the first Intercollegiate Alumnæ Athletic Association the world has known. And its organization proves beyond a doubt the strong grip that athletics are getting on the modern woman.
In 1913 a group of twenty-five alumnæ from Barnard College, which met for swimming and basket ball, sowed the seed for the present association. That seed grew so quickly that by 1916 there had been 974 enrollments for the athletic work which the Alumnae Committee on Athletics of Barnard College had originated, and the activities had grown until they included, besides basket ball and swimming, social, folk and æsthetic dancing, bowling, hand ball, gymnasium work, indoor and outdoor horseback riding, with drill work, polo and basket ball on horseback, field hockey, base ball, tennis, tramping, summer boat and trolley trips, swimming parties, and college picnics of all kinds.
Three factors have contributed to the success of the alumnæ athletic movement in New York. In the first place, its activities have been carried on outside of business hours--in evenings, or during week-ends--so that college women who work, as well as their more leisurely sisters, could enjoy the fun. In the second place, the social end as well as the athletic has been provided for in the making of all plans, and as a result alumnæ athletics, through their informality and atmosphere of “camaraderie,” are serving to bring together college individuals and groups as nothing else can. And, in the third place, everything has been planned as simply and inexpensively as possible, as witness the fact that horses are secured at one of the best New York academies for sixty-three cents an hour, including instruction, and that members who have no habits ride in middy blouses and bloomers. There is no pretense at “style,” but every emphasis on fun.
The new association is a pioneer in its field, and is being watched with much interest by college men and women alike. It is hoped that before long similar associations will spring up in various sections of the country, and that college women will soon have the organized facilities for exercise and recreation for the possession of which they have always envied their college brothers.
Which city will be the first to follow New York’s successful example?
* * * * *
Miss Schoedler has very kindly consented to give advice to any group of college women in any city who wish to form an organization for the purpose of continuing athletics. Communications to Miss Schoedler at 249 West 107th Street, New York City, will result in a prompt answer.--THE EDITOR.
When selecting apparel or implements for any pastime, it is well to bear in mind the synonymous meaning of “Spalding” and “Quality”
GYMNASIUM APPARATUS
Colleges and schools contemplating installing a gymnasium or adding to present equipment are invited to correspond with our Gymnasium Contract Department in relation to same. Our many years experience manufacturing gymnasium and playground apparatus render us peculiarly fitted to solve the problems that inevitably arise.
A. G. SPALDING & BROS., Inc.
Gymnasium Contract Department CHICOPEE, MASS.
GIRLS’ SCHOOL AND COLLEGE OUTFITS
We are now furnishing a number of women’s colleges and schools--also girls’ camps--with complete uniform outfits and would be pleased to submit prices and samples on request.
The entire second floor of the new Spalding Building, 523 Fifth Avenue, is devoted exclusively to Women’s “Coverley Clothes”--sport suits, tennis and golf wear, separate skirts, sport hats, shirts, ties and shoes. Near Grand Central station and convenient to leading hotels. Catalogue mailed.
A. G. SPALDING & BROS.
School and College and Camp Departments
523 Fifth Avenue, New York
SPALDING FIELD HOCKEY STICKS
No. =2-A=. Head of fine grained selected oak. Handle spliced to reduce risk of breakage, and built up of strips of rattan cane, with strip of pure Para rubber intersecting to prevent stinging of the hands.
“Applebee OO” Regulation Stick
No. =2S=. Ash head, with bulge back of striking surface, rattan cane handle, with whipping. Finest material and workmanship throughout.
“Applebee O” Regulation Stick
No. =2B=. Plain ash, turned knob, wound with twine.
Spalding “Club” Stick
No. =1=. Plain ash, turned knob, scored handle.
Spalding Field Hockey Balls
No. =7=. “Grand Prix” Ball as used by best players in England.
With two coats special elastic white enamel.
Per ball, extra.
No. =B=. Seamless, white enameled leather cover; excellent quality.
No. =C=. Rubber Cover Composition Ball; superior quality.
Spalding Regulation Field Hockey Goals
No. =2=. Heavy japanned tubing frame, with tarred nets complete, so that goal may be set up quickly and taken down just as readily.
Field Hockey Shin Guards
No. =F=. Canvas. With ankle protectors.
No. =40=. Leather. With ankle protectors.
Spalding Field Hockey Gloves
No. =P=. Made skeleton style. Fingers and thumb well protected with rubber.
Rubber Ring Finger Protection
No. =R=. Pure gum ring. Will fit any stick, and prevent opponent’s stick from slipping up and injuring the fingers.
Standard Quality
An article that is universally given the appellation “=Standard=” is thereby conceded to be the criterion, to which are compared all other things of a similar nature. For instance, the Gold Dollar of the United States is the Standard unit of currency, because it must legally contain a specific proportion of pure gold and the fact of its being Genuine is guaranteed by the Government Stamp thereon. As a protection to the users of this currency against counterfeiting and other tricks, considerable money is expended in maintaining a Secret Service Bureau of Experts. Under the law, citizen manufacturers must depend to a great extent upon Trade-Marks and similar devices to protect themselves against counterfeit products--without the aid of “Government Detectives” or “Public Opinion” to assist them.
Consequently the “Consumer’s Protection” against misrepresentation and “inferior quality” rests entirely upon the integrity and responsibility of the “Manufacturer.”
A. G. Spalding & Bros. have, by their rigorous attention to “Quality,” for forty years, caused their Trade-Mark to become known throughout the world as a Guarantee of Quality as dependable in their field as the U. S. Currency is in its field.
The necessity of upholding the Guarantee of the Spalding Trade-Mark and maintaining the Standard Quality of their Athletic Goods, is therefore, as obvious as is the necessity of the Government in maintaining a Standard Currency.
Thus each consumer is not only insuring himself but also protecting other consumers when he assists a Reliable Manufacturer in upholding his Trade-Mark and all that it stands for. Therefore, we urge all users of our Athletic Goods to assist us in maintaining the Spalding Standard of Excellence, by insisting that our Trade-Mark be plainly stamped on all athletic goods which they buy, because without this precaution our best efforts towards maintaining Standard Quality and preventing fraudulent substitution will be ineffectual.
Manufacturers of Standard Articles invariably suffer the reputation of being high-priced, and this sentiment is fostered and emphasized by makers of “inferior goods,” with whom low prices are the main consideration.
A manufacturer of recognized Standard Goods, with a reputation to uphold and a guarantee to protect must necessarily have higher prices than a manufacturer of cheap goods, whose idea of and basis of a claim for Standard Quality depends principally upon the eloquence of the salesman.
We know from experience that there is no quicksand more unstable than poverty in quality--and we avoid this quicksand by Standard Quality.
[Transcriber’s Note:
Obvious printer errors corrected silently.
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.]