FITNESS IN WAR

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 77, 28 September 1939, Page 13

FITNESS IN WAR

URGED BY MINISTER

NATIONAL COUNCIL MEETS

GOOD PROGRESS MADE

The importance of physical fitness in time of war was stressed by the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry), chairman, when speaking "at the fifth meeting of the National Council of Physical Welfare and Recreation yesterday. Mr. Parry urged that a "Get Fit and Keep Fit" class should be organised in each district.

The men of the last war should give a lead, and then they could expect the young lads who were still too young to enlist to come to classes arranged for them. Adolescents needed this training, and it must be provided. A special call should be made on- sporting bodies so that they would feel it, an urgent responsibility to recruit more to their ranks, for he was convinced that they could serve better than they did at present the ordinary young man and young woman. Let them concentrate less on the champion and the gate money and the crowd of spectators. If a system of good average standards for athletic performance were worked out and a certificate or badge of recognition of fitness issued, everybody would have something concrete to xvork for. Compulsion might be necessary later, but he had sufficient faith in the true patriotism of New Zealanders to feel sure that they would rise to the occasion and become fighting fit voluntarily,., just because they knew they owed it to themselves and the rest of the people. ■ HELPING FARMERS. Then, again, the sports bodies were convenient units to handle when farmers were looking for weekend labour during harvest time. Motor loads of lads and girls, too, could give help in the country and have a happy* healthy time together doing physical work for pleasure in contrast to the office and brain work they did all through the week. This scheme had been tried out with great success already in several parts of this country. Another phase of the work which came rather in the province of recreation and entertainment than physical fitness in its usual sense was the provision of entertainment for the soldiers. Concert parties and social and recreative organisations could be aided in arranging for the amusement of the soldiers, sailors, and Air Force men in their camps and occupied posts. SCARCITY OF INSTRUCTORS. The Minister said his attention had been drawn to the scarcity of recreation instructors, both men and women. Now that the Education Department had its Superintendent of Physical Education a co-operative training scheme between the Education Department and the Department of Internal Affairs should be commenced without delay. The Minister expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the organisation of the physical fitness movement. "At this present juncture, it is also our dutyl—ar^d by no means a happy, one-rtq.reorientate; our efforts in conformity with the grim realities of war," said Mr. Parry. "Fortunately, the stage of crisis and uncertainty seems Jo have passed, and it is possible to come to some conclusions on what we must look forward to. In this connection I think I can do no better than quote the following from my recent letter to district committees: 'The fact that the nation is in a state of war leaves no room for uncertainty about the place of the physical welfare and recreation movement in the national scheme of things. It is abundantly obvious that so far from the movement being redundant at a time like the present, it has in it potentialities for maintenance of national morale, the training of youths, entertainment of workers, and the wholesome and. healthful relief of the conditions of morbid tension that might otherwise arise.'" AREA INSTRUCTORS. In his report, dealing fully with activities," Mr. C. R. Bach, physical welfare officer,. Department of Internal Affairs, said that the scheme for the employment of area instructors had been initiated by th? appointment of three men and "three women— Messrs: Lan,ce Cross, Stewart McNicol, and Lloyd Woods, and Misses Rona Stephenson,. Noeline Thomson, and Leila Story—and they were working in three areas, namely, the Waikato (with its special problem of dealing with a closely settled farming community), the Wellington area (a thickly populated industrial group), and Southland (a comparatively sparsely populated farming community subject to a very rigorous winter). The six instructors had been able to settle down to worth-while work immediately, and district committees had been able very quickly to take advantage of the services offering.

Arrangements were in hand to hold four instructional courses for members of the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union and also women's institutes.

The group travel scheme had been established with success in the South Island, and the movement also had been started in the North Island. So far 58 returns had been received relating to the national survey of existing recreation facilities. Additional district committees had been set up, making- in all 176.