ATHLETICS FOR GIRLS

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 34, 9 August 1921, Page 10

ATHLETICS FOR GIRLS

THE NEED FOR MODERATION

Wide interest is maintained in the subject of games and athletics for- girls, on which the dangers of an ovordone cult have been urged by Miss Cowdroy, principal of the Crouch-end High School. There are, of course, those who contend that. Miss Cowdroy has taken an exaggerated view, and the independent opinion of various medical and educational authorities has been sought by the London Daily Telegraph.

In discussing the right sort of athletics for girls, the importance of the foundations of physical culture, implanted in the child .Ion? before it is capable of playing any but the simplest games, should not be forgotton. ,Grea£ and lasting service has been rendered in this connection by the Board of Education, whose ,syllabus of physical training 'and the official pamphlet showing the kind of games which children under the age of 14 should play is of such value In ole; montary schools,

A ; high authority, exceptionally qualifield; on medical and other grounds, to oxpress an opinion as to the effect of games'on girls of all ages, remarked to a representative of the Daily Telegraph that in regard to elementary school children the important thing at present was to get them to play enough game's.. "Broadly speaking, I think you can" bring up boys and girls more or less in the same way physically until the age of 11. Such games as ' cat and mouse ' and 'fill the gap' should be followed up by various ball games, relay races, etc., and rounders, the\moderii form of which is really difficult. After, the age of 11 rather different methods are needed. i Until'that age the girl is_about|as vigorj cms as the boy, but she then changes and jis not fco strong physically. From 11 1 to 14 I advocate much the same sort, of ; exercise as before, but the finer movej ments should be gradually cultivated. I Muscular co-ordination becomes importi ant—not violent exercises, but those that I will tend to make the girl graceful. Competitive games are particularly important, because the girl is much weaker than the boy in tho team instinct, and does not naturally take to playing for the side as the boy does. . -But such advanced field games as' hpekey and cricket should not bo commenced before the age of 14. , From 12 to 15 or 16 you must proceed very slowly, because the girl is growing quickly, and you have to be very careful to guard against overstrain. At these later ages a jndicions use of gymnastic exercises, ' such as Swedish drill, which are corrective and aim at developing the body as a whole, so that you do not get one-sidedness, is advisable. Dancing—particularly country and folk dances, which are, ■as a rule, included in the gymnastic course— and;swimming are excellent for this purpose. THE BEST GAMES. "In the; list of games I should put net-hall first. No girl can be hurt white playing it, and it causes no particular strain. It is played in schools of all classes, and by girls of all ages, and is particularly suitable for those schools which have not got big playing-fields. Hockey is not very suitable, on account of its one-sided action, and because it is' very strenuous. It should be played with 'very great moderation as far as young- girls 3re concerned. It is a.game for really physically fit girls. . Lacrosse is much more suitable, because there is no one-sidodness, and the movement Is .much, bettor. Cricket,-is not'ideal, particularly., for young, girls, because there.is so much standing about. The girls get bored when' fielding, and are apt to stand about on one 1 leg. In fact, it is not a girl's game. Football is most undesirables It is' too violent, and girls are not shaped to play it. Lawn tennis is, of course, admirable, but if has the objection that a lot of space I is required if many girls are to play at one time. : ' "There should be no question of competition with boys and men, who should neither play on the, same side as girls nor -form the opposing team. Women and girls will never be the physical equals of men and boys, and such, un- , desirable competition, on the part of girls leads to oyer-strain. In a word, the-essence of the whole thing is moder? ation. If the games are properly taught by a well-trained games ooaoh, used to girls, they are so graduated and graded that the girls do not get fatigued. The health of tho individual girl must. be carefully considered, and progress must be by easy stages. I do not think there is much in the suggestion' that girls who hav-e played games very vigorously are particularly liable when married to be childless. It is very difficult to express,an opinion, because we have .no statistics. It ir true that if a girl vaults very high it may lead to displacement—to give one example of a somewhat questionable. exercise—but if the physical training is graduated, if the girl does not over-fatigue herself, and if games take the,right place in her general outlook, and .she does not , go 'games mad,' it does not seem to me there is any danger." ' GRACE AND ATTRACTION. In considering the question of athletics for girls the element of graceful bearing is often overlooked, and tho fact is forgotten that in all sporte for girls the aim must be to develop the womanly side of tile character and not the manly side. This was the -view expressed by one who has made a carefui. study of the games that girk should play. Enlarging upon these views, the same au. thority laid it dotvn that; the graceless muscularity and careless attire of many modern athletic girls- made them far from charming. The sports girl was apt to be ungainly and over muscular; with wind-beaten arms and ■weathered skin she acquired a hard, unsympathetic look. Her dress wa,s often noticeably and deliberately careless. The whole problem must be looked at from the point of view of the future welfare of the race, and tho question asked: At© the attributes of the sports girl, as "we only too often see her, likely to ifit her for her duties in her home?

There can be no dispute as to the absolute necessity for games forming a very important part in the training of children and students. Rather is it a question of the estimation in which the whole thing is held, the kind of game played, and the manner in which it is played. If the most important person in the school or college is the games captain then the tone will be wrong. Sports are, after all, only a means to ail end; not an end in themselves. They must not be regarded as the staff of life. They help on the sense of unity and corporate life and instil the necessity for playing for the side and not for self as nothing else will. And surely no finer means can be found of teaching a girl to play a losing gam a with good temper and determination—a quality which will fit her far the stonier tasks, for the'spirit learned in the field will not desert her when the hour of trial comes.

11l rather striking contrast to the foregoing, was tho view expressed in another quarter that there was no reason why a, woman, provided she was not suffering from some physical infirmity, .should riot play any games which experience Ims shown, to be beneficial for men. But pit no account must mixed games bo .played if they ai"b of a strenuous character, for either the men will spoil the whole spirit of the game by, not playing their best or else the women will be unduly taxed.. Another point of import■*nc6 13 that if a man; is coaching a team

of women he must not expect the degree of endurance he would find in a team of men.

. Sir James Cantlie, M.D., of the College of Ambulance, expressed his sense of the importance of the subject, and deprecated some of the backward-bend-ing exercises that find favour with certain exponents of physical training as being particularly likely to cause serious overstrain to important muscles of a girl's anatomy.IN THE L.C.O. SCHOOLS. If there is over-indulgence in games, as what age does interference become justified? If the cult of athletics has gone beyond ■ reasonable bounds, , the taste must have been acquired, or the practice prescribed, at an age much earlier than the mischief develops. The London County Council is responsible for the education of an enormous number of young girls, but it may hold itself aloof, from the pTesent controversy, as its education department disclaims any responsibility for the physical training of the girls who attend its elementary schools. There are games carried on by the pupils of such schools—the children will see .to that —and there are physical exercises which it is explained are based more or less on the syllabus of the Board of Education, as revised from time to time. The physical exercises in the' elementary schools are practised in school hours, and are simply those known as free standing movements, and tiie 1 control .is in the hands of the headmaster or the headmistress. Thus there can be no excessive indulgence in games by girl pupils under the aegis of the London County Council. . There is testimony, however, from teachers in every quarter of London that such games and .exercises as are permitted to young girls in school hours avg of the greatest benefit to them