FLAYING FIELDS POPULAR

Evening Star, Issue 19381, 15 October 1926, Page 8

FLAYING FIELDS POPULAR

INCREASE IH BRITISH GROUNDS

Much good spate work has been done since the inauguration_ of the National Flaying Fields Association in London just a year ago. ihis association has been formed to arouse and educate public opinion to help schemes for acquiring public recreation grounds; to secure on suitable sites; to secure special terms Ironx contractors for laying out grounds; to secure the tenure pf occupation of_ grounds already held; and to assist local authorities with advice and information. Seventeen county associations have already been formed, and it is hoped that this number will have been increased to thirty by the end of this year, and by April, 1927, will include 'every comity in England. "Work will then start on sucli Scottish and Welsh counties as have not already made a beginning. Figures which have been collected by Mr A. N. Hutt, the enthusiastic secretary of tho association, disclose what a terrible state of apathy has reigned on this subject, though there are brilliant exceptions where foresight and a policy have made headway. _ The figures range from a medium-sized town on the coast which can only boast of one hard tennis court for public use to Manchester, with its 1,615 acres of open space of which about half is devoted to recreation, This is found in 156 public football grounds, 88 cricket pitches, 23 hockey grounds, 115 grass tennis courts, 303 hard tennis courts, 71 bowling greens, nine golf putting greens, and 44 children’s playgrounds. Talking of these playgrounds, Mr Hutt said local authorities did not realise how easily odd corners and small spaces, even if only as big as a fair-sized room, could be converted into a sand playground for children by railing it oft and with a few cartloads of sand. Manchester, in addition to its public grounds, lias approximately 800 acres of private sports grounds. But even Manchester has' leeway to make up if it wishes to attain to the standard set by the association, which considers five acres of open space per 1,000 of the population a reasonable ideal, of which four acres should be for recreation. Mr Hutt is keen on the claims of net ball as a game for children which gives splendid exercise as well as inculcating that team feeling which is so valuable. A ground 100 ft by 50ft, with seven-a-side and playing fifteen minutes each way, will provide a lot of recreation in the course of an afternoon. How the playing of this game has grown in popularity can be judged from the figures given by the Net Ball Association. In 1903 there wore printed 200 copies of the rules of net ball, and all of these wore not issued; in the first six months of this year 1,100 have been printed. Mr Hutt paid a tribute of admiration to tbo work done in America on this subject, and one of thanks for the assistance he had received from those in that country who have acquired knowledge in dealing with this difficult question.