BOY WRESTLERS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23590, 29 August 1938, Page 7

BOY WRESTLERS

ro CHE EDITOfI Sir—Being a mere male, I read with much perplexity the paragraph in your issue of August 26, stating that the (Australian) -National Council of Women was “annoyed and shocked” because boys had wrestled in preliminaries at the West Melbourne Stadium. One can readily understand the ignorance of this august body upon the subject of amateur wrestling, as no doulrt the good ladies who constitute this organisation visualised the small wrestlers squirming in agony under the pressure of a wristlock or bodyscissors, or perhaps being pounded into insensibility under a barrage of flying tackles or elbow Jolts, whilst the bloodthirsty mob roared its encouragement. We are told that “the appearance of the boys was pitiful in the extreme,” and that “ people who listenedin told us all about it.”. May I suggest that “ people who listened-in ” were not the best source of information, as spectators would be in a position to give a more accurate account of the bouts? One cannot but get the impression that it is implied by these ladies that the boys were participating in something cruel and barbaric, but with your leave I would like to quote a few excerpts from the rules of the International Amateur Wrestling Federation, which ■ rules are universally adopted for the conduct, of amateur wrestling. The rules provide inter alia: . Twisting of fingers and toes is forbidden. . . . Striking, kicking, gouging, hairpulling, and butting are forbidden, and any grip that endangers life or limb, or has for its object the punishment of an opponent, or the infliction of such pain as to force him to give the fall will not be allowed . . . To throw out of the mat is forbidden. To avoid accidents, caution for the same must be given, even If the act were not Intentional. The rules further provide that when throwing an opponent to the mat a competitor must himself first go down on one knee. These are merely a few of the precautionary measures adopted for th° safety of amateurs. We are told that children should not be taught to fight—very few small boys require to be taught—that wrestling is the next thing to boxing and apart from being allowed to fight (wrestle) the boys should never have been taken into an atmosphere such as the stadium. Any sane and healthy man ■will agree that every boy should be taught one of the manly arts, and wrestling and boxing are excellent training for boys. In addition to assisting in the improvement of a boy s physique, wrestling and boxing teach a boy to exercise self control and induce' a spirit of fair play and sportsmanship. After all, we want the men of to-morrow to be brought up in the ways of men with an appreciation of manly pastimes and not brought up on tea parties and taught to wear lace and frills. “The atmosphere of the stadium is made to appear as something obnoxious. What healthier and cleaner atmosphere exists than that of a sporting gathering? We have yet to see an athletic function advertised as “ recommended by the censor for adult audiences only.” Much of the moral turpitude existing at the present tune would be absent if the youth of to-day spent more time in gymnasia. The spirit of charity was obviously not absent from the stadium as the wrestling audience demonstrated by its voluntary contribution to the small wrestlers, who were inmates of an orphanage—its appreciation of the necessity of financial assistance to such institutions. Furthermore, to raise a purely materialistic viewpoint, the contacts made by the boys in such circumstances will probably prove beneficial in after life. A large majority of all audiences at sporting fixtures is composed of business men, and many a boy has obtained a position through being brought to the notice of a potential employer at a sporting fixture. . I cannot but agree with the principal of the orphanage who states that no harm can come to the boys, and i go further and say that the boys are being introduced into circles which will make men of them and to a sport which will assist and promote their physical development.—l am, etc., Eurabates.