CULT OF FITNESS :: THE BRITISH METHOD

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20995, 23 December 1939, Page 20 (Supplement)

CULT OF FITNESS :: THE BRITISH METHOD

Sir Noel Curtis-Bennett, on behalf of the English National Fitness Council, made a very interesting statement recently on the progress of the movement, which is similar to the one in New Zealand.

“The idea,” he said, “is not to build up enormous muscular specimens, but to rope in the young, inculcate them with love for the open air and healthy sport, so that throughout their lives they will maintain happy minds and healthy bodies, and to give them a knowledge of health and hygiene that will always stand them in good stead. “One must never lose sight of the fact that all types of people must be provided for, and that there must be recreations to suit not only those who are exhilarated by the presence of large numbers, but also those who intensely dislike being herded, and take their pleasures either alone or in the company of just a few intimate friends.

“There must be no attempt at regimentation, so that a single type is massproduced. Each of the millions affected by the scheme must have perfect freedom of action, which is essential to the development of individual personality. No one in Eritain can make you fit against your will, and compulsion would defeat the chief aims of the Council. But the Fitness Movement wants to provide facilities so pleasant and plentiful that everyone will desire to take advantage of them. “Now, do not imagine that because there are not hordes of people all in the same uniform, marching, counter-marching, and strutting and goose-stepping and armwaving, that nothing has been accomplished. Because there is no compulsion, progress is necessarily slow. But for the same reason, it has a greater degree of permanence than would otherwise be the