T

'HE NATIONAL Conference on

Intramural Sports for College Men and Women, an outgrowth of the October 1954 Conference on Physical Education for College Men and Women, was held at the AAHPER headquarters in Washington, D. C., October 30-November 2. Its purpose was stated thus:

To consider intramural programs for college men and women, to formulate principles and to recommend administrative procedures relating to current and future programs; through the formulation of such procedures to provide greater opportunity for more young men and women to participate in healthful recreational activities.

In terms of this statement, the following objectives were established:

1. To bring together a group fairly representing the nation's colleges who are experienced in intramural pro

Education of College Women. CoChairmen of the conference were Helen W. Hazelton and Harris F. Beeman. Other members of the Steering Committee were Spurgeon Cherry, Esther French, Marie Hartwig, and Victor Moore, with Jackson M. Anderson in the capacity of AAHPER Staff Liaison.

Leaders and recorders included: A. R. Barr, C. R. Blackstock, Lois Downs, Ray O. Duncan, Wilma Gimmestad, Milton R. Howard, R. E. Jamerson, Katherine Ley, Mildred Lucey, M. M. Mackenzie, Marion Reeder, A. H. Rhoads, Deane Richardson, Ruth Schellberg, Llewellyn Wilburn, Shirley Winsberg, and Dorothy Wirthwein. The success of the Conference was due largely to the stimulating leadership of these outstanding persons.

CO-OPERATING GROUPS

Fifteen of the 21 co-operating organizations were represented at the conference by individuals who served the various discussion groups as consultants and delegates. Their readi

ness to render assistance and the quality of their suggestions added greatly to the total effort.

WORK PATTERN

The general plan of procedure called for general meetings followed by smaller working groups which attacked the problems suggested. Reports were made in general meetings, scheduled or called for this purpose, suggestions were made, reviewed by the working groups and the final reports presented for adoption at the final general meeting.

At this same meeting, the reports of the following conference committees were presented: Evaluation Committee, M. Gladys Scott; Implementation Committee, Ray O. Duncan; Proceedings Committee, Norma Leavitt; Adaptation to High School Programs, Herbert R. Steiner. Following these reports the conference was adjourned.

OUTSTANDING FEATURES

Perhaps the chief highlight of the conference was the extensive and successful planning by the Steering Committee. However, the enthusiasm of the delegates, their willingness to work long hours, to listen to the point of view of their fellows, and the general feeling of satisfaction in the progress made were outstanding features.

The stirring remarks of the three group presidents-Ruth Abernathy, AAHPER, Ruth Wilson, NAPECW, and Seward C. Staley, CPEA-in setting the stage for the efforts of the delegates cannot be overlooked.

The forthrightness of their presentations and the goals suggested gave direction to efforts and resulted in outcomes far beyond the hopes of many present.

Mention should be made of the presence of a committee representing the secondary schools. The members of this committee, who were present by invitation, entered into the work of the conference and now plan conferences of their own to consider extension of the recommendations to the high school intramural program.

FOUR MAJOR AREAS

On the basis of returns on the Survey of Intramural Problems sent to the delegates in advance, the Steering Committee set up the following four areas for consideration by the conference:

1. The Role of Intramurals in the Education of College students. 2. Organization and Administration.

3. The Program.

4. Facilities.

These four discussion groups were established, with individuals assigned to the group of preference where such was expressed. A remarkably even distribution was found.

The report of the conference represents the best thinking of those present. It should prove valuable in

extending and upgrading programs in intramural sports in our colleges and universities, and indirectly at the secondary school level, in helping to interpret the intramural sports program as a phase of the total educational program, and in defining the place of intramural sports in the total recreation program for all students.

The results of the valuation of the conference showed that, in general, the majority of delegates considered the meeting most worthwhile. Incidentally, the efforts of the Evaluation Committee referred to above are directed not at an evaluation of the conference but to the development of an evaluative instrument for use by individual institutions in the evaluation of their intramural programs.

IMPLEMENTATION

The Report of the Conference should be available for distribution at the AAHPER National Convention in Chicago in March. A joint Implementation Committee will plan and conduct a vigorous program of promotion of the findings of the conference. The Committee is composed of the following persons: Ray O. Duncan (AAHPER), West Virginia University, chairman; Ruth Abernathy (AAHPER), University of California at Los Angeles; Clifford

L. Brownell (AAHPER), Teachers College, Columbia University; Josephine Fiske (NAPECW), Goucher College; Mary Jean Mulvaney (AFCW), University of Nebraska; S. C. Staley (CPEA), University of Illinois; Ruth Wilson (NAPECW), University of Washington; and Carl A. Troester, Jr., AAHPER Executive Secretary-Treasurer and Staff Liaison.

Plans have already been made to implement the conference on the programs of the AAHPER National Convention in Chicago and at the respective District Conventions. Articles will be prepared for professional journals; district, state and local conferences will be held; and every effort will be made to bring the report to the attention of college and university presidents, deans, and other key administrators, and especially to those persons on every campus charged with the responsibility for the conduct of the program of campus recreation and particularly, of intramural sports. These, together with the efforts of the various professional groups concerned, should be effective in informing those most vitally concerned.

On top of this, the extension of the recommendations of the report to the secondary schools should do much to improve programs at that level.★

facilities-playground and playroom -is very acute. Backyard Basketball supplements these facilities by utilizing the hundreds of backyards in every community that have small areas, beside or in back of homes, measuring at least 25 feet square. The average backyard is much too small for most major sports like baseball, football, track, and tennis, but there is invariably room for a basketball half-court. Add this to existing municipal facilities and you increase play areas multifold.

ELIMINATES PROBLEMS

The second and third questions can be answered together. Let's say that, because of facility shortage, youngsters in the 10-12 age group are scheduled to use the gym only twice a week for an hour each time. What do these kids do the rest of the week with their free time? This is where delinquency often occurs.

The author explaining the game. ECREATION AND physical education leaders are enthusiastic about the possibilities of a new program for their youngsters which offers answers to some of their most frustrating problems, such as:

How can we provide additional play facilities for the ever-increasing number of youngsters in our area?

How can we guide and encourage the play of youngsters during the times when they are not scheduled on our facilities?

How do we help the many youths who do not come under our guidance at all?

How can we provide the additional equipment and supervision necessary in such an expanding situation with the limited funds allotted?

These imponderables seem to be the most universal among professional youth workers. This new program goes a long way toward alleviating all of these headaches, while at the same time offering to bolster some of the desirable tenets of good sportsmanship and fair play that sometimes do not receive sufficient emphasis in these days of "win at any cost."

HOW IT OPERATES

In this new program, prospective participants fill out registration cards at the youth agency which is running it. A clinic or series of clinics are held to explain the rules of Backyard Basketball. The director and assistants then assign the players to leagues of competitive equality based on age, height, weight, and ability categories, schedule the teams two or three times a week depending on the size of the league, and then keep the standings. Each team captain is provided with a mimeographed schedule and the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all other team captains. The schedule tells only what teams play each other each week. It is the responsibility of the team capretains to get together and arrange the mutually acceptable time and place of play within the prescribed week. The game may be played on the home court of either team or in a neutral backyard. After the game is played, the winning captain calls the score in to the youth center where the standings are kept. In between scheduled league contests, teams can schedule informally on their own just for fun and practice. With this challenge system, the youngsters can occupy themselves during their free time with many other three-man teams in the neighborhood to choose from for friendly competition. EQUIPMENT

The last question, concerning supervision and equipment, is also easily resolved with the Backyard Basketball program. The recommended equipment has been designed by the originators of the program to provide the versatility necessary to adapt to all types of installation and to all age groups. The backyard unit consists of a plastic-covered backboard guaranteed to withstand all kinds of weather, a regulation hoop with net holders, a 48-thread net steel chain net optional), and a steel bracket which projects the backboard cut from its supports so that a player does not injure himself driving in for a lay-up. It is adjustable-may be raised or lowered to fit the maturty of the particpant.

It is priced to fit the average parent's pocketbook and can be found in

sporting goods stores. The purchase of the equipment should be the responsibility of the parent, but it may even be bought with the youngster's savings. To cut expense to a minimum, the parents of three youngsters from different families may chip in to purchase one unit to be installed in the best backyard of the three families, so that the kids can register as a team at the youth center and have a home court on which to play. HONOR SYSTEM

How does the professional youth leader supervise this play in hundreds of different backyards with many games going, often concurrently, especially since he is already shorthanded in help? Backyard Basketball utilizes the honor system of play, in which the players are responsible for calling their own violations and resolving their own disputes. This sounds idealistic, but it is not.

Honor system games often have less controversy than a game with an official, since with an official, players often try to see "what they can get away with," while with the honor system the youths work at living within the letter of the rules or else they would only be cheating themselves. The emphasis on awards, if any, is placed largely on sportsmanship and personal integrity, rather than excellence. HOW IT WORKS

Here is the way it works in a game. In the case of a personal foul, the player who commits the foul is primarily responsible for calling it on himself. However, a player may call a foul on either of his two teammates. In this instance, the honesty of the fouling player is not questioned, since it is often easier for a third person to judge the play better than the two directly involved. Players may not call fouls on opponents. After a foul, the team of the player fouled takes possession sidecourt. If a basket was made on the play on which a defensive foul occurred, the basket counts and possession is still retained. In a charging and blocking situation, or one similar where two opposing players each

believes he fouled the other, fingers are matched for possession sidecourt. In the case of violations other than a foul, such as stepping on out-ofbounds line, double dribble, carrying the ball, etc., the responsibility for calling it is with the team in possession. The other team takes possession out-of-bounds. Again in the case of a dispute, fingers are matched to determine possession.

The matching of fingers to resolve honest differences of opinion works very well in play. One selects "Odd," and the other takes "Even." At a given signal, so that it occurs simultaneously, both players extend either one or two fingers. If the total is three, the player who declared "Odd" wins. If the total comes out two or four, the one who chose "Even" is the winner. The chances are equal, of course, since a three can occur two ways.

OTHER VALUES

Backyard Basketball does many other things. It brings the youngster closer to home influences, keeps him off the streets, and offers him a healthful outdoor exercise. The game is not as strenuous on growing bodies as the full-court fast-breaking regulation game, and it is a great teacher and developer of many skills. Perhaps most important of all, it is designed for participation. Everyone plays-three players to a team and no inactive bench sitters!

It is the conviction of many outstanding youth leaders that this approach is built along solid educational and recreational principles and has much to contribute to programming on the local level in any community. ★

beams and columns. Exterior walls are faced with sand-faced brick laid in common bond. All windows are set flush with exterior walls. Limestone trim is used throughout. Entrance floors and stairs are of North Carolina blue flagstone laid in random pattern. Exterior stairs are cantilevered from a central bearing wall. Main entrance doors are tempered plate glass. Windows are "Fenestra" steel sash of projected type or awning type and are provided with steelframed bronze screens.

In interior design, all partitions are brick. Ceilings are, in general, plastered with acoustical tile cemented to the plaster. The majority of walls are glazed brick, used in colors of gray, teal, green, yellow, and white. Glass block is used in various areas in the building. The entrance lobby is veneeered with Virginia greenstone. Reception rooms and lounges are panelled with birch plywood. Dance studios, corrective laboratory, and main gymnasium have maple floors. Other floors are finished with Flexachrome plastic asbestos except for shower, drying, locker rooms, toilets, which have ceramic tile floors. Toilet partitions and shower stall walls are ceilingsupported porcelain-enamelled steel in coral and gray.

Lounges are equipped with small efficiency kitchen units closed off by means of Modern fold doors. Other Modernfold doors are used at issue windows, as partition in the dance studios, and at other areas in the building. Windows line the interior wall of the bowling alleys allowing view of alleys from interior corridor. Wall mirrors are used extensively in various rooms, especially in dance studios, corrective laboratories, and dressing rooms. All lights are recessed and flush with the ceilings. Heat is thermostatically controlled in each unit. A complete system of ventilation serves all inside rooms in

the building. In the gymnasium, the unit ventilators will allow a complete air change every five minutes. In all locker rooms, exhaust ducts are located behind the lockers, thus assuring elimination of locker-room odors.

Most rooms in the building have built-in cork bulletin boards, bookcases, and cabinets. Closets are located in many areas for storage and cleaning equipment. Each staff member has a private office with a small adjoining waiting room. In each office are cork board, built-in book cases, closet, and storage cabinets. Office furniture is gray frosted walnut, and lounge furniture is rattan or modern natural wood. The Mary Channing Coleman Memorial room is located to the left of the entrance lobby. In this room are books donated by graduates and friends, Miss Coleman's library, papers, personal and professional mementos, such as her fellowship award from the AAHPER and the gavel she used as second woman president of the Association.

MULTIPLE USE

Multiple use has been made of some teaching centers in the new building. The main floor is marked for basketball, volleyball, badminton, and tennis. The adjoining outside terrace carries the same markings and also recessed mountings for net posts. The main gymnasium and the outdoor terrace are equipped with a sound system with concealed microphones. The outdoor terrace is lighted for roller skating and dancing at night. An intercommunication system with 13 stations serves as a contact between teaching areas in the new building and the connecting gymnasium.

WHAT WE LIKE

For our purposes, this new facility has proved very satisfactory. It must be remembered that it is, in a sense, an addition to existent facilities and was planned with that supplementation in mind. After having worked in the building for over two years, the following details seem worthy of mention.

1. The use of glazed brick on all interior walls. This has kept housekeeping at a minimum and repair and maintenance very low.

2. Closets and storage space. There is an abundance of closets, storage space, and built in cabinets designed for the specific use for which each was intended. This makes housekeeping easy, and is one of our real joys in using the facility.

3. Architectural designs which simplify hygienic control of the environment. An example of one of the many features designed by the architect to meet our special requests is the ceiling hanging of all toilet and shower partitions which eliminates floor legs. Hoses and mops can quickly clean all shower and toilet areas.

4. The use of acoustic tile. Sound and noise elimination creates a quiet climate even though several classes may be in activity at the same time.

5. Color-flowers-planting boxes -comfort. Our students continue to be enthusiastic about the gymnasium which to them seems "beautiful, feminine, home-like, quiet, and functional."

areas

6. Integration of outdoor with the indoor facilities. While athletic fields, golf course, and tennis courts are close to the site of the new building, three areas were planned The along with the construction. outdoor terrace adjoins the main gymnasium area and is usable with it; the golf putting green is adjacent to the indoor golf area; the outdoor dance terrace adjoins the dance studios and is usable for outdoor classes in modern dance, or for additional practice area in good weather.

WHAT WE WOULD ADD

It is difficult to say what one would do if one had the opportunity to start over again. So much depends on factors inherent to the construction problems. We would probably use more glass windows on interior walls, especially on walls adjacent to studios used for dance and for other activi ties which did not involve balls. We would also make a glass-walled observation deck in the passageway which connects the two gymnasiums If we were to start again, we should certainly hope for the same kind of understanding from an administra tion, the same enthusiasm from stu dents and staff, and the chance to have the same architect to assist us in the realization of our dreams.