CHAPTER IV
WINTER ACTIVITIES, INDOORS AND OUT OF DOORS

The winter season is a time when the intramural program is very much needed
in the school. Students are likely to have the normal outdoor activities of
daily living restricted during these months. There is a real need for active
recreation. A well-rounded program can now be of great service to a school. The
big difficulty is likely to be a lack of sufficient play space indoors. Because
of congested facilities, close cooperation is needed between the various phases
of the physical education work. Boys! and girls! required work, varsity ath-
letics, and intramurals must be carefully programmedin order to allow fair oppor-
tunity for all. A well considered outdoor program will serve to relieve indoor
crowding. In view of this we shall first take up outdoor activities, desirable
because they relieve the crowding inside and give the benefits of outdoor environ-
ment, thus justify their growing popularity on both scores.

OUTDOOR SPORTS

1. Bob sledding and tobogganing are fine outdoor sports if certain safety
precautions are observed. A regular course free from such obstructions as stumps,
boulders, and ditches, should be found. The danger from using streets and high-
ways for these sports is considerable and it increases in proportion to the number
of open intersections. If a city street must be used for this purpose, it should
be entirely shut off to regular traffic. These sports are particularly well
adapted to co-recreation. They fit intramurals best if a point system is used,
since they are not well adapted to competition. The big administrative diffi-
culty is the weather. Generally speaking these sports are not of very much use
except in northern states or in high mountain areas.

2- Ice boating is an interesting sport and fine recreation. The dangerous
features are spots of open water and thin ice or ice unsafe in other respects. _
This sport is restricted to cold climates. Like most of the other outdoor winter
sports, ice boating lends itself to co-recreation. Competitive racing is good.
Cost of equipment cuts down participation.

3. Ice skating. Competitive ice skating and hockey offer interesting and
invigorating sports for those who are skilled skaters. Skating is probably the
most popular winter sport outdoors. It is well suited to recreational non-
competitive sport. Open river or lake ice needs to be tested carefully for
safety. A good many schools are now flooding tennis courts or other play areas
during the winter months for use in skating and hockey. A climate with real.
winter weather is needed unless artificial ice is used. Artificial ice is
satisfactory but expensive.

4. Skiing appeals to many people of both sexes. Equipment is a little.
expensive and there is some danger of injury. After a rudimentary knowledge of
the sport has been acquired, it offers a very good recreational activity. It is
not so well adapted to a competitive basis, except by a very few unusually pro-
ficient in the sport. It fits a point system best for school intramurals, points
based on hours of participation, course traversed, etc.

5. Soccer. The sports mentioned previously will be found most popular in
cold climates. Soccer is an outdoor sport well adapted to milder winter climates,
particularly if the region is rather dry. The Southwest has suitable weather gen-
erally. Since there is little use of the hands, soccer is well suited to mild

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