Byrn

Hoover

Byrn

Hoover

Byrn

Hoover

Byrn

Hoover

Byrn

PHYSICAL EDUCATON FOR HEALTH
December 15, 1938

"Recreational Sports for Women"
(Miss Ruth Hoover and Miss Jane Byrn)

Miss Hoover, what do you classify as recreational sports for women}

Recreational sports for women include practically all athletic act-
ivities and games in which women engage; for the women do not have the
difficulties that the men encounter in having individuals indulge in
sports for financial returnss Women engage in sports for the fun,
enjoyment, physical vigor and social pleasure which they obtain from
them.

Do you mean that you consider team games, such as basketball and base-
ball, as recreative sports then?

For girls and women, yes; they play these games for the fun and relax-
ation they have in doing thems Hockey is another team:game which is
especially good for recreative purposes. I only wish more of it were
played in this part of the country as it is in the East. Then club
teams could be formed for the girls and women who have graduated from
school and they could have the opportunity of activity and social con-
tacts with other clubs. But tonight the games I wish to consider more
specifically under the head of recreational sports are those like ping~
pong, deck tennis, badminton, shuffleboard, etcs Really games which
need no more than two people for participation and which also require
small playing areas and inexpensive equipment. Too, they are games
that are splendid for co-recreation, and as such I think they are very
valuable. :

What do you mean by co-recreative games?

I mean games which are suitable for boys and girls or women and men
to play in together. Football, as you know, is a man's game only,

but ping pong, badminton, shuffleboard and such games may be played
with both men and women or boys and girls on the same team with pleas-
ure for each. Don't you think it wise for men and women to engage in
games together?

Oh, emphatically sos They must learn to adjust themselves to cach
other in business, social and marital relationships, so why shouldn't
they learn to do it early. And you kmow that as we increase the range
of interests and activitics men and women have in common, we are in~
creasing the possibilities of a successful social adaptations. I am
very strong for such gamos.

Do you know, I really beliove parents would solve many difficult
problems for their children, both boys and girls, of what to do in
their leisure time or with their dates, if they would only ldok into
these recreational sports and if they would provide opportunities for
them to be played in their back yards and recreational rooms in the
home.

Yes, on these winter cvenings a game of ping pong or table tennis is
wonderful recreation and not too strenuous. This game has literally
swept the coumtry. After the dinner table is cleared it may be used
if one does not have a regulation tables But you lmow, it doesn't
cost much to make a realy table for yourself. Just buy a 9 x 5 piece