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Show 1 ..,- ns-t- -P a r For Firs Time in the World's History outs held at Mamaroneck, N. Y., - - fT .ft &jrs arcd Women to Compete on bqual . i . Terms With Men in All the Most j '' Difficult Tests of Strength, Endurance and Skill ground and kicking her I ' great sprinter and broad jumper 52PSfc WP WITHIN just the last few year! events have come crowding thick and fast, signalizing the progress of woman in many dilTercnl fields of life. Through the centuries she has been advancing from the lowly state when she was held as a slave and a chattel, chat-tel, but it had been slow work until lately, when her victories began to come with a rush. She won the vote. She came to stand by the side of man in the business world Admissions of equality became matters H of frequency. And now it is being granted that she has successfully invaded a field that always al-ways has been considered peculiarly man's, the field of the display of his greater strength the field of athletics. nd it is not alone conceded that her efforts in sports are creditable for their own sake, but it is even being recognized that in 5' -gy some trials of strength and skill she must be re- Bff garded as a serious com- mm petitor against man. I That is what ia aigni- 5 k tied by the decision of the Amateur Athletic Union. the nation-wide A. A. U., to admit women to com- trJ''llnihfcftfi petition in track and BBH field events. It seems all to have taken place in such a brief span. In a matter of a few years women almost have made up the terrific handicap of centuries of time. Not long ago the athletic girl was pictured pic-tured holding a croquet mallet, or perhaps per-haps if she were especially strenuous she might be observed moving decorously decorous-ly across the tennis court. Now there is scarcely any department of sport in which women do not engage. And she may excel in all except those in which sheer strength is the predominating predomi-nating element. The action of the A. A. U. was not a matter of chivalry. For that the organization organi-zation which presides over the efforts of some 170,000 athletes throughout the United States has no place. With the A. A. U. it is a case of may the best man win! And the union has come to ee that nowadays this slogan must be amended to read "May the best man or woman win!" The number of women athletes had grown to such large proportions and their performances had become bo notable nota-ble that the A. A. U. realized it must find a place in its ranks for women or they would find some other place for themselves. A rival organization would not be desiraMe, fo women's events will be on the A. A. U. programs and records may be hung up that may challenge the (marks set by men The writing on the wall has been e n m such events in the sporting world as I these I It was recently decided that at the I Olympic frames at Amsterdam in L9g8 SjjS women will be scheduled in track and j field athletics the firBt time such a I thing has occurred in the history of jj sport. V France, England and other European countries nave regular athletic competi- t tions for women. There was a mara- II thon race in Paris last summer in which 5 100 women ran 1 It mny easily be seen what effect the I r WSSS0j Another view - 'FTf of Elizabeth ; And below, a pair of Ameri- t v2$r if$ v Stine, the ca's numerous expert girl m ' ' V 4- Sm I i Leonia, N. JM iwirnmem, about to begin nJ' 1 f athletic cham- what is known as the fWmBkml: $0 $V 'MPmWm.iM P ion, in one oi&CnotVd'mne $ ' f of herj Pheoorri- c' I h-.j I JUmP the feats divers un- WlMKJr dertake ' JP jt' flH&?fev Gertrude Eggert, a California-born BPL famous for her V.- A ability as an , - 'jBB V" l--- ' r W Lall-round Aiin It t f f r-n - "Mr- w iu. 1 WU X iBfi ff- - S ; athlete, as well N, y l a, forth. 1 1 1 ' III I Olympic decision and the fact of the great state of advancement of foreign women athletes had on our own women and girls engaging in sports. There has been a marked stimulation of interest in their efforts, of which the A. A. U. recognition rec-ognition is only one sign. And American Ameri-can women themselves arc determined to show that they will be readv to participate partici-pate in 1028, and that they will be able to give a good account of themselves in competition with the women of France. England, Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia. Scan-dinavia. So we are now beginning to 6co in America that same encouragement which the athletic unions have given women abroad. And the suggestion has been made that the International Amateur Athletic Federation assume control of world athletics for women, just as it has put the stamp of its standardization on the competitions of men athletes. The field for women in sport? has widened wid-ened out rapidly since 1914, when the A. A. U. took over control of their swimming events That was brought about by the brilliant performances of such swimmers as Ethelda lileibtrey. Charlotte Boyle. Eileen Kij;gin, Helen Wainwright and others. Their names and faces have become familiar fa-miliar to the sporting public. They have taken their places with the women polf-crs, polf-crs, tennis players and others on the hitherto entirely masculine sporting page. So proficient are the best women swimmers that they must be rated high and close to the fastest mrn in the water. They may well be proud of some of their record-. The other day Miss Sybil Bauer, of the Illinois Athletic Club, performed what has been called the greatest feat in the history of woman's swimming clipping 9 3-5 seconds off her own world's record for the 150-yard back stroke. She-also She-also holds the world's records for the 50 and the 100-yard back stroke Their natural grace aids women in becoming be-coming expert divers. Admitted to equal competition with men in that event, it is believed that they would stand excellent chances of carrying off the honors And that Is only one of many sports in which the laurels may be said to be resting rather insecurely on man's brow, now that the athletic girl has set out to compete in real earnest. Besides swimming swim-ming (long dis-: dis-: ..: . ''.:!. ;,,',. I r, I fi , v. m n haw ' ' r i .i i progress in that Vgar javelin throw-n:- ir fh;. arc some splcn- HEp? did horse worn- 8H cago polo -M. er, may be the first girl jockey to ride for a noted stable, sta-ble, whose racers she now is exercising. Gertrude Eggert, who won an award as the perfect girl in a physical culture contest, enters a novel field for her sex in specializing in wrestling and jiu jitsu, being mistress of many of the tricks and feints of the latter which enable her to cope successfully with superior physical strength. It is by such skill that woman bids fair to become a match for men. Women's world's records do not stand long nowadays. They are continually being broken and new ones set up. Four were smashed the other day at Mamaro-neck. Mamaro-neck. N. Y., where a feminine athletic meet was held to select American representatives rep-resentatives for the first international women's field and track meet in Paris. -v" fr-., .-' - S tions of her j Miss May Mervilee., one , of the cleverest divers 0- Is a among the girl students at the Harvard University Jir Summer School, doing a s f "double flip" into the , "f Charles River at Cam- - " . . 'm -"-" bridge, Mass. y- "W - - - : V':.' '' V '' '' "' '.' : set for August. More than 100 girls from many sections of the country took part in tho meet. The records were broken in the 440-yard 440-yard relay, doublo javelin throw, hop, step and jump and eight-pound shot put In the 300-meter race a first mark was sot of 43 8-5 seconds. The shot was put 35 feet 11 inches, breaking the record of 34 feet 1 7-s inches. A feature of the meet was that many of tho girls were all-round athletes, at least a third of them entering in .seven out of the fourteen events and some winning win-ning several places. Such all-round ability is not often found anioncr men. Entering the field of intercollegiate sport marks another big advance for women in athletics. Some day crowds approaching those that attend the big ! a'Jt " football games may be witnessing contests con-tests in which girls are participant. The basketball game between the women's wom-en's colleges of Vassar and Smith which 2,500 witnessed, was at least a promising start. Steps have been taken toward the formation for-mation cf a girls' intercollegiate tennis tournament. If they succeed, the United States Tennis Association will be requested to preside, as it does over the men's tournaments. From mixed doubles it is not a far cry to mixed singles 1 Some day tho United States tennis c-Hampion against all comers may be a woman. It can well be imagined that athletic contests between Radcliffe, Vassal Wellfesley, Smith, and so forth, might produce as keen rivalries as the sporta between Yale, Harvard and Princeton a SomI" .i8- .reCntIy Pint out. ernrl f that th -d o u r "cure Palmers, secretarv t -ed the18" COllC8e f P Ptors I u i:armnRthat medical auihor- a sex wTr0 belk"Ve thftt as a sex will no longer exist if tV,,. cm.Mul.toj riwe of mon ... USJMr1 .-or healthier thon lie" 1 StTh h.ppy randition is larook, . th's loctMMJ attention ,1 J" lo ,he cy give .thlotlOS. K. |
