TOURNAMENTS.
All of the work of construction and flying of kites is interesting and profitable for development yet there is opportunity for furthering this interest by bringing about yearly tournaments for the exhibition of the many efforts in construction and design that are undertaken. The tournaments have a further usefulness in the bringing of our schools together in a great outdoor social event. The spirit of such an event is excellent and the day is a joyful one to the children and parents. Thousands attend these yearly gatherings.
The Director. It is necessary for a good tournament that some interested and competent person take general charge of the whole affair and not leave the planning and arranging to others. Helpers are necessary at the tournament, but preparation should be directed by some one person. In so doing, we do not overlook the helpful cooperation of the principals at the various schools, but seek to interest them as to possibilities of undertakings by their children. Instructions should be sent out from time to time as to new things to be constructed and three or four weeks before the tournament, quite complete instructions regarding the different events that may be entered, and rules pertaining to each should be posted in each school.
It is well to organize a little in the schools that are interested. Some boy may be recognized as a leader and a good kite maker. He can round up the team, get the boys interested and encourage them to enter events not yet taken so as to cover as many events as possible and fewer in the same. The preparation for the tournament gives a great opportunity to the teachers and principals to get in touch with boys. Many boys have come to know their teachers with just such an introduction, and it has been the means of starting a good many boys to work in the schoolrooms on their studies. Some boys seem to get out of gear with their schoolroom environment and need a little touch of play, a tramp, or some form of sport to get them back to their real school life. This kind of undertaking is one of the great opportunities for the teacher to get near to the boys. Some teachers are enthusiastic enough to send out for a good sized bundle of sticks and have some one retail them out to the boys at cost. The boys appreciate a little effort of this kind even if there is no prospect of a tournament. A discussion of design in the drawing work will also be a practical departure from the regular work, and will again arouse the lazy boy to do his best. Now if the teacher will take some interest in the making, even if she doesn’t know very much about it, and especially in the flying of the kites, she will be progressing, and there are but few teachers who cannot learn a good deal about kite making and flying, if they are willing to try.
The manual training teacher and the shop are very able assistants to the kite construction projects. In some schools, a week some time previous to the tournament is allowed for the special construction of kites in the shop. The boys will waste valuable lumber if allowed to rip up thin boards, so it will pay to encourage the buying of spruce sticks. There is much adjustment in attaching string and covering, and putting on of the bridle; as much as possible of this should be reserved for home work, but some might be done at school.
Suitable Location. But the work at the school is not a tournament altho an important factor of it. The director, we will call the manager of the tournament, must find a suitable location. It must be open to the breeze, free from wires, accessible by street car service, a little to one side so people will have to go a little out of their way to see it, hoodlums don’t usually care so much for beautiful things, especially if it is some trouble to go to it, and it should be large enough to accommodate a great many kites without getting into too close quarters. Kites are liable to dive around somewhat, so if they are not too thick, there is more chance to get the kite straightened up before getting entangled in other kite lines. Now that there are so many kinds of kites, it is necessary to locate the kinds on the field. The kites are divided into groups when the list of events is sent out, and these groups are placed in different locations on the field. We will suppose the following group is to be located.
Group D.
Measured Events.
27. Highest Flyer—Single.
28. Highest Flyer—Tandem.
29. Highest flight in five minutes, etc.
On the ground, separated from the others, would be a bulletin board that is fastened to a post and this is set in the ground. The post is about nine feet long, and the bulletin board is nailed to it, the lower edge being about one foot down on the post. If the post is set eighteen inches in the ground there would be six and a half feet up to the lower edge of bulletin. The announcements can be printed with chalk. They stand out and can be read across the field, see [Fig. 263]. The tournament is always on a Saturday afternoon, so the bulletins are set Saturday morning.
Fig. 263. [↑]
If there is no space fenced off for aeroplane model flying, and for the races, a few posts should be set and two wires about No. 9 run around an enclosure. Make it an enclosure, for if you don’t it will be impossible to keep the spectators back. We tried a V-shaped fence, but it was useless; with an enclosure and two or three policemen about, it is possible to keep the crowd out.
Judges. Settle on your judges at least two weeks ahead of the tournament. It will assist in arousing interest in the schools with which they are connected. Principals and manual training teachers should be available and serviceable. It is not necessary to be a kite maker to be able to judge a kite. About three judges to a group is good, then if one fails to appear you still have two. Try to start at the appointed time and urge your judges to be there on time. Caution the pupils about putting their kites up before the time, as they are so liable to accident if played with beforehand.
Save a place of honor for your superintendents. They may be asked to award prize badges, or to select the prettiest kite in the air, and the most ingenious device, the best made model or the best invention; not all of these but something of this kind. Don’t forget to use them in some place. Get the promise of two, three, or four policemen, a few days ahead. The presence of a few good officers helps in curbing desires for destruction among a few. Kites are liable to accident, so if you can have a kite hospital where the boys can get a little paper and paste, string or stick, it will sometimes heal quite a disappointment.
Fig. 264. [↑]
Fig. 265. [↑]
An information bureau is a good feature. Have a bulletin showing its location. The judges as well as the children and parents would be glad of some help of this kind. Official badges are given to the judges, director, superintendents of schools, information and badges, and helpers. The badges are given out to the officers at the information bureau. A small stand at some prominent location in the field would be of service for the giving of the prize badges to the winning contestants. Each winner receives a slip, [Fig. 264], from one of the judges of his group, giving his name, school, the first or second prize and event, the judge keeping a duplicate record on a mimeographed sheet that is mounted on a piece of cardboard, [Fig. 265]. The pupil takes the slip to the awarding stand and hands it to the judges. The judges turn in their records, and the director fills out a small diploma of recognition, [Fig. 266], and sends it to the school from which the boy has entered. It may be a girl; we have had a number of winners among the girls. These slips and record sheets for the judges will be some of the work for the director before the tournament. Each pupil who wins in any event receives an appropriate badge, [Fig. 267].
Fig. 266. [↑]
Fig. 267. [↑]
If it is convenient, it is always well to have two transits give the actual heights of high flyers. Some simple ones might be made, but there are often students who would like the opportunity to do some work of the kind for practice. It is well to send out a printed list of the winners to all the schools after the tournament. It might be written as follows
25. Highest Flyer—Tandem.
First. Albert Johnson, 24 St. School.
Second. Victor Wagoner, Washington St. School.
In sending out notices before and after, request the principals to place them in a conspicuous place for the boys to see. The principal’s office is not a good place, for some will not go to the office to study them, these boys may be just as interested but they don’t care to have us know it. If the material is where the boys can see it easily they sometimes get interested unawares to themselves. All plans should be placed in an open place.