Harper's Round Table, February 2, 1897

by Various

There was a man in my class in college who as a boy lived in a small town where there were no athletic contests. Some one told him that if he wanted to get strong he ought to start in in the morning and dip between two chairs, lacking parallel bars. His adviser told him to dip once the first morning, twice the second morning, three times the third morning, and so on. It is evident that on the last day of the year he would dip 365 times, if he could only keep up this regular increase. He soon found that he was unable to do this, but he was surprised at the end of the year to notice how easily he could dip a number of times between two chairs, whereas his playfellows could barely perform the act three or four times.

When that boy came to college he was the strongest in our class about the chest and arms and back, and could perform wonderful feats of lifting himself and of dipping on the parallel bars in the gymnasium. But, unfortunately, the man who had suggested to him to dip each morning between two chairs had not thought of telling him that he ought likewise in some manner to develop the muscles of his legs, and so he was consequently overdeveloped from the waist up and under-developed from the waist down. This goes to show that when exercising it is imperative that all the muscles of the body should be given an equal chance, otherwise some parts of the anatomy must suffer at the expense of others.

A very little exercise performed regularly and for a long period will do much more for any boy or man than vigorous exercise performed for one or two hours a day for only a few weeks during the year. It is the little drop of water falling constantly that wears away the stone.

CORRECT WAY TO HOLD A HOCKEY-STICK.

The accompanying illustration will give a better idea of the proportions of a hockey-stick, and the manner of holding it, than any description can do, better even than the photograph published in the last issue of the Round Table with a brief description of the game.

The members of the Arbitration Committee of the New York I.S.A.A. at a recent meeting voted to ask the University Athletic Club to accept the responsibility of acting as arbitrators in any future disputes between the schools. It is to be hoped that the University A.C. will undertake this, for a committee of college graduates can, beyond question, be more serviceable to the interests of amateur sport in this matter than any committee made up of individuals whose interests are closely related to scholastic athletics.

It is pleasant to note that the officials of the N.Y.I.S.A.A. refused to allow the tie between Berkeley and De La Salle for the skating honors of the League to be settled by the unsportsmanlike expedient of gambling. One of the schools wanted to toss a coin to settle the matter, but this was very properly overruled. There is only one step from this sort of thing to the settling of all contests by the arbiter of a coin without taking the trouble to go to the field. That is not sport. When it is proved (as in a jumping contest) that two contestants can do no better, after repeated attempts, one than the other, it is just and proper that some method be adopted to determine who shall have the medal—although the points must be split. If both contestants agree to toss for the medal, well and good; for the medal is merely an evidence of success, and does not in any way affect the merit of the contest which has already been settled and recorded, before the owners of half a medal each determined to take the chance of possessing two halves of a medal or no medal at all.

The renewal of athletic relations between Exeter and Andover seems to have put new life and energy into every branch of sport at the New Hampshire school. An enthusiastic meeting of the entire school was held a few days ago in order to collect money for the management of a track-athletic team, and a very respectable sum was realized. More men have turned out for practice than for many years at Exeter, and the Captain of the team feels greatly encouraged over the prospects for the winter and spring season. A team of Exonians will go down to the big in-door meeting of the B.A.A., and a still stronger team will probably be gathered to represent the school at the New England I.S.A.A. games in June. Dual games with Worcester and Andover will probably also be arranged. It is pleasing to note this renewed activity at Exeter, for there was a time—just about ten years ago—when the P.E.A. accepted second place to nobody in athletics. The decadence which the school has just passed through, and from which she is now making a vigorous endeavor to arise, may prove to have been a blessing in disguise. The fact that all this was the result of questionable methods in sport should stand as a glaring proof that straightforwardness, after all, is the only path to success in athletics as well as in any other work. Exeter now stands as a champion of purity in sport, and for that reason we may very well look forward to her brilliant success within the next few years.

In connection with the news of activity in northern New England comes the report from New Haven that the Hillhouse High-School will not put a track-athletic team into the field this spring. At a recent school meeting this action was definitely determined, and it was voted that the school would support a baseball team only. If it was found that the school could only support one of these two branches of sport, the choice to keep up baseball was a wise one, but at the same time it is regrettable to see so strong a member of the Connecticut Inter-scholastic League as H.H.-S. fall out of the ranks. So far as I am able to ascertain at the present writing, the reason for dropping track athletics was purely financial, but as the Connecticut Association seems to be rich just now, perhaps this obstacle may be removed.