Very Successful Fall Intramural Season Draws to a Conclusion

Through intramural athletics the Department of Physical Education tries to interest the student in both team and individual games. It urges everybody to seek the benefits of the intramural program--namely, sportsmanship and all that the term implies, exercise, recreation, social intercourse and competition. But at the same time the Department realizes that these benefits will not be gained merely through participation in the various activities. It takes the attitude that it must teach sportsmanship, intensify exercise, enhance recreation, develop social intercourse and stimulate keen competition. Furthermore, the extent to which the program is successful is not determined by the number of participants but by the final results of the encouragement of these benefits. That is why an attempt is made to obtain instructors and coaches who, by example and precept, can bring about the desired results.

Football Preeminent

Obviously, every sport does not present equal opportunities for the promotion of the intramural objectives. The football field, for example, is a splendid laboratory for experiments in all these aims. The tennis court, on the other hand, does not provide such valuable opportunities. Much greater lessons have been learned and taught on the gridiron than on the court. Nevertheless, the individual game is stressed just as much, if not more, than the team game because the former provides the student with a type of exercise he can use after graduation.

It is with satisfaction that we note how greatly the number of participants in sports of an individual nature exceeds the number in team sports. For example, 312 different men took part in organized intramural tennis this fall. This number does not include those who played occasionally. Touch football is the closest team rival. The men who played in the organized Business School, Inter-Fraternity, Inter-Dormitory and Independent touch football leagues number 201. Intramural football is third with 173 of which 98 played class and 75 Freshman inter-dormitory football. Then follow track with 76, Freshman inter-dormitory crew with 72 and cross country with 45. Though it has been impossible to complete the statistics at this time, the number of students participating in organized intramural activities only is very nearly 850--an increase of about 50 over last fall.

Measured by the standard expressed in the first paragraph, intramural football--including both inter-class and inter-dormitory--has been the most successful sport this fall. The nature of the game makes it possible to promote all the benefits to a high degree. For this purpose three men are assigned to coach the three class squads and four men the four Freshman dormitory squads. The results in both these branches have been very successful. One factor which is greatly responsible for this condition is the arrangement of informal contests with outside opponents. Our experience has taught us that intramural contests, especially in football, are not the panacea for the athletic interests of the student of less than varsity calibre. The attendance of intramural athletes has been greatest on the days on which were scheduled informal games with other institutions.

The outside game is necessary because it serves as a beneficial tonic to a morale that tends to become dispirited through the monotony of playing the same teams. In keeping with this attitude those in charge have arranged outside games for both the class and dormitory teams. The former have played Cambridge Latin, Rindge Technical, Boston English, Boston Latin, Brown & Nichols, Tabor Academy and Mechanic Arts; the latter have met the Andover Seconds, South Boston, Brown & Nichols, Thayer Academy and St. Paul's School. In the inter-class league, the informal outside games were preliminary to the objective class series. In the inter-dormitory league they were the objectives and the inter-dormitory games were preliminary. This is the only satisfactory way of arranging the respective schedules because the inter-dormitory series have no definite objective outside of the winning of the series itself, which this fall was won by Standish Hall.

The Class series, on the other hand, has a very definite objective. The winners of the series receive their numerals, have their names inscribed on a permanent class trophy, play against the winning Yale class team and in case of victory over Yale, receive medals. This fall the winning Sophomores who defeated the Yale Seniors at New Haven 26-0 are very proud with all these honors. In addition they have been chosen by J. L. Knox, coach of the Second Varsity, to demonstrate Holy Cross and Yale plays for the Varsity team.

The completion of the remaining few touch football contests will terminate the fall intramural season. Already plans are under way for a very active winter program. Inter-fraternity indoor baseball and graduate basketball will begin on Monday, December 2. Within a fortnight the Department of Physical Education will issue a conveniently sized booklet of all the winter intramural schedules. The winter program will take on a very definite aspect with the appearance of this pamphlet.