New-York tribune., 1908-01-07
A SWIMMING TEAM.
Girls of Public School Fl Enthus'ds-
tic Ouer the Sport.

ALWAYS make the most of your opportunities
said small Josephine Pernice. in a dignlned tone
Nothing could be seen of Josephine but her head'
the rest of being immersed in the Dig swimming
tank ar the public bathhOuse in West ooth street
A number of other heads were bobbing loyousiy
about over the surface Of the water-the heads OF
the members of the girls swimming team of Puohc
School Il and their teacher. Miss Laya Machet-
Onportunities like the one that was being I'M
proved bv Josephine and the rest of the team do
not come TO every little public school girl even IN
New York There are baths in some OF the schools,
and every teacher IN charge of school baths holds
A swimming teachers license, but Public Scnool Il
is the only school that has girls swimming team
And the team swim very WELL though IL mas
had only six or seven lessons.
Il taught them the motions. though. long before
we began these lessons here in the water said
Miss Nachat From the first Of my being IN
charge of the baths for girls at Public School z
felt uncomfortable 70 think 1 held swimming
teachers license and was doing nothing with II
And those girls need swimming. Every one needs
if There is nothing like it developing the body
and giving one courage and confidence. but the
girls in that school-tt's in Mott street. IN that
crowded italian quarter-they need such exercises
very much 1 hoped could get pool In the
school building but I suppose the Board of Educa-
ton did not want to spend the money.
II began teaching the girls TO make the swim
ming motions when they came out of the bath
That was partly to teach them swimming and part
" to get them interested in bathing-which last
isn't always easy. for some of them haven't heard
much about bathing in their lives. and they have
to be coaxed. I've even had them do folk dances
after bathing. and formed a bathing team, with a
cantafn But I was always thinking about the
swimming and about two months ago we began
coming over 10 this pool every Friday afternoon
Miss Machet is as much at home in the water as
)ut of it, She doesn't remember when she learned
to swim hut il is said that when she very
small girl living on the banks of river in Russia.
her brother took her in his arms and threw her
into the water, and being obliged TO swim, she
swan She doesn't begin that way now with her
team, though
They were all at the West Side pool Friday.
attfred in abbreviated bathing trunks and unlimited
enthusiasm All of the team are Interested but
there are three girls who have worked specially
Notwithstanding Pernice. Lucy Deidone and Geneva
Gorga. the captain.
.Don't it make you feel good-and. oh. don't it
make YOU hungry sighed Lucy they climbed
out of the pool
You feel like as if you hadn't had anything 70
eat for month"; added Geneva
II oughtn't TO confess it," said Miss Machet,
..11t generally we're so starved when leave the
pool that on our way home we stop at the bakery
on the correr and buy cakes. and let them eat
all the way to the subway station"
Bv and by the girls swimming team is going 10
have races with some of the boys teams John
Dotv. prfncipaI Of Public School o. is much inter-
ezte1 in the work of the team and wants pool
AZ the school as badly Miss Machet does Public
School u is the school that has the roof play
ground on the street level. and II is said that
owing to the construction Of the building it would
he easv and not too expensive To make a swimming
pool there.
When Lady Warwick was in America she visited
t,,b1fc School y and saw the and said II was
a pftv they had not pool DR. Luther Gulick,
pbvsicaI director of the New York schools. is an
other who thinks that girls could not have better
exercise than swimming. and that every facility
ought TO be given them for practising IT,