The Washington herald., 1917-08-30
Gridiron Game Dawns on
Horizon Will
/ Be In Competition With
7 In Thirty Days.


Football dawned on the sporting
horizon yesterday when the Official
Guide. edited by Walter Camp. was
issued to the leading coaches of
the country.
will get started within thirty days.
when all the leading colleges and
schools will call out the candidates
for their gridiron teams.
Football is here. and in less than
q month trained elevens will be bat
Ting for honors with the old pig
skin. Within the next few days
many OF the colleges and schools
will start practice for the big cam
paigns.
Already many OF the leading COL
leges and schools have notified their
candidates to repot for preliminary
work. and within the next few days
the headlines Of the local dailies
will be telling the gridiron fans
F. the progress Of the local teams.
The Central Board on Football Of
hcials held its regular spring meet
ing in New York City and revised
the rules for this season, but the
Interpretation meeting which is gen
orally held in New York City around
the fifteenth OF September is not
scheduled. as few changes have been
made in the rules and the board
believes that under the existing cir
cumst llces the officials are capa-
Bile enough to diagnose the few
changes.
Because of the war conditions the
National Collegiate Athletic Asso-
citation. at a meeting held at the
New Willard Hotel. early this
month. agree to stand by President
Wilson's plan of keeping up sport,
even in time of war. They adopted
resolutions, whereby the athletics
will all be developed instead OF the
chosen few. which has been the his
tory Of all collegiate sports during
the past The resolution adopted
at this meeting is as follows:
Whereas, College athletics. as stat
ed by Secretary Baker in his address
20 the conference. is of great use in
developing the qualities Of a good
soldier:
Resolved. That We recommend to
the colleges that the program of ath-
letic sports for the coming year be
continued with increased efforts to
develop athletics for all students
srather than for a chosen few, and
that the schedule of intercollegiate
sports be carried out so far as local
conditions allow. care being taken not
TO interfere with the military train
ing of the students or to conflict with
the military interests of the nation.
That We recommend that there be
no preseason coaching during the
coming academic year:
That training tables be given up;
That professional coaching and
Iaa
reduced to a minimum;
That the number OF officials at In
tercoIiCgiate games and their fees be
kept as low as possible;
That the association rcitcrates its
belief in the eligibility rules which l.
has already indorsCd, Including the
freshman rule. and recommends that
there be no lowering Of eligibility
standards because Of existing condi-
ton.
The revised rules for 1917 are very
few. As the rules nave been proving
more and more satisfactory to the
. pflyers and public, the Rules Com
mittee has tended more and more to
the belief that the rules should be
allowed to crystallize as nearly as
possible to their present form.
OF the changes that were made lot
the season Of 1917, the most itiiPOt tdile
pro5c bly, was the one that prevents
an incoming substitute from com
municatinS with his team on the held
until after his first play. II he re-
places the quarterback, however, he IS
allowed to give his signal.
A place-kiCk was more clearly ue-
fined and must be made by kicking
the ball from its position when rest
inG on the ground. \ player may
scrape up the earth but may not make
use Of artificial tees. on hck-ofs and
free-kicks not made from scrlmmaSe
the players may be in motion in any
direction. provided they are on-slde
when ball is kicked.
Interference with a man attempting
TO catch a forward pass has been
changed to loss of ball to the oHenced
side at the spot of the foul.
The penalties for running into or
roughing the kicker are now measured
from the spot where the ball was PUT
In play.
Provision is made that an incom-
pieted pass does not constitute foul
and hence it Is made possible to de-
cline any penalty.