Evening star., 1919-03-09
MILITARY 0LYMP|CS
WILL SET RECORD
Monster Athletic Program for
A. E. F. to Excel Any in
History of Sports.

of $100 900 has just been approved by
the Y. NJ. C. A. war work council to-
guarantee the expenses Of the Army
athletic program which Gen. Pershing
has set up for the troops Of the Amer
lean expeditionary forces, a program
the scope of which athletic experts
say has never been equaled in the
history of sports. This is the second
important step taken by the 'Y" since
the Army asked the association to as
sumo the responsibility for the lead
ership and success Of the program.
The first step was the assembling -
France of athletic equipment valred
at nearly 50, 100000.
There is no must about the
Pershing program; it is strictly
may proposition. But so compre-
hensive are it's features that it is ex-
pected that more than 1000, 900 officers
and men will avail themselves of the
recreative and competitive opportuni-
ties offered. Roughly speaking.
there are about LOO athletic officers
in the Army, men whose responsibility
in their department is as great as
was that of those officers who led
their companies over the top before
the Y. NJ. c. A. cannot hope to match
this total. but 800 skilled sports di-
rectors have been placed at the dis
posal of Col. Waite c. Johnson of
Gen. Pershing's staff.
Col. Johnson is the chief athletic
officer of the A. E. F. and is an en-
thusiast on sports, with an enviable
record at West Point in base ball and
foot ball. Cooperating with him on
behalf of the, Y. NJ. c. A. is Ellwood
S. Brown, chief of the "Y' staff of
physical directors.
Introplatoon Games.
The basis of the program which
Col. Johnson will supervise is the
recreative sport of the platoon. A
regular schedule of intra platoon
games has been approved for each of
these groups of sixty men. There are
approximately thirty-five events on
the schedule, which presents such
novelties of mass athletics as broad
jump, pig-a-back. hop-step-jump, roll
over and shotput relays, and such
familiar gymnasium games as basket
ball, volley ball. cage ball and indoor
base ball
With the approach of the spring
rainy season (the doughboy believes
that all seasons are rainy in France)
the Army has devised a plan which
involves the use or lou alrplane
hangers, each 400 feet by $50 These
will be set up in the sections of
greatest need, SO that the athletic
program may be continued without
let or hindrance. 1t is possible to
play in one Of these hangers a foot
ball game on a gridiron of regulation
dimensions. A dozen games of basket
ball may be played simultaneously,
and twice that number of yolley ball.
The second feature of the program,
also recreative, is the company
pentathlon. The men will compete in
the 100-yard dash, half-mile run.
putting 12-pound shell, running
broad jump and pull-ups. The last
named will be recognized as the
chin the bar" of youthful memory.
Out of this platoon and company
competition is expected to emerge
much valuable material for the great
spectacular feature of the program.
the A. E. F. championships and
the interallied army championships.
Gen. Pershing has invited the COM
manders of the various allied armies
to send their best athletes to these
military Olympic games. which will
be held in the Colombes Stadium in
Paris late in May. 1T was in the
Colombes Stadium that the Olympic
games Of 1900 were held.