Norwich bulletin., 1919-04-07
MASS COMPETITION IN BOTH
ARMY AND COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Washington April 6.-MaSS conpe-
tition is to be part OF the life Of The
colleges rs well as the army during the
present track season. Plans already
are. complete for a meet of company
against company, regiment against
regiment ana camp against camp for
the soldiers i'll the camps of the United
States. The National Collegiate as
ISOLATION and the Western Intercolle-
giate Conference also will foster meets
among their members. In these meets
each camp or college will hold the
tests for their men, the army marks
being sent to the Athletic division OF
the commission on framing Camps Ac-
tiyities and the college marks to both
Irrational and division headquarters
The need of competitions tor great
numbers OF men was emphasized by the
experience OF the army physical di-
rectors. Before the meets IN the diff
ferent camps, as far as known, but one
mass meet had been held, that being
q contest between Drake university
and the University of Nebraska in
1914. In this about three hundred
men competed on each side. Attempts
TO have other schools in that section
OF the country failed. The idea was
later adopted by the swimming clubs
OF the west but the army made the
plan popular and last spring the
Western intercollegiate Conference in
troduced the plan among most of the
colleges.
This year the army is standardiz-
ing and broadening It's work, and the
Big Ten is planning for a formal meet
in May and the National Collegiate
association is calling upon its mem
hers to hold mass meet of all the
male members of the freshman class
es. The meet OF the National Col
| legiate association is the lrst athletic
programme OF that body 1t has an
! active and joint membership of about
/ $50, including all the larger colleges
and Universities of the United States.
1t is the belief of the committee that
all but Il very few of the schools will
| enter so per cent of their male fresh
| man enrolment, the percentage nee
esSary to have their marks counted in
! the competition.
| For this gigantic meet, the largest
| ever attempted in the college world,
| four events have been selected: The
running high jump, the running broad
| jump, the one hundred yard dash and
/ the bar vault. The scoring is within
! the basis OF performance within GER
| tain limits, these limits being as near
as possible those of the average young
man Inc standards Of mark fol-
/ low:
! 100 yard dash, 10 seconds l point;
! II % seconds, . points: II 5-5 seconds,
! 3 points; running high jump, 3 feet
! inches, / point: teet II inches, :
points; feet inches points; run
ming broad jump, l. feet, / point; Is
feet i inches. 2 points; II feet + in
ches points; bar vault, feet, l
| point, feet 6 inches : points, 4 feet
9 inches points.
! The good athlete, by reaching all of
the final marks Will be able to score
Il points for his team. The winning
team will be the one with the best
average per man for the number com
! peting.
| Because the men in the army will
compete in uniform and the heavy SER
! vice shoes, q different standard OF per-
| Torrance will be set for the men in
| khaki but the events and point sys-
! tenn will be the same. The events
and marks for the meet of the Big
| fen have not been announced
| The army has been able to reduce
these competitions to a matter of an
hour or less for a company. A year
| ago in one meet, 1000 men were test
! ed III the 220 yard dash and the finals
! tablulated within ten minutes OF time.
! According TO the records of the COM
mission on training camp activities,
! the 18th Division. while in training at
Camp Wadsworlh, held the largest
/ mass athletic meet. This division,
whose recent return and review in
New York was 4 dramatic incident of
the war, assembled 1926 mel for the
events. These men We're from New
York city, where athletics have been
fostered from the first, and 2l,764 made
good marks against tests similar to
those set for the collegiate freshmen.
! According to the experience of this di-
vision, the mark of IS seconds is too
fast for the one hundred yard dash,
even for the average man in track
shoes, as this division, running of
course in uniform and army shoes av-
era ed Is 20 seconds for the distance.
While the total number OF men. III
the events this year Will not reach the
usual totals of the days of mobiliza-
ton, more college men VIII take part in
some form of athletics this spring than
ever before, and it is the hope of the
men who are working Tor better physi-
cal development that these meets will
pave the way to the universal observ-
ance Of some sort OF physical eNer-
else by the rank and file Of the col
lege men.