Evening star., 1923-03-18

There has been recently placed
before me" said Davis, "considerable
data relative to municipal tennis III
IA number OF cities throughout the
United States. / am both surprised
ana interested in the mass Of infor-
nation thus disclosed 1t shows tha,
q wonderful work is being under
taken for the physical development
o. the youth Of these cities. and 1 am
extremely pleased to note that tennis
IS one OI the PRINCIPAL vehicles ~
recred ton toward this end.
he statistics Indicate that Will
rapid progress is being made in this
direction. the demand for court space
is sun far in advance Of playing
space and equipment This is true
OF a majority Of the cities considered
lt IS also true that these cities ana
the various park officials and autho~i-
ueS are making every endeavor Ia
meet the requirements for more
courts and opportunities for pIav. III
many Of the sections it is evident
that there IS much missionary wo-i
10 he done \ number OF centers
indicate that little or nothing has
beeh done N the way OF providlrs
S9IpPoFtnh,t!es for recreational sports
IhlS applies 10 other games as wei
Is tennis"
Over 1000 Courts in Use.
Davis then outlined the results or
MS study o. the data from seventy.
five cities.
These cities" said he, ARE widely
separated and represent all parts Of
the country. They report that in 315
parks or recreation ceaters there are
trife more than 1000 tennis rnurts
q vast ma Jority OF these courts src
eIsher clay. dirt or gravel Less than
-Vo OF the 1000 are concrete. asphalt.
80 80 ana ne majority Of such courts
are located on the Pacific coast a-d
Iof south, where thunderstorEns are
frequent. The advantage of courts
ol THIS type is that they drain quickly.
-h"rr than 30 per cent OF The cities
furnishing these statistics report new
courts planned this year. and. based
81! lHtiF heIres the addition IN round
numbers VIII be close to 1900 courts
~ the seNenty-fVe cities mentioned
Only tWenty-eight require II permit
70 play and only four Of them charge
any fee for these permits.
twenty-five Of the cities furnish
rud ud!mentary forms Of stroke ard
methods Of play to the children All
bHt sixteen Of the Seventy-fiya cities
supply nets with the courts free, and
an but seven provide permanent;
backStonS. Thirty-siX cities d,rir,p
1922 held some form Of narl rh.,r,3 ~
p!"nShlp and the total number or
payers competing in such Champion
Snips was slightly in excess OF 22.O06.
! hirty-four Of these thirtv-six citirS
furnished prizes. Very few cities 20
port that an entry fee was charged -.
Nearly Two Million Players.
reports also show that in forfr-t,,.,.
cites where records were ken :,
- -. - PAYERS used the courts dur
lhS l922. This of course. is assumed
I" cover players who used the courte
se', aasrai tunes at least during the
some Of tho cities and the nur,ha,
lows: - loi
IAN SIl fran"fSc" 20 KanSas C:ty..-... y
l'tnv"r --... - Nr,.ark -.
WASHINGTON. - {. GS psrI4s =.
Fort Wayne. IEi Il. - Sna.ann
Now orleans "A seattle
ft"N'"n .--.,--.....-9 - Milwaukee
:"iF"lt ------.--.... - Dlvr ~
-. t'aul-..-.- - EIncinuati
y. L"lis.
some Of the outstanding feature
include the loaniug Of balls and
facketS 70 children who cannot afford
20 purchase them by the San I-ran
cisco Park authorities: the ljri,tfne
ana use OF the courts until r!idniehf
AZ IdSadena; two indoor courts usrd
the year round at Memphis. and j
constantly increasing interest in rhn
game, with resultant demand for
more 7aciilteS. This is true Of every
SECT l"h OF the country. and the
ports snow thdt the more prograSriyc
citles are using large sums o. money
IA an ehuedNur TO meet these =.
quirements.