Evening star., 1941-03-09
The Role of Sports in
South America
BIZ Frederic J. HdSkin.

It NAV seem far cry from defense OF
| the Western Hemisphere to sports, yet
any serious appraisal of South Americas
| ability to help protect this vast domain
| so far As its man power is concerned
must take into account the great change
which sports have wrought in South
American physical life during the last
| Is years.
The South American has always been
more of an individualist than the North
American His own personal welfare
and that of his immediate family have
seemed to him TO be Of much more I'M
portance than the welfare and interest
of society as a whole. He therefore has
not been generally successful in form
ing cooperative enterprises, either IN
business or in society, and that is one Of
the reasons why pan-Americanism has
been so slow to develop on the sister
continent.
But the South Americans thought
processes, and especially his outlook on
relations with other men, both IN ouSl-
ness and society have undergone rad
E(eACS
tury as a result of a universal interest
in sports throughout the continent. A
few wears ago those South Americans
who took any interest in exercise OF any
| kind confined their activities almost ex-
! clusively to riding and swimming, or to
| fencing and gymnasium work. No young
| woman would have dreamed Of playing
| tennis. But today millions Of boys
and girls and young men and women
throughout South America are devoting
| their most enthusiastic efforts. OF the
week to knocking ball about in some
| one of the many ways in which this can
be done under internationally recog-
nized rules of sport.
| Success in sports makes it imperative
! that the player acquire spirit Of sports
manship which enables him to accept
| defeat OF victory in a manner that takes
| into consideration the feelings CT his
! opponent. And the South American
| youth who has practiced this spirit on
! Saturday afternoon and all day on Sun
day cannot automatically lay it aside
1t becomes a part of his mental process,
| with the tremendously important result
| that his relations with his fellows have
| undergone complete change. Sports
manship in business and the other actlv-
| tiles of daily life is the natural outcome,
| and the present generation Of sports
| loving South Americans is taking up
| oF 6i1yiro x-otIrO
| people a different attitude toward in
| ternational relations and obviously de-
| veloping Drawn as we'll as brain.
| Nowhere in South America is this
| changed outlook on life more pronounced
than in the Argentine Republic. and 1t
! is typical of what has taken place in
recent years in neighboring countries.
| The Argentine situation centers around
/ the Gymnasium and Fencing Club,
which is the oldest and most important
sports institution in the country More
/ than 40 years ago it began its activities
! with a gymnasium and a fencing court
| in an old building situated in the busi-
ness section of Buenos Aires. Later It
acquired a small plot of ground in the
! field sports such at foot races, weight
throwing and jumping. Today it has
| 80 acres of land and the most beautiful
1 sports clubhouse in South America Only
recently it spent several million dollars
! to enlarge its facilities so as to accom-
modate 10000 men and 10000 women
| and children. The enlarged facilities
iropl,rde CT di1ryoo IF I00 mn
This noted sports club is perhaps the
most democratic organization in Argen-
tina 1t was designed originally for low
| salaried employees. and the dues are the
/ equivalent of 81 a month, with an en-
! trance fee of $40 payable in small INSTALL
ments. The almost regal accommoda-
! tions of the club have attracted into its
/ membership some of the richest of Ar
| gentina'S aliStocratiC families, but they
! enter on the same basis as the shopgirl
/ and the shipping clerk.
The clubs enviable progress and ex-
| cellent financial situation are due largely
to a tangent in Argentine psychology,
which is almost incomprehensible to the
| more practical Anglo-SaXon. Argentina
has a nationally legalized lottery with
weekly drawings, the entire profits of
which go to the support of public hos
pitalS and other charitable institutions
In 1921 the National Congress enacted
q law turning over to the club the money
from all unclaimed lottery prizes. This
provides the club with an annual revenue
of more than 100000 pesos, equivalent to
| more than S320000 The average Argen-
tine buys lottery ticket with the hope
of winning one of the large prizes and is
not enough interested in winning Is or
| so pesos to go and collect. Six months
after the drawing these unclaimed prizes
are Cancelled and the money turned over
to the club
One of the most interesting activities
of the club is the providing of play
grounds and all-day entertainment on
Saturdays. Sundays and holidays for the
poor children of the city. Upon their
arrival their clothes are taken from
them, they receive free barber service
and a shower bath, and then are pro-
vided with sports clothes and shoes.
While they are playing, their clothes are
disinfected laundered and ironed Cof-
fee and rolls are served in the morning,
a light lunch at noon and tea in the
afternoon There are no obligations
or formalities to be fulfilled: the chill
dren are not even asked their names
when they arrive