OLYMPIC CONGRESS BANS COMPENSATION FOR LOST WAGES TO GAME CONTESTANTS

Amateurism, compensation for lost wages, restrictions upon competitions away from home, and the luxury accorded amateur competitors are the most interesting of the questions discussed at the recent Olympic Congress at Prague.

G. T. Kirby, one of the American delegates, has just submitted his report, parts of which are printed below as being worthy of note by those interested in amateur sport.

In the matter of compensation to amateur athletes for wages lost while competing in amateur games, the report says: "Attention should be called to the fact that the point at issue was not the continuance on the part of an employer of the wage of his employee during the period of his athletic competition, but of the cessation of such payment on the part of the employer and the reimbursement by some athletic interest to the employee by reason of such cessation.

No Stigma to Professionalism

"I believe that it was potently pointed out and generally acceded to that while there was no stigma to being a professional, there was to being dishonest. That sport for sport's sake really meant something . . . and that the loss in numbers to the amateur ranks by the defection of those hwo would not compete unless their athletic clubs reimbursed them for lost wages, would be more than overcome by the satisfaction of the amateurs in that they had given up something purely pecuniary for something more profitable. In other words, the replenishing of ones pocketbook was not as important as the satisfaction of one's ideals.

"The arguments brought to bear in favor of reimbursement were the usual ones of the good fortune of the son of the wealthy being able to devote most of his time to sport competition as compared to the son of the poor who could ill afford even to take a week . . ., and of course the answer to this argument was, as it should be, that sport competition is but a part of the activity of life and is but a part of the satisfaction of living. That he who labors with his mind or his hands is much more apt to have happiness and to achieve real success than he who participates in sport and does that to the exclusion of the usual vocation of life.

No Compensation for Lost Wages

"The congress practically unanimously adopted the recommendation of its committee that compensation for lost wages be not allowed."

Another point discussed at the congress was a suggestion that some restriction should be placed upon the time that athletes spend away from home. In his report, Mr. Kirby reviews this issue as follows: "If honestly done, there is no reason why an amateur should not be permitted to compete . . . away from home . . ., but I appreciate that there are few indeed who can afford to give the time necessary for such compensation, and I am mindful of the fact that it takes more than a little money nowadays to live, and that amateurism does not, and certainly should not, provide a competitor with funds to acquire daily wearing apparel, pay doc- tor's bills, dentist's bills, and other non-athletic living necessities, let alone the luxuries of the home, travel and entertainment.

"As I see it, the trouble comes not so much with the rules as much as with the lack of enforcement on the part of governing bodies of the rules, and the spirit of willful disobedience thereof on the part of those who are pretending to abide by the rules.

Honesty Better Than Amateurism

"It is these glaring examples of young men, and perhaps, too, of young women, who without any visible means of support, travel around the world with all the luxuries of clothes and comfort and pleasure as would the man of financial means, and who compete week in and week out in all kinds of sports competitions, and who not only hold themselves out as amateurs, but are more or less accepted by the governing body of their particular sports as such, that disturbs to the point of causes many who believe as much and more in honesty than they do in amateurism, and who give to the Bolshevik or unsound thinking laborer, either the ammunition for argument for compensation for lost wage, or a real reason for his plea that if these amateur stars are 'getting their's' in some way that he should get his in the only way which seems to him feasible. To the credit of the working man be it said that he is at least honest in the statement of his motives."

In discussing the necessity of clearly distinguishing between amateurs and professionals, Mr. Kirby's report reads as follows:

"The real, though usually unexpressed, reason that most professionals should be put in a class away from the amateurs, is that it is impossible to draw a line between amateurism and professionalism upon any other premise than that of sport for sport's sake on the amateur side, and sport for the living, in whole or in part, which can be had therefrom on the professional side. As of old, the innocent suffer for the guilty and the high-minded and idealistic head of the physical education department of a university, so far as amateur competition is concerned, must suffer by reason of the risk involved in permitting him to compete as an amateur because of the low-minded, non-idealistic, dishonest money grabbers who, in the guise of coaches, instructors, teachers, attendants or what not, would indirectly be receiving compensation for their competition upon the amateur field. If there could be a body with supreme intelligence, with omnipotent power and enduring activity passing upon the proprieties of all competitions between all contestants, deciding each case purely upon the basis of sport for sport's sake, there would be no need either of amateur rules or even of amateurism, but for the same reason that laws and a police force will always be necessary to protect the social and civic rights of men, so civic rules and administrative bodies be necessary to safeguard the ideals of amateurism and to protect the participants thereunder