Bingham Views Administration in Light of New Developments

The following article was written especially for the Crimson by W. J. Bingham '16, Director of Athletics of the University. Mr. Bingham, since his advent as Director, has steadily adhered to a policy of "athletics for all" which already has resulted in a great extension of those facilities tending to favor the majority of individual Harvard men interested in competitive exercise but without the time or ability to enjoy the opportunities accorded to a University team.

The development of class teams, intramural leagues, and tournaments that encompass Law and Business students as well as undergraduates has followed a steady rise under the energetic leadership of Mr. Bingham.

In the records of The Committee on the Regulation of Athletic Sports there appears, during the year 1887, the statement that steps should be taken to increase the size of the Hemenway Gymnasium. An addition was made to this building in 1895 and ever since undergraduates have been asking for more indoor athletic facilities.

In 1914 the undergraduates started a campaign for a new gymnasium but their attempts were discouraged because the authorities of the University felt that a chemical laboratory and a fine arts building were needed more than a new gymnasium. The chemical laboratory and the fine arts building have been finished, and we hope very much that before another year the new indoor athletic building will be in use also. I hope the graduates who are returning for their reunions will find time to visit the site of this building. It is made possible through the generous gifts of three anonymous donors, but unfortunately the building cannot be finished unless $200,000 is forthcoming before late fall.

Recreational Competition

The ideal behind physical exercise at Harvard today is supervised recreational competition. Gone are the days when boys assemble in a gymnasium to follow in sheep-like fashion the lead of a physical director. This form of exercise has been replaced by competitive games, and it is interesting to know that in this building these, is a very small space devoted to the old type gymnasium facilities. I doubt if there will be more than a dozen pairs of dumb bells or Indian clubs in the whole building, but in their place we shall have swimming, wrestling, boxing, fencing, basketball, indoor tennis and other competitive games which are far more stimulating and character-building to the boy and to the instructor than the methods used twenty years ago.

Yale Contests Increase

As I have said on a great many occasions, our athletic program is built around the ideal that every boy who comes to Harvard is somebody's boy, and if we believe in athletic exercise then we should endeavor to provide it for every boy who wants it. Last fall we had five football games with Yale, this spring we are having eight crew races and four baseball games. In other words, we are extending to more students the privilege of meeting our rival, Yale. We have been able to accomplish this with the outdoor games because of the splendid facilities which are offered at Soldiers Field, the land behind the new Business School, Jarvis Field and the Boat Houses on the Charles River.

Over 100 Tennis Courts

Few people know that at the present time we have over 100 tennis courts, 11 football fields, 9 baseball fields, 3 soccer fields, 2 lacrosse fields, 2 running tracks and over 100 shells for boating. Unfortunately, the weather conditions force us indoors between December 1 and March 1, and in passing it may be interesting to note that between October 1 and May 1 over 64,000 man half-hour periods of squash were played by students of the University on the University squash courts.

For the generous gifts from alumni who have made possible Soldiers Field, the Baseball Cage, Newell Boat House, Hemenway Gymnasium, the facilities at Red Top, and more recently the new indoor athletic building, the Harvard Athletic Association is most grateful.