PHYSICAL CULTURE FOR GIRLS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 688, 13 December 1909, Page 4

PHYSICAL CULTURE FOR GIRLS.

■ RECORD .AT GIRLS' COLLEGE. . The classes for physical culture play nowadays a very important part at a girls school, and it is very largely owing to their influence that tho ;physique of the young women of today shows such an improvement, The annual report on the,' physical; culture classcs at the Wellington Girls' College, which was read Inst . week, is very interesting, the tables showing ; the amount iof development deserving careful . study. • ' ■' . A record was taken of each pupil'sholght, weight,: chost; expansion, and lung capacity at the beginning of March, and, at tho end of November, .and the result, , says, the examiner, has justified ali expectations, nearly all those taking part in tho drill having increased in physioaf development to -various extentsulasses of twenty minutes' duration were held , onco a week* for tho seniors, and twice a week for the juniors, whilo a. special class was'nlso arranged once .a week for thoso considered soinowhat physically/deficient,' special and extra, work; was given, to them, and they were • also require to praotise 'their movements at

home;'the result being tbatithey have made a | i greater-chest, development and expansion than the other, classes.: The work of the classes con-. ' sisted. of .Swedish' movements, deep-breathing, . wand, 'deportment, -and marching exercises, ; handball and basketball games, _ and -in, addition a few deep-breathing exercises w.ere gono through in .school-lwtwoen lessons, both moriiiing and.'afternoon, under the direction of the 'teachers, t ■< ■ - - A detailed summary of results as mado out in the' measurement .register stiows increases in/erich Vdireotion,. and. < for- purposes of comparison . they. havo been classified, in four sections, asfollow:—First section, pupils ex-empt^-from drill by request. of parents; sec-, ond .section, pupils attending classes onco - a week; : thirdr scctiqn,., pupils.,attending classes twice a week; and fourth section, those selected for ; special treatment (physically. deficient).. . . ./. . . : The-', averages . for ■ each' of these sections work' out in decimals as follow: — . Section '- ,1 - (exempted)i—Height, _ ,12in.; , weight, . 2.271b. ; chest expansion,' .3Gin.; lung capacity, 7.3G cubic, inches. .j Section 2 (onco' a .30in.; weight, 3.961b.; chest expansion, .61in.'; lung capacity;-9.G'cubic inches. : ". Section-3 (tivice a week).-Jleight; .73in; weight, 5.761b.; chest expansion, .89in.; lung capacity, 14.32 ; cubic inches. .Section-. V. (special).—Height, .53in.; weight, ,4.931b.'';' chest expansion, 1.17 m. j lung capa- ' city, 13.82 cubic inches. , . . , ■ r- : .'Although/',those, in section 1 were exempted from' drill, ; they did- breathing exercises in school. These averages show that the ."once-a-week" pupils have profited nearly twice as much' as ; those who did not take drill,-.,the "twice-a-week" pupils nearly three times us much; while .the special-class pupils have made a still greater increase in chest development; The small increase made, by those who were exempted frim drill is attributed to natural growth. - - -~ ; The'following 'are somo-of the highest individual increases 'zander each heading, and are all from tho "special" section:—Height, 2Sin.;; weight, lGlb.; lung capacity, CO cubic inches; :chest'..expansion,' 2j inohes. .