A NATIONAL SPORT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1265, 21 October 1911, Page 11

A NATIONAL SPORT.

THE. RULERS OP THE WAVES. Since Captain Webb swam the Channel in 1875, England has become a nation of swimmers (says an English writer). Every boy feels that it is incumbent upon him at least to learn to swim. Most girls look' upon swimming as an accomplishment well within their reach given the necessary time, instruction, and opportunities. Tho great and permanent value of Captain Webb's wonderful feat lay in the encouragement it gavo to swimming, and the splendid achievement of Mr. Burgess will havo an equally stimulating effect upon tho progress of a very necessary, useful, and healthful physical exercise. Many education authorities now regard swimming as a necessary part of a boy's training, realising that for tho growing generation of our crowded cities thero is no better exercise, cheap in practice, valuablo in its moral and physical effects, and suitable for both boys and girla. Schoolboy Champions. Secondary schools aro everywhere following tho lead of the elomentary schools. In many instances they showed tho way. I believe tho timo will come when 110 school will bo regarded ns completely equipped unless it teaches its pupils how to swim and how to save life in the water. Framlingham is tho champion swimming and life-saving school of tho country. It has its own bath', in which overv boy is taught to swim, with the result that tho school has earned nearly 1200 awards for knowledgo of life-saving, and boys who 'have passed through the school havo a fine record for life-saving. Tbo great public schools regard swimming as a serious and necessary accomplishment. Harrow has its "duck puddle." At Eton no boy is allowed to go on tho river until he has passed a swimming test. At Rugby_ many good swimmers have been trained in the school bath. Uppingham built its bath in 1883. Winchester, Cheltenham, Sherborne, Tonbridge, and Shrewsbury all teach swimming, and one of the conditions of passing out of the Royal Naval Collego at Dartmouth is the swimming test, most of the cadets taking the tests of tho Royal Life-Saving Society. At ono time a swimmer in tho Navy was regarded as an exceptional person. _To-day every seaman qualifying for the Navy is expected to show evidence of his ability to swim. Women Who Swim, No ono can fail to havo noticed tho great increase in the number of ladies wjio now swim. Tho exceptional summer has doubtless added very gTeatly to the number. Tuition in girls' schools will in timo make the accomplishment ns common as it is now becoming among men. When the swim through London was first organised, only one woman look part. The following year four entered, and this year thero were no fewer than eighteen competitors. Each year also the timo taken by the winner has been shortened, and tho stylo of tho swimmers has improved. Mixed bathing and tuition in swimming havo contributed to make tho holidays of thousands of women healthier and more enjoyable. Just as the example of Captain Webb gavo the first great impetus to tho practice of swimming in this country, so will tho accomplishment of Mr. Burgess increase' greatly the number of the world's expert swimmers. The value of a knowledgo of swimming, and especially of lifesaving, is beyond question. Boys and girls who havo acquired it grow into reliant and self-controlled ■ men and women. They prepared to save not only their own lives but those of others in distress; they undertake tho work of reseuo free from danger; tho drowning man's clutch has no fears for them. Not many years ago at least six thousand persons were annually drowned in the sea on our coasts and in inland waters. Today tho number has been reduced by one-half. For tho new encouragement ho has ghvn to the art and practice r-f swimming, no less than for the great feat of strength, courage, and will-power ho has performed, Mr. Burgess deserves tho highest praise. .