“ SPECTATORITIS.”

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 27, 2 February 1937, Page 9

“ SPECTATORITIS.”

PASSIVE AMUSEMENTS. 1 1 SAPPING NATION’S LIFEBLOOD. : LONDON, December li. 1 The danger of -‘speotatorltl." was : •mphaslsed by Captain F. J. G. Mar- g shall, physical education organiser at Bradford, at the Public Health Con- t greas at the Royal Agricultural Hall ( recently. ( “Recreative physical training will al- j ways have a very serious competitor q in capitalised and commercialised amusements,” he said. “These have jarisen with the increase of leisure, and produced the phenomenon ‘spectator- r ltto.’ Because It takes up so much g leisure time, ‘speotatorHls,’ is sapping the life blood of the nation. “We have allowed the amusement caterer to step in with the most passive forms that human Ingenuity oaL 3 devise, where the age demands active, vigorous, musoular types,” he added. 1 Saying that to per eent of the c population the facilities for the physl- c cal eduoation of people not attending * educational Institutions full time had , no appeal, Captain Marshall said: 1 “There is & great deal of suspicion, « especially among the unemployed, that there is some ulterior motive underlying the physical training campaign— Pi some cleverly concealed movß towards b fascism. No Political Alms. t “We who are officially engaged In V promoting physical education In the country have no such aims,” he said, o “We have no connection with any h military or political caucus. Our one t aim is to have a part in the production t of a ra-oe of splendid men and worsen, with fit and beautiful bodies and lively, daring minds.” a •Captain Marshall said that physical education should be directed by the s physical training department of the n Board of Education, and voluntary s bodie-s and clubs should link up in a e scheme for each area. The scheme would Include gymnastics and training schemes for team games such as football, hockey and cricket. He would Include schemes for training more mature men and women in such sports as golf and lawn tennis.