The following should be avoided—­Marathon runs, sustained effort in and under water and competitive long-distance running.  The longest sprint race should be, for boys, 50 yards, for juniors, 75 yards.  No adolescent who is not past the pubescent stage should run sprint races longer than 100 yards.  Cross-country running is beneficial when taken at a slow pace and without competition.  Every boy should be examined for heart weakness before entering the strenuous games.

The above is the opinion of physical directors from twenty-one different States and may be considered authoritative.  This same opinion prevails among most of the experienced camp leaders and workers among boys.

Events

The athletics usually planned for camp are:  50 yard dash for boys; 75-yard dash for juniors; 100 yard dash for seniors; running high jump; running broad jump; pole vault; 8 and 12-pound shot-put; baseball throw and relay race.

Awards

Ribbon awards presented to the winners at a special meeting of the campers aid considerably in fostering the true spirit of clean athletics and wholesome sport and are appreciated by the winners as souvenirs of the good-natured contest.

Camps possessing a stereopticon[1] should secure the set of slides and lecture accompanying from the Moral Education League of Baltimore, Md., entitled “The True Sportsman.”  Rental terms are five dollars a week and expressage.

[Transcribers Footnote 1:  stereopticon:  A magic lantern, with two projectors arranged to produce dissolving views.]

A perpetual cup for all-round proficiency, upon which is engraved the name of each year’s winner, is a good way of recording the annual athletic meet.

A shield with the names of the winners of the season’s events painted or burned upon it and hung up in the camp lodge helps to retain the interest of the winner in the camp after he has become a “grown-up” or alumnus.

[Illustration:  Take-off; Cross-section of Take-off; Jumping Standards;]

Apparatus

Boys who like to make things may be put to work making various pieces of athletic apparatus.  A Take-Off may be made of a plank or board, 8 inches wide and 36 inches long, sunk flush with the earth.  The outer edge of this plank is considered the scratch line.  Remove the earth to a depth of three inches and width of twelve inches.

To make a pair of jumping standards, first saw out the bottom blocks, each being 10 x 10 inches and 2 inches thick.  In the center of each block chisel out a hole 2 x 2 inches and about 1 inch in depth.  Into these holes fit the ends of the upright pieces, which should be 5 feet long and 2 inches square.  Before securing the upright pieces, bore holes an inch apart, into which may be inserted a piece of heavy wire or large wire nail to hold up the cross piece or jumping stick.  Be sure to space the holes alike on both uprights, so the crosspiece will set level when the standard is in use.  Four 5-inch braces are fastened in at the lower part of the upright.  Study the diagram and you will succeed in making a pretty good pair of standards.