Author: Unknown
Published: April 22.1927
Girls’ track is to be a team sport, according to a decision made by the W.A.A. board at a meeting held Monday in the rooms of Miss Mary H. Fretts, president of the board.
Individuals winning first, second, and third place will be awarded 20, 15 and 10 points respectively towards the Winner cup: but each winner will be credited only with the highest single place she has won. The class totaling the highest number of individual points will win the meet and receive twenty points towards the cup. The individual scoring the highest total will receive five extra points.
My Response
Times change and so do athletics. This weekend, the Women’s and Men’s track teams will take the field at St. Norbert College to compete for Lawrence’s glory. In 1927, this was not the case – Lawrence fielded only a men’s varsity track team. It is important to remember that things we for granted today have not always been available to all in the past.
In addition to serving as a reminder of the history of gendered athletics at Lawrence, this article harkens back to a time when inter-class athletics were present at Lawrence. The 1927 establishment of Girl’s Track as a sport at Lawrence was not the birth of an intercollegiate team. Instead, track meets were held between the different grades at Lawrence for both men and women. While intramural competitions are still present at Lawrence, inter-class athletics have fallen by the wayside. With the popularity of intramurals, I believe that Lawrence has a place for inter-class athletics today. Who wouldn’t want to fight for their year through the good old-fashioned rigors of athletics?
