Athletics of To-Day for Women

The Growth of Women's Athletics 23 governing body had established a Sports Badge for women, and in rgr7 there were 424 tests. Within the space of one year the tests had been found too light, and so athletics were added to the schedule. ~ven after the Sports Badges were instituted it was still mamly the schools that kept alive the national interest in Women's track and field athletics. A schoolgirl named Vera Jakobsson was the outstanding performer of 1922, with a new Long Jump record of 16 ft. 7! ins. She also ran 6o metres in 8-!tr. secs. This same girl did well for weden in the 2nd Inter– natiOnal Ladies' Games at Gothenburg, 1926. In 1923 a schoolgirl cleared 4ft. 8 ins. in the High Jump, while a Relay team covered 300 metres (4x 6o metres) in 44-lo- secs. . By this time the big Swedish sports clubs were beginning to Interest themselves in women's athletics, and, in addition, two ladies' athletic clubs were founded in Stockholm and two rnore in other parts of weden. Despite all this, and the fact that the propaganda committee of the wedish National Athletic Association formulated special lines of work for the movement, resulting in women's competitions being held, there were very few entries, and it was not until 1925 that a r al m asure of popularity with the public and proper support from the women thems I v s wer achi v d. . ~n eptember, 1925, a strong team of Engli h girl athlet s " 1 1ted weden. They comp ted at Gothenburg and all en– berg, arou ing such enthusiasm that th v riges Kvinnliga !drottsforbund, as th wedish Worn n's Athl tic Associ tion 1 call d, was at once form d and ffili i..ed to the '' der tion portive Feminin International . Th more important rn iing at othenburg produc d th following series of fine performances : METREs.-r, V. Palm r (Eng.}, 8n secs. ; 2, S. Larsson (Sw d.}, 8! secs. 40o METRES.-I, V. almer ( ng.), 6r~ secs.; 2, A. Carlsson (Swed.), 72 nr ecs. 6o YDS. HURDLEs.-C. Hait (Eng. ), 9fo s cs. ; 2, S. C. Eliott-Lynn (Eng.), 9! secs. c