--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 11 number: 6 published: 1908-04 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "Mutual Work—Junior Athletic Games in the Twentieth Ward," *Improvement Era* 11, no. 6 (April 1908): 476–479.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1106unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1106unse start_page: 476 end_page: 479 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1908-04) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1106unse publication_year: 1908 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1908, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Mutual Work—Junior Athletic Games in the Twentieth Ward MUTUAL WORK. JUNIOR ATHLETIC GAMES IN THE TWENTIETH WARD. A few years ago the writer was struck by the great need of some movement to draw the Junior members to the Mutual Improvement work. While a great amount of good has been done amongst our young men in the past, in this auxiliary organization of the Church, as well as by the the Sunday schools, yet there has always seemed to be a something lacking and necessary to draw some of the boys who are full of the spirit and exuberance of youth, under the spiritual guidance of the elders of the Church. When it was mentioned some months ago, in the convention of the Ensign stake M . I. A. , that something would be attempted along the lines of physical as well as spiritual development, of our young men, the unanimous endorsement of these sentiments was an evidence that the time Back Row: Wm. Service, Peter H. Service, Lennox Sloan, D. R. Lyon, Pres. Front Row: Heber Romney, Grant Romney, M. Alonzo Romney, Gerald Thomas. MUTUAL WORK. 477 had come to do something. The presidency of the Ensign stake M.I. A. at once appointed Judge E. G. Gowans and Coach E. J. Milne, of the Latter-day Saints University, aides to look after this junior athletic work, with results that have surpassed our expectations so far. The movement was particularly suited to the 20th ward M. I. A. , and there the greatest results to date have been apparent. The president of the 20th ward Y. M. M. LA. offered to give a pennant for competition between two teams in the ward, divided evenly as per the active enrollment of the ward, each team selecting their own officers, and the winning of the pennant to be based upon points for deportment, attendance, new members, etc., to be decided by the presidency of the ward, at the end of the season. Needless to say both the Green and Purple teams are scouring the 20th ward tor boys from 14 years of age upwards, to induce them to join the Junior Athletic club to which membership is only obtainable through membership in the ward Y. M. M. I. A. Bishop George Romney and his counselors, George F. Gibbs and Nephi Y. Schofield, have taken a deep interest in the work, and have generously granted the use of the splendid annex hall of the ward to be used as a gymnasium for the juniors, under certain proper restrictions. Several of the fathers of boys of the ward have expressed pleasure and satisfaction in this work, and the officers and class teachers feel that this movement is a good solution of "What to do with the boys." It appears that if we can get the boys to do something which they like to do, they work with will and energy , in a way very remarkably eff e ctive for good when properly directed. A picture of the 20th ward basket ball team is herewith shown. The members expect to figure in the exciting contest for the Ensign Stake Basket Ball league. The contests for supremacy are of quite an exciting nature, and keep the boys in good trim and behavior all the time. On Tuesday, February 18, the 20th ward annex was formally opened to the athletic work in the ward, the hall being on that date equipped for basket ball contests, and the first night there were in attendance on the floor 66 juniors, an increase over the average attendance heretofore of nearly one hundred per cent. On Tuesday following nearly the same number attended, and several exciting basket ball contests took place between the various teams in the organization. On Thursday, a grand entertainment under the auspices of the 20th ward Junior Athletic Club was given, consisting of a basket ball game between the Lowells and the 20th ward second team, victory resting with the Lowell team, and an exhibition of trick bicycle acts by Curtis Allen; a big basket ball game between the 20th and 15th ward teams, the 20th ward team winning by a score of 57 points to 18; followed by some horizontal bar acts, by Ray Raddon. All of the events were furnished by the juniors. Practically no advertising was done for this entertainment, excepting the sale of tickets by the juniors themselves; needless to say, the hall was filled to its utmost capacity.— William Service, first counselor, 20th ward M. I. A. GYMNASIUM WORK IN WARD AMUSEMENT HALLS. At the meeting of the General Board, Y. M. M..I. A.. Wednesday, February 26, at which the reading and adoption of the report and recommendat.ons of the 478 IMPROVEMENT ERA. committee on gymnasium took place, a resolution was unanimously passed, as follows: Resolved, That we recommend to the stake and ward officers, in the city districts, at least, that wherever practicable, arrangements be made for the use of ward amusement halls for the purpose of affording light gymnasium work for the boys, in their respective wards or localities, and thereby keep them near their homes, and away from down-town influences. It is necessary that the permission of the Bishoprics be secured in this matter, and it will be very proper to have the Lesser Priesthood quorums co-operate with our associations in the movement. Where this plan is in operation, as it already is in several of the wards, the attendance is increased from three to four hundred per cent. Stake superintendents are requested to consider this subject in their officers' meetings; and in stakes or wards where gymnasium work can be profitably pursued, suitable arrangements should be made for it in conformity with the above suggestions. The General Board recognizes that it should be the aim of the Y. M. M. I. A. to supply the legitimate needs of the boys in the best possible way, and that the officers should not be slow to provide the variety of intellectual, moral, and physical exercises which they require, so that our organizations shall not.lose their affections and sympathies. It is probable that in connection with the manuals for the coming season, a very simple program will be outlined along the line of physiology and hygiene, anatomy, proper care and development of the body, etc., in addition to the regular class exercises. The cost of preparing the amusement halls for the physical exercises will not be great, and already a number of the wards in the Salt Lake and Ensign stake have led out in this matter, resulting in great success and satisfaction. Even if the regular lessons should be somewhat curtailed, by these exercises, it is believed that no harm will result, for many of the boys and young men are doing fairly good work in the quorums of the Priesthood, where they are taught theological subjects, and their religious duties. NEW GYMNASIUM FOR THE L. D. S. UNIVERSITY AND IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS. The need of a gymnasium building for the Latter-day Saints University has long been felt. The Brigham Young College at Logan, and the Brigham Young University at Provo are provided with commodious buildings for games and athletic exercises, but the Latter-day Saints University students are obliged to rent halls when any of their friends came to Salt Lake City to contest with them. A recognition of the students' demands has finally been made, and it has been decided that for them, in conjunction with the Improvement Associations, a new and upto-date gymnasium building will be erected this spring, on the corner of College and Temple Avenues, facing ninety feet on South Temple Street. The need of a building of this kind for the use of the Mutual Improvement Association classes has also been under consideration for some time by the General Board. The Y. M. M. I. A. require a building for offices, library, and reading room, and rooms to receive visitors, as well as a central gymnasium for members^ The Board therefore decided unanimously, at a meeting, February 26, to unite with the University for the erection of a commodious gymnasium to be used conjointly MUTUAL WORK. 479 by the University and the young men of Salt Lake City and adjoining stakes. The general building will be added later and will also provide room for the young women. At a meeting with the First Presidency with the Board on the same evening, it was learned that the Church will donate the grounds in question. The Board agrees to contribute $10,000 to the project, and also to assist in raising the necessary amount for the erection of the structure by solicitation in the various stakes within the city and adjacent thereto. Several large additional subscriptions aggregating about $3,000 were signed at the meeting by individual members of the Board. Ground will be broken for the gymnasium building without delay. ANNUAL REPORTS. By mail, to the stake superintendents, a sufficient number of Y. M. M. I. A. annual report blanks has been sent for distribution to the ward presidents. Three copies should be sent to each of the ward presidents, with instructions by letter or otherwise, to have the reports filled out, and one returned to the stake secretary not later than April 20, 1908. Three stake report blanks have been sent to the stakes, and these should be made out to contain a summary of the ward reports. The reports should all be made in duplicate, and one copy mailed to this office, and the other placed on file with the stake secretary. Please notice that unless stake reports are received at the General Secretary's office on or before the 10th day of May, 1908, it will be impossible to include them in the general report for the annual June conference. The earnest, prompt and careful co-operation in our efforts to get a complete report for our annual conference is solicited from ward and stake officers. FOR M. I. A. OFFICERS. How to achieve greater success with your associations : Get together and decide on better and more definite plans for carrying out your work. Put more effort into their execution. Hold monthly stake meetings of the stake and ward officers. Hold weekly ward officers' meetings. Canvas for a larger enrollment, and try for a greater average attendance. Devise plans for summer work and recreation for the boys. Begin your fall work early; have your plans well-matured, and get after your missionary labor, perfect your organization, and attend to the manual distribution, and the Era, early and promptly. QUESTIONS FOR SOME WARD PRESIDENTS. Why do you have only about 40 young men enrolled and only 20 or 25 in average attendance in your association, when you have a ward population of 900 or 1,000? Have you done anything — made any stir — to change this condition? You should have at least 125 enrolled and an average of 80 or 100 in regular attendance.