--- 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: 13 number: 11 published: 1910-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, “The Deseret Gymnasium,” *Improvement Era* 13, no. 11 (September 1910): 1049–1051." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera13011unse 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: improvementera13011unse start_page: 1049 end_page: 1051 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1910-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera13011unse publication_year: 1910 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 1910, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Deseret Gymnasium If i It s ■ 1 . ■ .r.*"1'" i^JI'Il' ==-f-M . -"--.„ '"",-7, ' ^^PB MAIN HALL, DESERET GYMNASIUM. The pool itself is thirty feet wide and sixty feet long. It is four and one-half feet deep at one end and eight feet deep at the other. The whole room is finished in white glazed tile. A spectator's gallery sur- rounds the room, about twelve feet above the floor. The showers, toilet and wash rooms, which are between the locker-room and the plunge, are finished in white marble. No one will be allowed in the plunge until he has taken a showar, in order to keep the water in the plunge as clean as possible. The second floor is occupied by the main gymnasium, the wrestling room, and the physical examiner's office. Here is every kind of appa- ratus imaginable for developing the body. Indian clubs, dumb-bells, chest-weights, and ladders line the wall, in neat arrangement. There are jumping and vaulting standards, parallel bars, horizontal bars, horses and mats round the outer part of the floor, while in the center there are four basketball courts, flying rings, traveling rings, trapezes, and rope ladders. Then there are medicine balls, kicking standards, a rowing ma- chine, wrist and leg machines, a neck machine, back machines and al- most anything else you can imagine. The rings, trapezes and ladders are hung from steel beams in the top of the building, where a big sky light affords ample light. The third floor is the spectator's gallery. It surrounds the whole main room. It is sloped like an amphitheater and contains six hundred and fifty opera chairs. Besides these there is standing room for three 1050 IMPROVEMENT ERA. or four hundred people, so that a thousand people can be accommodated to watch exhibitions and contests. Above the spectator's gallery, en- circling the whole main room is the running track. It is fourteen and one-half laps to the mile, is covered with cork, and is wide enough for two runners. In two corners of the building there are steel stairs lead- ing up to the spectator's gallery and running track, and in the other two corners there are brass rods for sliding down to the main floor. The whole building is ventilated by a fan-blast system, which insures fresh air throughout even though the windows are shut. Any person over twelve years old, of good character, is entitled to membership in the gymnasium. Only women will be admitted in the mornings and Monday evenings. The afternoons and evenings are reserved for the men. The men's membership is divided into four grades. The junior grade comprises those between twelve and fourteen years of age. These are admitted two afternoons a week, and pay six dollars membership fee and one dollar locker fee a year. The boys in the inter- mediate grade are from fifteen to seventeen. They are admitted any af- ternoon until 6 o'clock, and pay eleven dollars membership fee and one dollar locker fee. Those in the senior grade must be over eighteen. They have full privileges of the gymnasium when it is not occupied by the women. They pay seventeen dollars membership fee and one dollar locker fee. The fourth grade is for business men. They pay twenty- five dollars a year for full privileges of the gymnasium. A similar division is made for the women at reduced rates. In this way it is hoped to give the privileges of the gymnasium to a large number of people. Everyone who applies for membership must undergo two examina- tions,— a physical examination, and a medical examination, in order that such work may be prescribed as will tend to remedy any physical or or- ganic defect, and at the same time prevent injury to weak hearts from too violent exercises. The success of the undertaking is assured. Bryant S. Hinckley, formerly principal of the Latter-day Saints Business College, is the gen- eral secretary, W. B. Day, who has had twenty years experience in simi- lar work in the Y. M. C. A.'s throughout the country, is the physical director. Robert Richardson and Anna Nebeker, both of the University of Utah, will be his assistants. Besides these there will be coaches in wrestling, swimming, and probably fencing. These instructors, besides their work in the gymnasium, will help to organize athletics and conduct meetings in the Y. M. M. I. A. and other organizations in other stakes outside the city. There will doubtless also be training classes organized for the accommodation of representatives from the Y. M. M. I. A. of other stakes. The gymnasium will be used for the final contests and SWIMMING POOL. meets. By this system of extension work it is hoped to put all athletics in the Church on a basis of true sportsmanship, — to teach that it is bet- ter to lose honorably than to win by trickery. Rigby Stake Athletics. Superintendent Willard S. Burton, of the Rigby stake writes to the Era announcing the first athletic contest of that stake, held at Lewis- ville, August 10, with a large and enthusiasiastic gathering in attend- ance. Most of the prizes awarded to any of the associations of the stake were given to Menan. All the events, except base ball and basket ball, were free for all to enter. Two baseball games, five innings each, were played, Grant winning against Menan. Three basket ball games were played by the Y. L. M. I. A.: Garfield vs. Grant, and Rigby vs. Menan. The two winning teams, Garfield and Menan played a third game for a basket ball and the stake champanion- ship, Menan winning. The pole vault was won by D. Ballantyne, of Menan, record 8 feet 6 inches; the run and broad jump by John Jeff, of Lewisville, record 16 feet 3 inches; shot put (14-pound ball) by Mr. Kennedy,of Rigby, record 34 feet 4 inches. Mr. Batt, of Clark, took the second prize, record 33 feet 10 inches. The run and high jump was won by D. Ballantyne, of Menan, record 5 feet one inch. The ladies fifty yard dash was won by Maggie Jones, of Rigby. W. L. Green, of Menan, deserves special mention, as he won every foot race during the day contested by the Y. M. M. I. A. Prizes were awarded for each contest.