June 6, 1938 Utica Observer Dispatch(click on image to enlarge for reading)As evidenced by the many advertisements and news articles throughout the early 20th century, the YMCA Learn-to-Swim programs concluded with the boys having their final class followed by swimming demonstrations wherein they earned certificates if they successfully passed a series of tests. The nude swimming item in last weeks Boomer U urban legends story generated several emails and phone calls from older men who confirmed that, indeed, This particular one indicates the swimming program is open to boys and girls from the fourth grade through the eighth grade, and specifically states:"Boys swim in the nude and are required to bring only a towel. The girls are of course clothed in the photo. A review of camp archives shows that nude swimming at camp became virtually universal during WW II. WebThe school fielded a swimming team for the school's inaugural 1935-36 school year. Season runs Winter, November - This would suggest that at the time, about two-thirds of all schools with swim programs had the full nudity requirement for all boys. This particular article goes on to cite the local Y's policy that made nude swimming mandatory, and, that this rule must be complied with for all sessions. It also makes us wonder what is still out there in the oceans of inaccessible newspaper databases yet to be OCR digitized and made available absent paid subscription to that news source. Such policies are also evidenced well in many articles concerning the YMCA "Learn to Swim" program as well. WebAbout High School Swim Teams. Thereafter the rule about trunks went into the discard, and very small boys in a state of nature swam like tadpoles through the many heats necessary to a decision."The above begs the question - how old were the boys that weigh eighty-pounds? Early sweet peppers are a great addition to any garden. Such a requirement would be consistent with the published YMCA requirements. In 1926, the APHA adopted guidelines about swimming attire that indicated that because fibers clogged filters, bacteria count escalated and therefore all males using pools should bathe before entering and not be permitted to wear anything whatsoever, and that females should only wear suits that were not dyed. You lost me. Developed by William Estler in the 1940s, this tomato is known for its large size, sweet flavor, and disease resistance. Prior to the 1970s, this was standard practice and thus, such articles are unremarkable and restate the obvious. Unadorned, undyed tank suits were recommended for females. This insight is important because it underscores why male nude swimming was recommended and required for more than 50 years. Swimming trunks or suits will not be used. In the link (Vintage male nudity), the photos as I mentioned are from all over the US and Europe (and apparently nowhere else) as well as being from most of the decades, I'd guess, from around 1910 up into the 1970s. Admission: $10.00 per person/per session Only designated coaches, participants, managers, officials, Were there really nude swim team yearbook photos? Girls must provide themselves with a bathing cap. In the final analysis, it may all be arbitrary. It states: Also note that the superintendent addresses the issue that swim instructors must contact him immediately if they cannot make their class as he will provide a substitute. Although the article does not address the makeup of the "spectators", other articles found for that period indicate how the Public Schools Athletic League (still in existence) swimming events would see families attending and crowds over 1,000, although they do not discuss nudity with the same specificity as does this one.The swim competition were shown to be organized by the boys' weight, not age, and although it was identified as a competition for "elementary" schools, weight classes went up to 115 lbs., and then an unlimited "heavy weight" class for boys. The APHA guidelines recommending nude male swimming remained in effect until filtration systems had so improved that the guideline was no longer necessary, with the. It should be noted that many of the news articles on our site come from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. From this we can deduce that almost all schools that had indoor pools during that era had the standard policy requiring boys to swim nude while girls were provided suits.Another matter that this article exposes is that although filtration may have been an issue at one time, despite the improvements in technology by the date of this article, boys were still required to swim nude for different reasonmoney. (click on image to enlarge for reading)YMCA programs wherein boys swam nude while also having parents nights for families to come and watch can also be found in this 1960 Iowa paper. The APHA guidelines that mandated nudity for males while swimming was an important consideration in this discussion. Such a requirement would be consistent with the published YMCA requirements. Finally, it also indicates that the last day of classes were open to the parents to come watch the boys and girls swim. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Press J to jump to the feed. The published letters to the editor immediately subsequent to this edition never revealed any reader voicing concern about it. WebKelsea Cooke wins the 400 freestyle race for the Ocean City High School girls swim team during a meet against visiting Absegami on Monday. And today, such matters as female reporters in men's locker rooms or female guards monitoring the showers at men's correctional institutions would be equally as abominable if those in previous eras were presented that reality. It states that: "Afternoon swimming classes have been scheduled for junior high school students. For diving, JV and Varsity competitors all participate at the same time. Record-setting 1950 Redlands swim team to be honored. WATERVILLE The Mount Desert Island High School swim team wrapped up its season last week with both the girls and boys squads competing in separate state championship meets at Colby College Feb. 21 and Feb. 22, respectively. Webearly 1950s, the predominantly African American DuSable High School usually ranked as the second best swimming program in the Chicago Public High School League, behind Lane Technical High School. By careful planning every child who signed up in school could be fitted into the crowded schedule this term. Thus, in November through February, only boys used the pool, and girls then used it after February. This particular year boys and girls were not separated by time of day but instead different months of the year. Thus, for the one-third of the schools that did not have the swimsuit prohibition for boys, in all cases the reasons were based upon architectural design and placement of the pool, not about the exposure of the boys' naked bodies. Swimming lessons at the YMCA expanded throughout the century to include families and people with disabilities. David Fierro /Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 6 of 8 7 of 8 The Appleton Post, 1961(click on image to enlarge for reading)As time progressed, many parents became increasingly concerned about the policies requiring boys to swim nude. "These same females were noted in providing instructions to the swimmers in other years as well.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. Next is the following statement in bold to show emphasis:"We do not encourage the use of bathing suits, but if a boy wishes to wear one, he may"It should be noted that during the decades encompassing our research, it was common for the national council of the YMCA to furnish recommended policies to the many towns and cities that offered swimming programs. Thus, each of the the instructors taught for a total of 7 hours with one hour off (probably lunch) thereby indicating a full 8 hour work day was required by each of the four instructors to accommodate the 200 girls and 200 boys. WebHigh School | Top Swimmers 2022-2023. (click on image to enlarge for reading)The dichotomy in standards between boys and girls is emphasized in this 1940 edition of a Wisconsin newspaper. Mrs. Tiaas was also identified teaching these swimming classes in other years as well. Today, the average weight of an 11-year-old is about 76 pounds, and for 12-year-olds its about 83 lbs. This article in addition to the Reno and Kansas City articles above and below, respectively, clearly evidence that they YMCA employed female instructors to teach swim courses to the boys during this period. Real Estate Home Inspections - Second Home Support "Unlike the 1952 article, there were only 2 instructors and a female assistant:"Lester Wilke and Lloyd Meiners will supervise the swimming sessions with Miss Marabel Harold assisting."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. The 200 freestyle relay team of sophomores Lucas Hodgson, Alexander Hazlett, Gavin West and senior Marcus Hodgson combined for a school record and All-America consideration time of 1:22.28. The numerous documents and videos presented within this site evidence that not only was there such policies, but those boys that refused to participate in the nude were typically ostracized by the other boys and even some instructors.With such policies in place, the 1960 article to the left addresses how the lack of available, qualified men to be lifeguards and swim instructors forced many YMCAs to start to enlist many female instructors for both gender courses. It states: One perplexing question is that if the department did not have to pay for, store or clean the boys' suits, why would they require boys to bring towels but forbade them from bringing swimsuits also?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. Others profess that there were parents nights and swim meets wherein parents were allowed to watch the boys demonstrate their swimming skills and/or compete while the swam in the nude, and, that these parents might bring the boys' female siblings to watch as well. Some did indeed allow suits whereas others made male nudity when in the pools mandatory. Homecoming parade floats There doesn't seem to be anything about the website that is connecting it with either the YMCA or nude swimming at school. Name Team Points; 1 Scotty Buff "Although not stated, it is only conceivable that mothers and fathers would often bring the boys' siblings, which would include sisters. In this October 7, 1954 Waukesha Daily Freeman article, it once again provides that although both boys and girls should bring towels, only girls would be given swimsuits. Webhigh school swim teams from the 1950syoungstown state football roster 1985. (click on image to enlarge for reading)This 1954 article is very specific about the YMCA learn to swim class being offered in Kansas City. DuSables swimming achievements were looked on with pride by the The coupon in the newspaper states: "Do NOT bring your own suit", thus reinforcing that all boys must swim in the nude. The meet was a Junior-Midget Swim Meet with seventeen organizations present, 200 contestants and 50 AAU officials. The guidelines that set policies for men and boys to use pools only in the nude was not relaxed until 1962. Polio and various bacterial infections were a far greater risk in those days, so public institutions would universally adopt APHA guidelines, particularly since there usually was rarely an alternative health agency that would offer opposing guidelines. high school swim teams from the 1950s Domain Registry Web Services ADA Compliance Traffic Services Crowd Targeting Classified Ads Private Business Consulting Ms. Maradel is again mentioned, and, it also reminds parents that only girls, but not boys are supplied swimsuits, although boys are to bring towels.In addition, the "Red Cross testing" that is mentioned as part of the program was done by representatives of the Red Cross, who were routinely females as evidenced in other articles. 2013-2016 The article states the policy typical for almost all YMCA's. So, given the wealth of information from the Sheboygan Press, the city's main newspaper, we focused on a number of articles that occurred over a span of several years featuring the "Learn to Swim" program sponsored by the Department of Public Recreation, an overarching municipal agency that encompassed all schools. Login Register. Although many may be dismissed as tall-tales, the evidence found throughout this site, including documented letters written by women and published in newspapers, leads the creators of this website to conclude that there were indeed many situations where it was both accepted and expected that unlike girls, boys would participate in swimming completely nude with the opposite gender present. Inaugural 1935-36 school year 50 AAU officials, the average weight of an 11-year-old is about 76,... Tomato is known for its large size, sweet flavor, and girls were not separated by of. 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