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Introduction of Turnvereins
Due to the numerous amounts of Germans migrating to the US, they began to settle down and incorporate their culture. One aspect was their love for gymnastics, thus the first Turnfest was introduced in Philadelphia. This allowed for a peak in interest over the years of gymnastics. -
YMCA
The first YMCA opened in the USA. This organization would later grow and expand all over the country giving kids and adults a well suited environment to engage in fun physical activities that focused on developing the whole person not just their body. -
Harvard vs. Yale
The very first intercollegiate competition occurred. It was a crew race between Harvard and Yale university. Being the first competition between two college schools opened up the doors so other sports could hold their own intercollegiate competitions later on in history. -
National Associations of Amateur Athletics of America is Founded
This association encompassed all the sports played in the US. As well, in later years it became the American Athletic Union and they became responsible for our participation in the Olympics. -
Physical Education is Recognized
In this year, the National Education Association first recognized physical education as being a part of the curricular area. This now meant PE had to be incorporated into school systems. -
Association for the Advancement of Physical Education
First founded by William Anderson as a means to learn more about how other physical education programs were structured. Today it is known as American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD). -
The Safety Bicycle
The safety bicycle was the first bicycle to be invented. It would soon be reinvented and become what we now call our bicycles. As a result of this bike, women became more active and thus they began to change their attire to better ride the bike and have more movement. With the change in attire came more ability to participate in other physical activities. -
The Boston Conference on Physical Training
This conference "brought together prominent leaders in physical education to discuss and evaluate various systems." (Wuest D. & Fisette J., 2015, p. 117) The Boston Conference is important because it brought forth the main intentions of physical education in America and what system would best suit Americans. Citation: Wuest, D & Fisett. J (2015) Foundations of Physical Education, Exercise Science, and Sport, New York, New York, Mc-Grawhill Education -
Basketball is Invented
One of the few sports that originated in the US was invented by James Naismith. This added on to the list of sports already sweeping the nation. -
Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives Formed
The conference was comprised of faculty from seven Midwestern institutions, which is now the Big Ten. Due to this conference there are now set eligibility requirements for students enrolling, their academic performance, put limits to the amount of athletic financial aid, and created guidelines for hiring and firing coaches. -
First Modern Olympics
Held in Athens, Greece the first modern Olympics took place where it was "limited to males and to 28 events in 4 sports; track and field, gymnastics, target shooting, and fencing" (Wuest D. & Fisette J., 2015, p.118) This event brought the while world together for a good cause and would soon become even bigger with the number of events, countries involved, and soon expand to both sexes. -
Delphine Hanna
Delphine Hanna became the first woman to be appointed a full professor in physical education. By having Hanna appointed this position allowed other women to be encouraged to join this field of work and gave women a bigger say in their thoughts on the importance of physical activity. -
Playground Association of America is Formed
Luther Gulick created this association due to his belief that play was an important role in a child's development. Through this association he tried to "promote the development of urban and rural playgrounds" (Wuest D. & Fisette J., 2015, p.121) which were meant to keep kids active and enjoying physical activity. In the year 1930 the association had evolved into the National Recreation Association. -
Clark Hetherington's Four Objectives
Under the belief that physical education is more than just improving physical physique Hetherington developed the four objectives of physical education. They were organic development, psychomotor development, character development, and intellectual development, and all four are still used today. -
The Principles of Physical Education
At this time there was beginning to be shift in what physical education should be focused on, so as an advocate for using physical education for more than just physique, Jesse F. Williams published "The Principles of Physical Education". In this book he argued how PE should incorporate both the body and mind and how it should be included within all school curriculum. -
Establishment of the Division of Physical Fitness
Under President Franklin Roosevelt, the Division of Physical Fitness was established in the US Offices of Defense Health and Welfare Service. This allowed for physical health and fitness to be a primary goal within our national defense. -
National Athletic Trainers' Association
By forming this association, athletes were now able to have trained professionals looking after their injuries. It also aided in the prevention of injury and the education of preventing injuries to occur. -
The President's Council
Due to the numerous amount of kids who scored low on the Kraus-Weber Minimal Muscular Fitness Test, President Eisenhower created The President's Council on Youth Fitness. This was to ensure the youth of America was staying active. -
Division for Girls' and Women's Sports
The first National Institute on Girls' Sports was held where topics such as amount of girls participating in sports was discussed. This division also helped make way for more opportunities in the Olympics for women. -
Special Olympics
The first special Olympics was held which opened up the participation of sports to those with disabilities. As a result more people were able to get involved and be physically active in ways that suited them better. -
Title IX
The passing of the Title IX Amendment made it illegal to discriminate a person on the basis of their sex from participating or being a part of any educational program. Thus, the amount of girls and women participating in sports has risen since this amendment helped make females have the same equal rights to activities as men did.
