. .ROSSALL - . .
Considerable attention is given to sOmming at Rossall. Some years ago a melancholy accident, resulting in the drown ing of a .boy, immediately caused, the then ; head-master, the Rev. Ii. James, to '•take. action:;i ne:Rev.,Anttioray A. Cordner, M.A., master of the baths, thereupon. up a set of regulations, which have been in strict operation ever since. The result has been highly for since their formu lation 'there has never been the slightest ;accident or seven momentarrinsecurity:among the hundreds of, boys who bathe ,in the swimming baths, the•open The following are ,the. regulations :.
Every boy. (unless specially exempted on rt.tedical grounds) -"post -practise swimming on- half-holidays in the summer term, _until, he. can .swim the length,. of the bath, 49 yards, ending at the creeper end, where the depth is '7. feet.' ' 2: 'NO tiny may bathe in" the Sea untille has obtained his tviiimning 'certificate, which must be signed -by •the: sergeant of by the honorary the. baths.
3. The tests qualifying for this certificate are as follows : (x) Each candidate must swim, at the same attempt, eleven laps of the bath, or 44o yards. Of these laps, three must be swum on the back ; the whole distance must be completed within twelve minutes.
(2) When starting, the candidate must dive from the platform at the deeper end, which is 6 feet high, and swim under water for 15 yards.
(3) After completing the required distance, he must, before leaving the water, float without using his arms or legs for three minutes, and tread water' for two minutes.
Addenda (a) If a boy satisfies the instructors in the above tests, he has the privilege of wearing special bathing-drawers, blue and white.
(b) Not less than three boys may bathe together in the sea, and they must leave the water at the same time.
(c) Before bathing in the sea, it is also necessary for each boy to have a further written permission from his parents, from the head. master, and from his house-master.
about 5o boys out of 35o pass this test.
At Winchester, Cheltenham, Sherborne, Tonbridge, Shrews bury, Merchant Taylors, Highgate, Charterhouse, Dulwich, Royal Naval School, Marlborough, Wellington, Berkhamsted, Framlingham, Clifton, Royal Military College, Oundle, Wey mouth, Surrey County, Newton, &c., &c., swimming compe titions are carried out and the pastime is encouraged.
In many of the board schools of this country swimming is now taught, and numerous private schools are provided with swimming baths. It is even fostered in union schools, and
some of the exhibitions by scholars of both sexes witnessed by u3 in different parts of the country, such as at Mossbank, near Glasgow, and Portsea, have been remarkable. The growth of interest in the pastime is undoubtedly due in a large measure to the increase in the number of honorary swimming teachers since the passing of the Baths and Washhouses Act made it possible for lads residing in inland towns to be taught cheaply, and to those public-spirited gentlemen amateurs who have for years undertaken the teaching of school children the thanks of the entire community are due. London is really far behind some other cities in its general instruction to children, and although successive London School Boards have dabbled with the question, nothing definite, beyond the recognition of swim ming as a branch of physical education under the code, has been officially done.
The Physical Education Committee of the School Board for London caused a most exhaustive and valuable report to be compiled in 1890 on the bathing accommodation obtainable in the metropolis. They even went so far as to make arrange ments for the teaching of swimming in the schools under their control, and for the building of baths in connection with schools in districts where public baths did not exist ; but upon the election of the next Board a retrograde movement was at once made, and the whole scheme rejected. It has, however, since been adopted, and the masters themselves have therefore been able to do excellent work. In all parts of London competitions and classes are frequently held, and the School Teachers' Association has been able to give free instruction to hundreds of boys. Many of the amateur clubs provide teachers and arrange contests during the year for both boys and''' girls, and • the Southern Counties ' Amateur Swimming Association, by reason of the gift of a shield by the Cygnus Club and 'presentation medals from year to year by the Otter Club, has been able to carry out a team championShip for London public elementary Schools. In many of the London Board schools the drill of the Life-saving Society is also taught, and a number of the boys attending those schools have passed the examinations and tests for the proficiency medal of the Society.