Iowa Women's Archives
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa

THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA DEPARTMENT
OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR WOMEN

WOMEN'S RECREATION ASSOCIATION (WRA)

RECORDS, 1920-1975
8.5 linear feet

Collection Overview

History

In 1900 the Department of Physical Culture and Athletics at the State University of Iowa (now the University of Iowa) had only one woman member, an assistant in charge of physical training for women. By 1924 the Department of Physical Education was established with four departments: intercollegiate athletics, physical education for men, physical education for women, and intramural games. By that year every member of the women’s staff was a graduate of a physical education school and a major field of study in Women’s Physical Education was established. The women’s physical education program became a pioneer in the development of graduate study and professional training. Elizabeth Halsey headed the department from 1924-1955. Gladys Scott, who received the first PhD in women’s physical education from the University of Iowa in 1937, succeeded Halsey as department chair.

The athletic/physical education departments were later reorganized in a variety of configurations including the Department of Physical Education and Dance (1976-1987), Physical Education and Sport Studies (housed within the Division of Physical Education) (1987-1993), the Department of Sport, Health, Leisure and Physical Studies (1993-2000), the Department of Health, Leisure and Sport Studies (2000-2001) and the Department of Health and Sport Studies in 2000. Physical education is no longer offered as a field of study.

The Women’s Athletic Association (WAA), an intramural organization with both an athletic and social focus, was organized in 1911 to “promote a spirit of fair play and sportsmanship among girls.” The WAA offered a variety of clubs, including Orchesis (dance), Seals (swimming), outing, hockey, canoeing, archery, badminton, tennis, basketball, and handicrafts. The group sponsored tournaments, play days, intramurals, sport club activities, classes in social dancing, and all-freshmen parties. In 1941, the name of the organization changed to the Women’s Recreation Association (WRA).

The WAA/WRA provided college women opportunities to participate in sports, either intramural or as a member of a sport club, as there were no varsity sport teams available for women at The University of Iowa. Intercollegiate competition was not seen to be in the best interest of women, a sentiment held strongly by the women physical educators at Iowa and around the country, and generally supported by a male-centered and male-dominated sport culture. This philosophy held until the late 1960s, an important period of growth and transition for women’s sports. Despite the department’s public stance against interscholastic athletic competition for women, WRA members competed regularly in such sports as field hockey, golf, fencing and riflery, traveling to other schools and hosting tournaments at The University of Iowa.

Starting in the 1968-1969 season, many of the WRA sport clubs began participating in more formally recognized intercollegiate competition—a change which reflected a shift in the philosophy of the leaders in physical education for women toward athletic competition. In some cases, the WRA recreational club team and the intercollegiate team were distinct entities, but in most cases, the WRA team was the intercollegiate team. By the 1971-1972 season, certain sport teams were specifically identified as “intercollegiate,” although they were still affiliated with the WRA. This transition can be observed in the sport club files from this period. Intramural and intercollegiate sport folders are marked as such whenever possible. For more information on the transition to and growth of intercollegiate athletics for women at the University of Iowa, refer to the Intramurals, Intercollegiate Athletics and Professional Organizations series in the Department of Physical Education for Women collection

Scope and Content Note

The Women’s Recreation Association (WRA) records date from 1920-1975 and measure 8.5 linear feet. These records consist primarily of newspaper clippings, annual files and sport club files, which document and describe the organization’s wide variety of social, athletic, and administrative activities. The annual files include membership lists, handbooks, minutes, schedules and Play Day programs. The WRA records also include a large selection of Sport Guides, rules and regulations designed specifically for women’s sports. The records are arranged in the following series: Administrative records, Annual files, Financial records, Handbooks from other schools, Newspaper clippings, Social activities, Sport clubs, Sport Guides, and Artifacts.

The Administrative records series (1923-1971) includes the WAA and WRA constitutions, membership lists, reports, schedules, Board of Director’s duties, publicity, and other miscellaneous administrative records.

The Annual files series (1943-1973) provides documentation of the activities, officers, committee work and events offered each year. Sport and recreation activities are filed under the name of the sport club.

Included in the Financial records series (1942-1972) are budgets and receipts for the first women’s intercollegiate athletic teams in the late 1960s. Account books and invoices complete this series.

The Handbooks from other schools series (1939-1971) is comprised of WAA and WRA handbooks from other colleges and universities around the country, primarily from the mid-1940s to the 1960s. Included, is one handbook from 1939 that details how to organize a girl’s athletic association and how to become a member of the Iowa State High School Girls Athletic Association.

The Newspaper clippings series (1920-1954, 1968-1969) offers a record of the many activities and events sponsored by the WRA.

The Social activities series (1945-1960) consists of a select group of special events: University Carnival, Open House, Old Gold Days, Play Days and Sports Days. Most social activities are documented in the annual files.

The Sport clubs series (1933-1973) ranges from Archery to Volleyball and everything in between, including Crafts, Roller Skating and Tumbling. This series contains sport club records, which document the wide variety of sport and recreation activities available to university students. Club activities, intramurals and extramurals (intercollegiate competition) are all represented.

The Sport Guides series (1926-1975) consists primarily of sport guides from the “Official Sports Library for Girls and Women” published for the National Section for Girls’ and Women’s Sports (NSGWS). These books include rules, standards, training, coaching and officiating techniques designed specifically for females. The series is divided by sport and does contain a few guides that are not gender-specific.

The Artifacts series (1931-1969) consists of Women’s Rifle Team patches a medal, a State Sportsday award, and a fencing membership pin.

Related Collections

University of Iowa Department of Physical Education for Women records

C. Pauline Spencer papers

Spencer was a 1923 graduate of the University's Department of Physical Education for Women and a standout athlete in many sports.

N. Peggy Burke papers

Burke was a faculty member in the University of Iowa Department of Physical Education for Women.

Christine Grant papers

Grant was the University of Iowa’s Women’s Intercollegiate Athletics Director and a faculty member in the University of Iowa Department of Physical Education for Women.

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Box List

Box 1

ADMINSTRATIVE RECORDS

Activity Club Plan (WAA) Administrative records, 1956-1965 (2 folders) Board of Directors

Election display Information on application system Duty sheets, 1961, 1965 Applications, 1956-1961, and undated (6 folders)

Club Advisors’ Duties, 1970-71 Club Directors’ Duties, 1970-1971 Constitutions and By-laws

1925-1968 (2 folders) Collected from other schools, 1940s-1960s

Correspondence, 1930, 1934 Facility schedules, undated Handbooks, 1923-1932 Intramural reports, 1941-1945 Intramural forms, undated Membership lists, 1935-1938, 1943-1944, undated Newsletter, undated Organizational chart Policy statement on extramural competition for women President’s reports, 1937-1955 (folder 1)

Box 2

President’s reports, 1937-1955 (folder 2) Publicity

WAA report for yearbook, 1937 Reports, 1941-1945 Fliers and sign-up sheets, c. 1960s Fliers, c. 1970s Bulletin board materials, undated Miscellaneous, undated

Secretary’s Report and Membership Roll, 1928-1931 Sportscope (The Athletic Institute Newsletter), 1961-1962 “Suggested Topics for Faculty Discussion” “A Survey of Recreational Interests of Women Students at the University of Iowa,” 1970 University Point System

ANNUAL FILES

1943-1952 (7 folders)

Box 3

1952-1965 (17 folders) 1964-1968 (minutes)

Box 4

1965-1968 (3 folders) 1968-1969 (calendar) 1968-1973 (2 folders)

FINANCIAL RECORDS

Treasurer’s manual, 1952-1954 Reports and budgets, 1942-1969 (scattered) Budget information, 1970-1972 Budget forms Receipts and invoices

1953-1954 1968-1969

Box 5

1969-1972 (2 folders)

Account book, 1951-1968 [Oversize: in Box 21] Account book, 1970-1971 (2 folders) “Successful Financial Plans for School Athletic Departments,”1956 Miscellaneous, undated

HANDBOOKS FROM OTHER SCHOOLS

Iowa State High School Girls Athletic Association, 1939-1940 University of Arizona , 1952-1953 [WAA] Ball State University, 1947-1948 [WAA] Bates College, 1948-1949 [WAA] Beloit College

1947-1948 [WAA] 1949-1950 [WRA]

University of California

1946-1947 [WAA] 1948-1949 [WAA]

University of Chicago , 1948-1949 [WAA] Drake University, 1962-1969 [WRA] (4 folders) Duke University , 1948-1949 [WAA] Grinnell College , 1968-1969 [WRA] Florida State University, 1949-1950 [WRA] University of Illinois

1943-1949 [WAA] (3 folders) 1963-1964 [Women’s Sports Association (WSA)]

Illinois State Normal University, 1946-1947 [WRA] Indiana University, 1968-1970 [WRA] (2 folders) Iowa State Teachers College, 1948-1949 [WRA] Miami University, Ohio, 1948-1949 [WAA] Mills College, 1947-1949 [Athletic Association (AA)] (2 folders) University of Minnesota, 1948-1961 [WAA] (2 folders) University of Missouri , 1948-1949 [WAA] Montana State College, 1948-1949 [WAA] New Jersey College for Women, undated, [AA] New York University , undated, [WAA] University of North Carolina, Greensboro, 1962-1963 [Recreation Association] Northwestern University, 1948-1949 [WAA] Ohio State University, 1968-1970 [WRA] (2 folders) University of Oregon , 1948-1949 [WAA] Oregon State University , undated, [WRA] Penn State University, 1958-1960 [WRA] (2 folders) Purdue University , 1963-1964 [WRA] Smith College , 1948-1949 [AA] Texas State College for Women (TSCW), 1948-1949 [WRA] Trinity College , undated [AA] University of Wisconsin

1948-1949 [WAA] 1968-1971 [WRA] (3 folders)

Box 6

NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS

1920-1926: University of Iowa Memory Book [Oversize: in Box 20] 1935-1944 (9 folders)

Box 7

1945-1954 (9 folders) 1968-1969 Undated

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

University Carnival, 1945-1951 Open House, 1952, 1953 Play Days, 1950-1956 (scattered) Old Gold Day, 1958-1960 (2 folders) State Sportsdays, 1966-1970, undated

SPORTS CLUBS

Archery, 1936-1970 (2 folders)

Box 8

Badminton

1936-1968 (2 folders) 1968-1972 (intercollegiate) 1969-1972 (intramurals)

Basketball

1934-1965, undated (3 folders) 1968-1972 (intramurals) (3 folders) 1968-1972 (intercollegiate) Basketball Play Days, 1939-1941 Scorebook, 1968-1970 (2 folders)

Billiards, 1971-1972 (intramurals) Bowling

1953, 1958-1960, 1962-1965, 1972 (intramurals)

Box 9

Bowling

1958-1971, undated (intercollegiate) (2 folders)

Camping, 1957-1960 Canoeing Canoeing Club, 1934-1935, 1936-1937 Canoe Capers

1954-1959 (5 folders) Publicity fliers, undated

Crafts, 1934-1954 Dance, 1964-1965, undated Equestrian, 1965 Fencing

1967-1972 (intercollegiate) Rules Equipment catalogs

Field Hockey

1933-1958 (2 folders) 1968-1972 (intercollegiate)

Box 10

1970-1971 (intramurals) Correspondence, 1948-1958 (scattered) Membership lists, c. 1950s Official score book, 1946-1949 Midwest Hockey Umpiring Tournament, Iowa City, 1949 WRA Hockey Clinic, 1958 Constitution and By-laws, 1959 and undated “Hockey: How to Coach, Umpire and Organise,” 1952 The Eagle (USFHA publication), 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953 USFHA membership committee instructions, undated Hockey Play Days, undated Publicity flier, undated

Golf

1953-1954, 1956-1957, 1959-1965, 1970, undated 1962-1964, 1966, 1968-1972 (intercollegiate)

Gymnastics, 1969-1971, 1973 (intercollegiate) Hawkeye Hoofers, 1941-1946 [outdoor activities] Hick Hawks, 1942-1952 [country dancing club] Outing, 1936-1964 Orchesis, 1953, undated Paddleball, 1970-1972 (intramurals) Penguins, 1956-1963 [synchronized swimming] Rifle

1955-1960 1960-1963 (intercollegiate)

Box 11

1964, 1967-1970, undated

Roller Skating, 1941-1945, 1948 Sailing Club, 1970-1971 Seals [honorary swimming, synchronized swimming]

Meridel L. Helgeson, The History of the Seals Club, 1974 (Master’s thesis) Scrapbooks

1952-1958 [Oversize: in Box 22] 1958-1959 [Oversize: in Box 23] 1962-1964 [Oversize: in Box 23] 1970-1972 [Oversize: in Box 23]

Club reports, 1934-1954 (scattered) Annual Files,1951-1974 (6 folders) “Cash Book,” 1946-1950

Box 14

1969-1970 (club and intercollegiate) 1971-1972 (intercollegiate) 1970-1972 (intramurals) Scorebook, 1970

Participant sign-up sheets, undated

SPORTS GUIDES

Archery

General (undated) 1954-1958, 1972-1974

Aquatics (also includes Winter Sports, Outing Activities)

1943-1961 (2 folders) Reprint Series, articles from 1938-1963

Badminton

General (undated) 1940-1945

Baseball, 1933 Basketball

1931-1939

Box 15

1940-1972 (3 folders) AAU Rules, 1959-60 Reprint Series, articles from 1936-1964 (2 folders) Miscellaneous, “76” Sports Club pamphlets, 1958-1959

Bowling-Fencing-Golf, 1954-1960

Box 16

Field Hockey-Lacrosse

1941-1970 (3 folders) Reprint Series, articles from 1930-1954 U.S. Field Hockey Association, 1951-1953, 1975

Football, 1939 Ice Hockey (includes Skating, Snowshoeing, Skiing, Tobogganing, Outing Club), 1931-1932 Individual Sports (includes Archery, Fencing, Golf, Riding,Tennis, Bowling), 1942-1952 Recreational Games (includes Bowling, Track and Field, Volleyball), 1942-1962, undated

Box 17

Soccer and Speedball (includes Field Ball, Flag Football)

1926-1972, undated (2 folders)

Softball (includes Volleyball, Track and Field),1938-1972 (3 folders) Reprint Series, articles from 1939-1955 ASA Guide, 1979 Tennis-Badminton, 1946-1968 (2 folders) U.S. Lawn Tennis Association Guide, 1947 Deck Tennis rules, undated Volleyball

1957-1971 Reprint Series, articles from 1936-1959

Winter Sports-Outing Activities, 1942-1965 (scattered)

Box 18

Track and Field (includes Athletic Games, Archery, Golf, Tennis, Intramurals, Volleyball)

1923-1936 1962-1968 Miscellaneous (Guide covers for 1925-1926, 1932-1933)

Men’s Sports (and Non-Gendered) Basketball, 1947-1963 (scattered), undated Football, 1945 Softball, 1943 Swimming, 1928 Tumbling, 1927

Box 19

ARTIFACTS

State Sportsday Awards, 1967-1969 Fencing Member Pins, 1969 Women’s Rifle Team Patches, undated Riflery Medal, 1931

Box 20

Oversize

University of Iowa Memory Book, 1920-1926

Box 21

Financial records Account book, 1951-1968

Box 22

Seals Scrapbook, 1952-1958

Box 23

Seals Publicity Posters Seals Scrapbooks

1958-1959 1962-1964 1970-1972

 

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This page created March 2006.