Ohio College Association - Women's Physical Education Section records

 Collection – Multiple Containers
Identifier: MS-0090

Collection Overview

Abstract

Minutes, membership records, correspondence, reports and financial material.

Dates

  • Creation: 1920-1988

Extent

3.68 Cubic Feet (8 legal size archive boxes)

Creator

Scope and Contents

The records of the Women's Physical Education Section of the Ohio College Association (OCA-WPES) cover the period from 1920 to 1988, with the bulk of the records dating from 1934 to 1988. The Executive Board minutes (1953-1968, 1970-1988) primarily pertain to the arrangements, topics and programs for the annual meetings. The Business Meeting minutes (1936, 1938-1940, 1944, 1947-1987) provide more detailed information on the topics covered at the annual meetings and the concerns of the organization in relation to athletics for women at both the public school and college levels in Ohio. Programs and files documenting the annual conferences (1937-1988) complete the material on the annual meetings.

Constitutions and bylaws (1934-1984) and membership lists (1935-1984) are arranged chronologically. Operating codes (1960-1983) outline the job descriptions and responsibilities for officers of the organization and the hostess schools.

President's correspondence and files (1966, 1970-1986) basically concern programs and attendance at various meetings. The split between the Ohio Commission on Intercollegiate Sports (OCIS) and the Ohio Association for Intercollegiate Sports for Women (OAISW) in 1971-1972 is well documented.

The financial picture of the organization is provided through the treasurer's reports (1935-1986) and the treasurer's correspondence (1968-1975). The 1974 treasurer's correspondence lists the women physical education faculty members of the universities in Ohio.

Biographies of many of the members were compiled in 1973 as part of the OCA-WPES 50th anniversary celebration. Other biographical references also are included. The collection contains files documenting the Athletic and Recreation Federation of Ohio College Women (changed to the Ohio College Women in Sport and Recreation in 1973). Convention programs and reports (1946-1976), financial records (1948-1974) and newsletters (1946-1973) comprise the bulk of this documentation. Articles and subject files regarding physical education and women (1920-1982), largely compiled by Ruth Helsel, physical education professor at Wittenberg University, complete this collection. These files illustrate educational curriculum for women in physical education, health and recreation.

Biographical / Historical

The purpose of the Women's Physical Education Section of the Ohio College Association (WPES-OCA), according to the constitution, shall be "to promote cooperation among departments of physical education in colleges and universities in the state of Ohio, and to study common problems." In 1924, Mr. Boles of Wooster College, president of the men's division of the Ohio College Association, wrote to Lydia Clark at the Ohio State University and suggested that the women organize into a similar group. Thus the Ohio College Association-Women's Physical Education Section was organized in 1924-1925. Lydia Clark was president and a constitution was adopted.

Annual meetings were held in the spring from 1925 to 1934 with the exception of 1932, at which time the members were busy with the Mid-West Physical Education Association meetings being held in Columbus. In 1934, the group reorganized into a more compact group and changed the regular meeting date to the fall. The annual meetings are held at the various members' institutions.

Significant steps in its history include the establishment of the Invitational College Tennis Organization in 1957, Advisor to the Athletic Federation of Ohio College Women (AFOCW) Sports Section, and the establishment of the Ohio Association of Intercollegiate Sports for Women (OAISW) in 1972.

Additional information on the history of the WPES-OCA and women's intercollegiate athletics in Ohio can be found in June Frances Kearney's 1973 dissertation, The History of Women's Intercollegiate Athletics in Ohio, 1945-1972, available online via the OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center.

Conditions Governing Access

No known access restrictions

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers using this collection assume full responsibility for conforming to the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright, and are responsible for securing permissions necessary for publication or reproduction.

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The records of the OCA-WPES were donated to the Center for Archival Collections in 1976, with additional files being donated as designated inactive by the organization, through the cooperation of Carol A. Thompson, president of OCA-WPES and Beverly Zanger, HPER professor at BGSU

Title
Guide to Ohio College Association - Women's Physical Education Section records
Author
Elaine Ezell, Ann Bowers, Kayla Shank
Date
1981, February 1992, October 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
  • Box: 1 (Mixed Materials)
  • Box: 2 (Mixed Materials)
  • Box: 3 (Mixed Materials)
  • Box: 4 (Mixed Materials)
  • Box: 5 (Mixed Materials)
  • Box: 6 (Mixed Materials)
  • Box: 7 (Mixed Materials)
  • Box: 8 (Mixed Materials)