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Beyond the basketball courts and the swimming pools, the tree-linedcampus of YMCA College of Physical Education is a Salvador Dalipainting come alive; butterflies flutter past in slow motion, anabandoned dock awaits its boats, barren trees pose dramaticallyagainst an overcast sky, deer strut away with their heads held highand founder Harry Crowe Buck's presence lingers on in the oldestphysical education college in Asia. Buck was an American from Springfield College, Massachusetts, whoarrived in Madras in 1919. He began the YMCA Training School ofPhysical Education in the Esplanade buildings in 1920 with fivestudents. "He was the one who introduced basketball toMadras," says R. Sweety Prem Kumar, correspondent andsecretary. "He had come here to develop our youth and was a visionary.The institution offered a one-year course in physicaleducation." The training sessions were conducted on theground next to the Fort station. Their only reference books werethe ones that Buck and his wife Mary owned. In 1922, Buck was appointed as advisor to the Madras Government onPhysical Education and in 1924, the first Indian Contingent for theOlympics was selected from the school. Buck was the officialstarter at the Paris Summer Olympics and he managed and coached theIndian team. As the school began to grow, there was a need toexpand the space. According to Madras Rediscovered by S. Muthiah, the college moved to the Wesley School grounds inRoyapettah in 1928 after which, in 1932, they shifted to a largercampus by the Adyar River in Saidapet. "They say Crowe travelled up the Adyar river in a boat,looked at this particular place and decided he wanted to build thecollege here," says Prem Kumar. "In this 65-acrecampus, he built his house in such a way that he had a full view ofthe grounds no matter where he stood. We've kept the house as itis, with its Burma teak panelling." Buck also started the first sports journal Vyayam in 1928 and had thatched huts built to house classrooms, office,hostels and kitchens temporarily. In 1933, the foundation stone ofMassey Hall, the main college building, was laid by Sir GeorgeStanley, the then Governor of Madras. In 1940, ten hostel units formen were constructed along with barracks that were used by thesoldiers. Women were admitted for the first time and the collegebecame a co-education institution. "Madras's first swimming pool and boxing ring arehere," says S. Johnson Premkumar, Assistant Professor,"and we have retained the same purification methods that wereused then. Even the drainage system is the same. A lot ofyesteryear film stars would use this pool since it was the only onein the city. Also, when Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was built, theyused the sand from here to lay the grounds there since this was thefirst-of-its-kind." In 1971, a one-year Masters degree was started, four years afterwhich the Ph.D. programmes began functioning. In 1977, two schools(a primary and higher secondary) were opened. It was only in 1985that the BPES (Bachelor of Physical Education) came intofunctioning. In 2006, a third school, one for the differently-abledwas also started as a project by the YMCA College. Now, the college has facilities for basketball, volleyball,shuttle, tennis, cricket, beach volleyball, table tennis, hockey,and even conducts martial arts classes. It offers undergraduate,postgraduate and doctorate courses in physical education apart fromoverlooking the functions of three schools within the premises.There is even a women's fitness centre, wading pool, gym and theirever popular adventure camps. "We're in the process ofsetting up a camp site with tents. For now, we conduct summer campsand some regular courses for the public. We have planned a lot ofrenovation and new additions to our college and hope to get themdone by this year," says Prem Kumar. The college now has 490-odd students and classes start as early as6 a.m. The courses are all residential and the campus houses 30 to40 spotted deer, apart from its students. But the half-hour tour ofthe canopied campus ends in a small mausoleum by the entrance. Thisis where Henry Crowe Buck was laid to rest on July 24, 1943,followed by a couple of his successors. Engraved on a simpletombstone at the head of his grave, his epitaph reads ‘Theyshall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not beweary, they shall walk and not faint'. I am an expert from superdigital-china.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Unlocking Htc Mobile Phones Manufacturer , Blackberry OEM Parts Manufacturer, Unlocking Htc Mobile Phones,and more.
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