Sports and Recreation Sports et loisirs 1. Bishop George J. Mountain, one of the founders of Bishop's University, sports the famous Bishop's gaiters. - Christine Ljungkull In 1947 a competition was sponsored by the Committee on Athletics and The Campus newspaper, unaware of the team name used in the 3Os, to find a nickname for the University's 1843 -1891 Football team which would fire up the enthusiasm of the fans. 1843-1891 The contest was won by George B. McClintock '49 who originally suggested « 'Garors. after the alligator which is a clough and formidable foe when aroused, capable of swift There are few accounts of early sports at Bishop's. Bien qu'on sathe peu aprlsent de Ia vie sportive clans les pre­ and decisive action in an emergency •• However, by using a play on words, the name spelled «Gaiters. seemed more However, early diaries record that students eagerly partici­ mieres annles de Bishop's, j/ semble d'apres les Icrits de lepoque appropriate for an Anglican College. Gaiters were an article pated in team sports such as cricket and football. In the que les ltudiants partidpaient activement ades sports d'equipe of ecclesiastical clothing which covered part of the wearer's early years, lectures finished at 1:00 p. m. and the after­ tels que Ie cricket et Ie football Aux dibuts de luniversit/, les shoes and lower legs. These were wom by Bishops. Deans and Archdeacons as part of the clerical dress when not robed. noons could be used by students as they liked. This was the cours se terminaient a13 heures, laissant aux ltudiants Ia pos­ Collection: Quebec Diosesan Archives time that many spent participating in numerous sporting sibilitl de disposer libremmt de l'apres-midi. Bien des ltudiants clubs and recreational activities such as boating, tennis, the L'evaque Geo'3e J. Mountain, un des fondateurs de en profitaient pour partidper aune varilti de clubs sportifi ou l'Universite Bishop's porte les fameuses guatres (gaiters). game of fives and skating. ades activitls de Ioisir comme Ie canotage, Ie tennis, Ia balle au En 2947, un concours a ere o'3~ par Ie Comite des sports mur, ou Ie patinage. et Ie journal etudiant The Campus, dans Ie but d'attribuer The competitive sports of cricket and rugby-football held d I'equipe de football de I'universite un nom qui sache annual matches as early as 1873 of School vs. Old Boys. The Des 1873, avaient lieu des matchs annuels de cricket et genker l'enthousiasme de ses partisans. Le nom adopte College teams also played against local teams from rugby entre lequipe universitaire du moment et une formation par I'equipe dans les annees 30 etait passe dans I'oubli. Le concours Jut remporte par Geolle B. McClintock, qui avait Sherbrooke and Stanstead. The Bishop's teams were able to d'andens. Les Iquipes de luniversiti se mesuraient Igalement Ii I'origine propose Ie nom de Gators, rappe1ant I'alligator, hold their own against the tough farm boys despite the aux Iquipes locales de Sherbrooke et Stanstead. Malgrl Ie petit cun adversaire redoutable lorsqu'U passe Ii I'attaque, capable de reaction rapide et efficace en cas d'urgence Jl• College's small enrolment. nombre d'etudiants, Bishop's n'avait pas arougir de Ia qualiu Cependant, par I'intermedialre d'an jeu de mots, ce fut la de ses Iquipes sportives qui tenaient en Ichec les robustes gail­ graphie Gaiters qui prevalut, car eUe semblait mieux A Fives (similar to handball) and Racquets Court was s'appliquer au contexte anglican de Bishop's. En efJet, built in 1873 and the games soon became popular with the lards des Iquipes locales. Gaiters sipiJie cguatres., un article de toile qoi rerouvroit Ie bas de 10 jambe et Ie dessus du soulier. Ces gu8tres students. There was also a Lawn Tennis Court in front of Un fronton de balle au mur et jeu de paume fot construit en falsoient partie de I'habit ecclesiastique des ev6ques, diaues Old Lodge towards the river. This sport took a while to 1873; ces jeux devinrent vite popu/ajres aupres des ltudiants. et arcrudiaues lorsque ceux-ci ne portaient pos I'habit catch on and was not considered very exciting until the play­ On jouait Igalement au tennis sur gazon pres de Old Lodge non de ceremonie. ers began to use heavier «bats) and harder rubber balls than loin de Ia riviere. Ce sport neut pas Ie meme succes avant quon CoUection : Archives diocesaines de Quebec. were originally used. commence a utiliser une plus grosse batte et une balle de In 1851 the school possessed a flat bottomed boat which caoutchouc plus dure que ce qui servait al'origine. 2. Football team c.1888 Football was played against local teams. The players were was rigged up with a mast and sail for outings on the St En 1851, luniversitl disposait dun bateau afond plat primarily unskilled students who had little training and even Francis River. The College's fleet eventually grew to include Iquipl de mat et voile qui servait aflire des excursions sur Ia less practice. They played without benefit of protective five brightly painted row boats and a red four-oar skiff which riviere Saint-Franrois. Plus tard, s'ajouttrent dnq bateaux a equipment and as a result suffered many injuries. tquipe de football, vers 2888. was paddled on the Massawippi with brooms. A boat house rames aux couleurs vives et un ski[pour quatre rameurs qu'on On jouait au football contle les equipes locales. Les joueurs was eventually built at river side near the CPR bridge. utilisait sur Ia riviere Massawippi. II flllut finalement cons­ etaient surtout des etudiants pris sur Ie tas, qui ne recevaient Another sport which was for adventurous students only was truire un hangar abateaux Ie long de Ia riviere pres du pont du qu'un minimum d'entrainement et pratiquaient encore moins. On jouait sans equipement de protection, ce qui to swim in the river during warm weather off the tip of the chemin de for CPR. Les ltudiants thnbaires affictionnaient un occasionnait bien des bJessures. • B I S G H A o I p' T s E R S 1. • r A r.Ol~U~ '11 Ij y~~.q aJ~"U" -r ~., .... '1'" T", .. :,[1 ...... -----'.--~ --- ~ •• • 2. m island where the Massawippi joins the St. Francis. Here, the autre sport, celui de nager flte dans Ia rivim au bout de lile current was strong and caution was required of those brave pres du confluent de Ia Saint-Franfois et Ia Massawippi. Le fort enough to venture in the icy water. Sadly, two boys were courant de l'endroit posait un danger pour ceux qui avaient Ie drowned in the early years crossing the river by raft. courage de negocier ses eaux g/aciales. Malheureusement, deux A diary written in the mid·1870s by a student named jeunes gens perirent noyes lz cette epoque, tentant de traverser Ia Worthington indicates that skating was the most popular riviere en radeau. winter recreation. Occasionally the river was frozen solid and Un journal personnel eerit dAns les annees 1870 par un etu­ smooth enough to be used, although th!re were usually open diant du nom de Worthington indique que It patinage etait lz areas due to the currents. Before the College provided a l'tpoque It Ioisir It plus populaire pendant l'hiver. II arrivait skating rink, the students most commonly used the Village que Ia glace de Ia riviere soit assez epame et Ime pour quon rink located beside where the curling rink now stands. For puisse y patiner, malgre Its zones laissees libres de glace par Its an afternoon of fun students would walk in their usual moc­ courants. Avant que l'universite nait sa propre patinoire, Its casins to the rink where they stored their skates in lockers. etudiants se servaient d'habitude de Ia patinoire du village, qui 3. Cricket Team c.1890 Cricket is the oldest recorded team sport at Bishop's. Practices Skates were then blades fastened to shoes, which were always etait situee lz l'mdroit actuel de Ia piste de curling. Pour alltr took place on the then much larger Butternut Island in the cold when taken out to use. patiner, Its etudiants se rendaient sur Ie bord de Ia patinoire St. Francis River. The island was hayed every year which chausses de /turs mocassins habituel.s; les patins, entreposes au provided a fairly smooth field. Baseball was forbidden until Sports and Recreation: 1892 - 1947 the tum of the century as it was thought to be «too American». froid dans des casiers pres de Ia patinoire, etaient de simples In A. J. H. Richardson's account of «Life at Bishop's from Equipe de cricket, vers 1890. lames fixees aux chaussures. Le cricket est Ie premier sport dont les annales de Bishop's 1875 to 1900», mention is made that if «one was so inclined fassent mention. On pratiquait autrefois sur l'ile Bunemut there was golf and hunting, as well as tobogganing or snow Sports et loisirs: 1892-1947 de la riviera St. Fran,ois, l'Ue etont al'epoque beaucoup plus grande qu'a I'heure actuene. On y faisait les foins shoeing parties offered at Pottery Hill (sometimes on moon­ A. j. H. Richardson mentionne dans son volume La Vie lz chaque annee de fa,on II libber un terrain relativement lit nights) which were hosted by faculty members and to Bishops entre 1875 et 1900, que «si on Ie dlsirait, on pouvait egal.