'39 Sf2jO/iU ^elUoal Plcauted 



New Soft Ball Rules Adopted, Wrestling Added to 



Competitive Events 



^FTER a winter of hiberna- 



^ ^ ^L tion, the Illinois Farm 



^^^ f Sports Festival opened one 

 eye late in February when President 

 Earl C. Smith appointed three members 

 of the lAA board, Alvin O. Eckert, 

 Otto Steffey and W. A. Dennis to the 

 1939 Festival committee. 



March 31, the Festival, thoroughly 

 awake, went into action as some 100 

 delegates from nearly 40 counties met 

 in Peoria at the time of the annual 

 Farm Bureau Baseball League meeting 

 and discussed 1939 plans. Chairman 

 Eckert presided. Recommendations by 

 delegates were aimed at simplifying 

 rules, adding a few interesting con- 

 tests, and garnering wider participation. 

 Tentative dates are Sept. 1 and 2. Place: 

 University of Illinois Campus. 



The ax fell on a mass of red tape just 

 before noon when delegates discussing 

 Softball okayed the use of regulation 

 rules as issued by the Joint (Softball) 

 Rules Committee. If finally adopted by 

 Otto Steffey's softball committee the 

 rules will: (1) Permit the use of 

 blunt-edged metal spikes less than 3/8 

 of an inch long on players' shoes. (2) 

 Allow buntine. 



Opening the Adult County League 

 Softball division to all counties, re- 

 gardless of size, having not less than 

 four teams, was aimed at wider partici- 

 pation. Special provisos were : (1) each 

 team in the League must play at least 

 six games in league competition; (2) 

 each player must have been a member 

 of his League team during the last four 

 games played; (3) two extra players 

 may be selected from the county at 

 large to participate in this division at 

 the Festival. 



Changes in the umpiring system, 

 aimed at eliminating delays and debates 

 in tournament play, were suggested. 



With interest in high school wres- 

 tling increasing, it was voted to include 

 wrestling as a regular event, high 

 school wrestling rules to apply. 



Moving trap and skeet shooting from 

 the Champaign Gun Club to the U. of 

 I. campus was approved. If the move 

 is possible greater spectator interest is 

 expected. Contestants in other events 

 may be permitted to shoot if facilities 

 are located near central activities. A 

 revision of rules and umpiring in these 

 events were suggested. 



Rules enforced last year were okayed 

 for track, horseshoes, tug o'war, rifle 



shoot, women's events, swimming, 

 checkers, bait casting, hog calling and 

 folk festival events. Suggested changes 

 were: (1) two entries per county in 

 all swimming events and checkers; (2) 

 elimination of pole vault and shot put 

 for boys 16 and over; (3) elimination 

 of all monologues and dialogues in the 

 Folk Festival except humorous ones; 

 (4) addition of a division for choral 

 societies and one for nationality groups 

 in the Folk Festival. 



Continuation of the system of scor- 

 ing counties for all-around participa- 

 tion by districts for all-around honors 

 was favored. 



"WE STARTED EARLY" 

 Mrs. Spencer Ewing and Miss Cloreta 

 Walker, co-chairmen of the women's 

 events committee, talking it over at Peoria. 



Legislation 



(Continued from page 6) 

 the number of policemen IF their police 

 powers are broadened, if appointments 

 are made on merit and they are re- 

 quired to patrol the highways. Other- 

 wise the association will oppose the 

 bill. 



Farm Trespass — House Bill 574 spon- 

 sored by Prairie Farmer would make 

 is a misdemeanor subject to a fine and 

 imprisonment when anyone goes upon 

 the land of another after he is for- 

 bidden to do so, or when a written 

 notice forbidding trespass is posted at 

 the entrance of the premises. lAA 

 will support this bill. 



Other Bills — lAA will oppose pend- 

 ing legislation interfering with right 

 of a school board to discharge a teach- 

 er. Committee is of opinion that con- 

 tinued employment should be left to 

 the school board and the teacher. 



LOOKS LIKE A SOFTBALL YEAB 

 when Festival heads gather to inspect th« 

 official ball. Left to right: W. A. Dennis. 

 Special Events; Dr. D. E. Lindstrom, Folk 

 Festivab Alvin O. Eckert, chairman of th* 

 Sports Festival, and Otto Steiiey. SoftbalL 



lAA will not support legislation 

 changing present teacher's pension law 

 so as to require considerable increase 

 in state tax contribution. Will oppose 

 bill to change present law under which 

 territory involved in a community high 

 school district election cannot again 

 become involved with two years. HB 

 468 would allow an attempt to change 

 the status of territory each year. The 

 association will support nurserymen at 

 the request of the Cook County Farm 

 Bureau in their efforts to provide that 

 nursery stock shall not be assessed sep- 

 arately from the land on which it is 

 growing but that nursery stock be 

 placed on the same basis as any other 

 crop. 



First Crop Insurance 



Check to Tazewell Man 



Joseph Eigsti of Morton, Tazewell 

 county will be the first wheat grower in 

 Illinois to receive a federal crop insur- 

 ance indemnity payment reports J. Fran- 

 cis Buck, state crop insurance supervisor. 

 Eigsti, a Farm Bureau member, and AAA 

 cooperator since 1934, insured 11.9 acres 

 of wheat which was severely damaged by 

 drought. The average yield of the piece 

 was 19.4 bu. and the estimated yield of 

 the damaged piece only 5 bu. He will 

 receive the cash equivalent of 113 bush- 

 els of wheat which represents 75% 

 coverage on the adjusted average yield. 

 The field was leased for other use. 



Earl C. Smith, President of the lAA, 



was principal speaker at the Illinois 

 Vocational Association (high school ag 

 teachers' group) annual banquet. Mo- 

 line, April 14. 



^(AY, 1939 



