Relay Race in Uruguay

This lantern slide shows relay race participants in Montevideo, Uruguay. Pictured here is Jess Townsend Hopkins, a graduate of the International YMCA Training School, now Springfield College, and vice president of the class of 1910.After graduation, Jess Townsend Hopkins worked as physical director of the Gorgona YMCA in Panama. In the summer of 1915, he was hired by the International Committee for South America to work on playground extension. After this work, Hopkins was hired as the first physical director of the Montevideo YMCA (founded in 1909) and as director of physical education for the Uruguayan government. In this position, he built two new playgrounds. Twelve thousand spectators attended the inauguration of the last playground, where a variety of sports were demonstrated by athletic clubs. During this event, the first ever game of baseball was demonstrated in Uruguay. The YMCA also introduced basketball, volleyball and competitive swimming to the country. In 1918, he returned to Springfield College for his master’s degree in physical education. In 1920, Hopkins introduced social development and extension programs, such as the work with "canillitas" (people who sell newspapers on the streets). Hopkins is also credited with raising the standards and expectations for gyms and physical education at the Uruguay YMCA. Before his arrival, gyms were poorly ventilated with only heavy weightlifting equipment. Hopkins transformed them into arenas for popular classes, exercise routines, and YMCA drills. He introduced hot and cold baths, embraced the “Play Fair” philosophy, and brought physical training and health education into school curriculum. In 1928, Hopkins left Uruguay.Text on border reads, "Relay Race, Montevideo, Uruguay. J T Hopkins, 1910.