The adult

From what I have said the conclusionmay be drawn that the true Olympic hero is the individual male adult.Does thismean that team games should be excluded？Ido not think it is necessary to exclude them，provided that another essential element of both the Ancient and the modern Olympics is accepted：the existence of an“Altis”or sacred inner arena.The Altis itself was a type of sanctuary reserved for the athlete alone.For the exclusive use of the athlete who had been consecrated and purified and who had become，by reason of his admittance to the chief contests of the Games，almost a priest，a celebrant of this physical religion.In the same way，I conceive the modern Olympics as having at their center a sort of moral Altis，a sacred enclosure where sportsmen gather together to vie with each other in the performance of those sports which more than all others deserve the appellation virile，since they are sports whose object is self-defense and self-mastery，mastery of danger，mastery of the elements，of animals and of life itself：gymnasts，sprinters，horsemen，swimmers and oarsmen，fencers and wrestlers.Then，outside，come any other activities which itmay be thought desirable to organize：football tournaments，other team games，physical team exercises and so on.Team games will thus occupy a due place of honor.Here too，women could take part in the Games，were it considered necessary？I personally do not approve of feminine participation in public competitions，which does not mean that women should not go in for a large number of sports，but I mean to saymerely that they should not seek the limelight.