Dr. Szabó Lajos: A magyar ifjúság testi nevelésének története (A Sportmúzeum Kincsei 5. Budapest, 2004)

A testnevelés és a cserkészmozgalom

THE SCOUTING FOR BOYS MOVEMENT OF ROBERT BADEN-POWELL appeared in Hungary before World War I. It was accompanied by denominational quarrels (Catholics, Protestants), that resulted in the formation of a new trend. It replaced the rigorous, clerical education with an overall, secular-type, civil, humanistic one and put a bigger stress on training the body and on organizing sports-activities for students. The different groups made an agreement in 1912 and founded the Hungarian Scouts Association and published their magazine Physical Education for Youths. The movement had good relations to schools, they said that their tasks and activity should be in harmony with the educational aims of the school; they do not take over, but complete their work. One of the most favourable programmes of scouting was organizing camps. Thye spent one part of the summer and winter holidays in camp-sites set up in the nature. One of their greatest dreams came true, when they could take part at a Jamboree in Gödöllő, in 1933. It was visited by the founder Robert Baden-Powell, Miklós Horthy, the governor of Hungary, and by Pál Teleki chief-scout. The scouts enjoyed doing sports in the nature (rowing, kayak-canoeing, gliding), and most of them were radio amateurs. Cymnatics formed part of their life-style. Even women did exercises and not in skirts, but in gym shorts as it was done in Germany and in Sweden. Scouting was identified as military activity, so after the Second World War their organizations were dissolved. They started organizing scouting movement again only after the change of regime.