‘Untiring’ in her efforts on behalf of the team and discharging her duties ‘in the most capable manner’; female coaches in Edwardian Britain

Abstract

ABSTRACT The compliments paid to Clara Jarvis by the Amateur Swimming Association in recognition of her contribution as trainer to the women’s swimming team at the 1912 Olympics marked a unique public recognition of the role of the woman as coach in the Edwardian era (1901–1914). The absence of similar references to women as coaches or trainers in the archives could easily persuade the observer that Clara was an isolated example, but the reality was very different in that women were actively coaching in several sports and activities, if coaching is interpreted in the sense of helping others to improve their physical performance. The key to researching these women is to look beyond the terminology ‘coach’ or ‘trainer’. This paper uses a range of search terms to uncover women involved in skating and riding, and as physical culturalists and games mistresses, from the 1911 census and explores the characteristics of each group as well as uncovering some individual life courses. The paper concludes that these women were not unique, in that similar communities can also be identified in activities such as swimming and dance, and that the notion that few women coached in this period needs to be revised.