Winchester YMCA Mission
To meet the needs and enhance the lives of all individuals and families
in Winchester and
Clark County.

YMCA of Winchester History
YMCA Sports History

The YMCA was founded in London, England, in 1844 by George Williams and a dozen or so friends who lived and worked as clerks in a drapery—a forerunner of dry-goods and department stores. Their goal was to save fellow live-in clerks from the wicked life on the London streets. The first members were evangelical Protestants who prayed and studied the Bible as an alternative to vice. The Y has always been nonsectarian and today accepts those of all faiths at all levels of the organization, despite its unchanging name, the Young Men's Christian Association.

The first US YMCA started in Boston in 1851, the work of Thomas Sullivan, a retired sea captain who was a lay missionary. Ys spread fast and soon were serving boys and older men as well as young men. Although 5,145 women worked in YMCA military canteens in World War I, it wasn't until after World War II that women and girls were admitted to full membership and participation in the US YMCAs. Today half of all YMCA constituents and staff members are women. Also, half of the Y's constituents are 18 or under.

History of the Winchester YMCA
After raising seed money for startup throughout 1991, the YMCA of Winchester joined the YMCA of Central Kentucky in 1992 and hired its first director. The Winchester Y began running the community pool and offering programs such as basketball and day camp.

Winchester Y Becomes Independent
In 1994, the Winchester Y became independent of the YMCA of Central Kentucky and continued building programs. In need of its own facility, the Winchester Y began a capital campaign in 1995, which eventually fell short because of property acquisition problems.

In 1999, however, good fortune befell the Winchester Y when the organization took advantage of an opportunity to purchase a swim, tennis and fitness club. Funds from the 1995 campaign were used to acquire and renovate the property as well as purchase new fitness equipment.

New Hope Sparks Fundraising Efforts
Once the Winchester Y had its own facility, a renewed hope for a full-service YMCA sparked a new capital campaign aimed toward the construction of a $630,000 gymnasium. Campaign co-chairs were Jim Coleman and Steve Rose, who were assisted by Winchester YMCA President Dudley Taylor and Executive Director Larry Potter.

The capital campaign received broad-based support from the Winchester-Clark County community with major contributions coming from industry, business, civic clubs and individuals. Construction was completed in spring 2001.

New Gymnasium
The 14,000-sq.ft. gym includes:

• Regulation-sized basketball court that can be divided into two smaller courts to accommodate concurrent games;
• Jogging/walking track;
• Bathrooms;
• Aerobics studio;
• Spinning studio;
• Concession area;
• Storage area.

Winchester Y Launches Web Site
The Winchester Y launched its site on the World
Wide Web in May 2004, offering its members the convenience of 24/7 access to youth sports  registration, program and membership information and class schedules. A News page and Calendar that can be maintained by the YMCA staff helps Y members stay informed.

YMCA Sports History

Basketball         Volleyball
Racquetball       Softball

Everybody Plays, Everybody Wins—Sports at YMCAs
Millions of people have been introduced to sports at YMCAs. And many of the sports people play were invented at YMCAs.

Basketball
In December 1891, at the International YMCA Training School, James Naismith invented the game of basketball, doing so at the demand of Luther Gulick, the director of the school. Gulick needed a game to occupy a "class of incorrigibles"—18 future YMCA directors who, more interested in rugby and football, didn’t care for leapfrog, tumbling and other activities they were forced to do during the winter. Gulick, obviously out of patience with the group, gave Naismith two weeks to come up with a game to occupy them.

Naismith decided that the new game had to be physically active and simple to understand. It could not be rough, so no contact could be allowed. The ball could be passed but not carried. Goals at each end of the court would lend a degree of difficulty and give skill and science a role. Elevating the goal would eliminate rushes that could injure players, a problem in football and rugby.

Introducing the game of "basket ball" at the next gym class (Naismith did meet Gulick’s deadline), Naismith posted 13 rules on the wall and taught the game to the incorrigibles. The men loved it and proceeded to introduce "basket ball" to their home towns over Christmas break. Naismith’s invention spread like wildfire.

Not only was basketball invented by a YMCA institution, but the game’s first professional team came from a Y. The Trenton (NJ) YMCA had fielded a basketball team since 1892, and in 1896 its team claimed to be the national champions after beating various other YMCA and college teams. The team then severed its ties with the Y. It played the 1896-97 season out of a local Masonic temple, charging for admission and keeping the proceeds.

Volleyball
Volleyball was invented at the Holyoke (MA) YMCA in 1895 by William Morgan, an instructor at the Y who felt that basketball was too strenuous for businessmen. Morgan blended elements of basketball, tennis and handball into the game and called it "mintonette." The name "volleyball" was first used in 1896 during an exhibition at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, MA, to better describe how the ball went back and forth over the net. In 1922, YMCAs held their first national volleyball championship. This became the US Open in 1924 when non-YMCA teams were permitted to compete.

Racquetball
Racquetball was invented in 1950 at the Greenwich (CT) YMCA by Joe Sobeck, a member who couldn’t find other squash players of his caliber and who did not care for handball. He tried paddleball and platform tennis and came up with the idea of using a strung racquet similar to a platform tennis paddle (not a sawed-off tennis racquet, as some say) to allow a greater variety of shots. After drawing up rules for the game, Sobeck went to nearby Ys for approval by other players, and at the same time formed them into the Paddle Rackets Association to promote the sport. The original balls Sobeck used were half blue and half red. When he needed replacements, Sobeck asked Spalding, the original manufacturer, to make the balls all blue, so they wouldn’t mark the Y’s courts.

Softball
Softball was given its name by motion of Walter Hakanson of the Denver YMCA in 1926 at a meeting of the Colorado Amateur Softball Association (CASA), itself a result of YMCA staff efforts. Softball had been played for many years prior to 1926, under such names as kittenball, softball and even sissyball. In 1926, however, the YMCA state secretary, Homer Hoisington, noticed both the sport’s popularity and its need for standardized rules. After a gathering of interested parties, the CASA was formed and Hakanson moved to settle on the name softball for the game. The motion carried, and the name softball became accepted nationwide. Shortly thereafter, the Denver YMCA adopted a declaration of principles for softball, adhering to noncommercialized recreation open to all ages and races and demanding good sportsmanship. When the Amateur Softball Association of America was formed in 1933, the Denver YMCA team represented Colorado in its first national tournament, held in Chicago.