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A Constitutional Contradiction - (3) "... and Stamina?"
In last month's Editorial comment it was suggested the Club was on good grounds in discouraging temperamentally incompatible people from gaining membership, but it was not so easy to reconcile the Constitutional provisions demanding a certain standard of physical performance with the implied invitation to all interested in walking in the bush, as expressed in the “Objects” of the Club. This requirement of physical capacity is conveyed not only by the demand that test walks be accomplished, but is underlined by the need for a nominator to report on a prospective's “stamina”. It is worth noting that the word is “stamina” - that is, staying power, not “speed” or “strength”.
In support of this requirement of physical endurance, it may be argued that, except in cases of illness or injury, a member should be capable of completing any trip undertaken without becoming a burden on the party or leader. A member, yes - but that can scarcely apply to an inexperienced newcomer, who cannot be expected to know if his physical capacity is equal to a trip of unknown proportions. In any case, the trip that proves too much early in his prospective membership may be something he will accomplish with ease a few months later.
It may also be urged that it is desirable to exclude weaklings and cripples, yet quite a few respected members have been people of indifferent physique, and several have suffered from serious disabilities.