“A QUEM CABE A VITÓRIA?”: AS PRIMEIRAS EXPERIÊNCIAS DO BASKET-BALL NO MUNICÍPIO DE OLIVEIRA, SERTÃO DO OESTE MINEIRO

Abstract

This paper describes and interprets first experiences with basketball in the municipality of Oliveira, which lies in the hinterland of the western region of Minas Gerais. More precisely, this study aimed to analyze the institutionalization of that sport, which took place in 1916 on the initiative of women teacher trainees of the Nossa Senhora de Oliveira High School in a context marked by a productive momentum in rural areas, modernizing actions that took place at the school headquarters, valorization of physical exercise and a debate in the local press about the kind of sports that supposedly would be best suited for women. As a method, we analyzed articles published in the Gazeta de Minas, Oliveira’s local newspaper, which are available at the paper's digital archive, in addition to census data from the public administration of the state of Minas Gerais, available at the digital catalog of the Ministry of Finance.