Challenging the use of schools for the preservation of selected traditional games, often in conjunction with competitive sports advocated by governments, this paper probes five issues. Are the traditional physical activities really worth preserving and, if so, why? Can such traditional activities actually be manipulated to meet expectations? Which traditional items should be selected for preservation? What kind of cultural identity is relevant to the modern world? Can schools or adult agencies effectively sustain or preserve a traditional physical activity, since children are taught to "play with" a tradition rather than to be traditional? It is concluded that where traditions are not a direct expression of the life of a people, they cannot be preserved in their earlier character. Furthermore, whereas physical activities in their earlier forms were directly related to earlier kinds of life, the present or future identity of children and adults is, in contrast, an increasingly symbolic and solitary one. Scholars should think clearly about what it is that they wish to preserve and who gains an advantage by such preservation, since what is preserved is a new performance culture suitable for an audience and television and no longer an uncontrived natural expression. (RH)