The records fully document WAHPERD's existence from its founding in 1903 through the 1980s, although there are many gaps in the records. No records of WAHPERD's predecessor organization, the Wisconsin Association for the Advancement of Physical Education, are included, although published reports of WAAPE's activities are included in Mind and Body, a Turner publication. Very early in its existence the Wisconsin Physical Education Society began conducting its annual meeting in conjunction with the Wisconsin Education Association and, as a consequence, the published WEA proceedings are a useful source for information about WPES's early days. WAHPERD's own newsletter and journal, incomplete runs of which are available in the SHSW Library, are also an essential historical source.

The records are arranged as POLICY AND ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, CORRESPONDENCE, CONVENTION RECORDS, MEMBERSHIP RECORDS, PUBLICATIONS, and SUBJECT FILES.

The POLICY AND ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS include numerous revisions of the constitutions, by-laws, and articles of incorporation dating from 1926 through 1981; some historical background material; a diagram of WAHPERD's organizational structure; policy statements including the so-called “Cardinal Points” adopted in 1940; operating codes; financial records; annual reports; minutes; and committee files. The operating codes, which date from 1950 to 1984, consist of annual statements of the responsibilities of the elected officers, committees, and sections of the association.

With the reports are annual statistical reports submitted to AAHPER during the late 1950s and early 1960s, mimeographed annual reports of the WAHPER president (primarily dating from the 1960s and 1970s), annual reports of various statewide committees, and treasurer's reports. The presidential and committee reports have been filed together chronologically by year. The chronologically-arranged treasurer's reports include annual and monthly statements, as well as proposed budgets. Also filed here are treasurer's ledger book of income and disbursements covering the periods 1943-1973 and 1981-1982.

Minutes are the most complete and most important historical documentation in the collection. The earliest minute books, which date to 1903, contain financial reports, lists of members, and occasional newspaper clippings. From 1937 to 1954 the minutes relate to what was known as the annual luncheon. Minutes of the General Assembly (later the Representative Assembly) are presented for the period 1957 through 1987 and minutes of the executive board are present for the period 1937 through 1986. Occasional agendas, financial reports, and other material distributed for discussion are also included.

The alphabetically-arranged committee records variously contain correspondence, minutes, and agendas of statewide committees and the Division of Girls and Women's Sports. These files appear incomplete, with the Legislative Committee, the Research Committee, and the Resolutions Committee being most extensively represented.

The CORRESPONDENCE is divided into two parts. The first section consists of alphabetically-arranged files pertaining to the tenure of selected presidents, vice-presidents, and other elected or appointed officers. These files, which primarily date from the 1970s, have been extensively weeded, as each officer maintained his or her own personal files of minutes, financial reports, and other types of documentation that was duplicated elsewhere in the collection. The second section of the series is a chronologically-arranged general file of correspondence that dates from 1929 through 1986.

Most valuable within the CONVENTION FILES are the runs of convention programs listing sessions, speakers, and topics for the annual luncheons (1941-1968), the Spring (or Green Lake) Conferences (1952-1970), and the fall meetings (1958-1975), as well as the annual convention itself (1919-1936 and 1964-1987). Also included here are some convention reports and several files of correspondence pertaining to planning and arrangements.

The MEMBERSHIP RECORDS consist of one sample application and mimeographed lists of committee members and candidates for office. Typed lists of members begin in 1919. In 1971 this was replaced by a printed directory listing officers, committee chairs, and regular and student members.

The SUBJECT FILES consist of alphabetically-arranged files that were inappropriate for inclusion in the other series in the collection. Present are correspondence, reports, and publicity material. Most interesting here are the files on certification of physical education and health curricula, biographical information on association award winners, the leadership conferences sponsored for the Girls Athletic Association, legislative lobbying, public relations, and general fitness.

The PUBLICATIONS series consists of a chronologically-arranged file of published and mimeographed reports, studies, and guides, together with an incomplete run of serial publications. The file of newsletters and journals received with the collection has been separated to the SHSW Library.