Sport clubs offer outlets for non-varsity athletes

BY BARBARA FITZGERALD

It was late in the evening of March 17, and the UR students had been on the road for eight hours, headed to Statesboro, Ga.—still an hour away—for a very competitive athletic tournament. Realizing that their route took them past Savannah and remembering that that town had one of the best St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the country, the teammates in one car decided to stop to check out the festivities.

“This was decided about midnight,” says Justin Peake, ’08, one of the team’s stars. “We didn’t make it back to our hotel until 3 a.m. and had to wake up at 7 a.m. to play four games the next day.”

Despite the lack of sleep, the students won all their games that weekend, including the championship game. For Peake, “That trip showed me that we are more than just teammates, we are friends. The level of dedication and self-sacrifice exhibited by each of our members is an indication not only of our love of the sport but our commitment to each other.”

The sport is ultimate Frisbee, and the students make up one of Richmond’s 25 sport clubs, formed from student determination and funded primarily through participant support. Clubs represent the University nearly every weekend somewhere across the nation and even abroad.

“The sport clubs are one of the best-kept secrets on campus,” says Tom Roberts, director of recreation and wellness and coordinator of the sport clubs. “Every weekend six to eight clubs are out competing somewhere, and whether they win or lose, they always make us look good.”

Roberts says he gets regular phone calls from officials at other schools saying, “Your club was on our campus, and I just wanted to tell you how impressed we were with the way they conducted themselves.”

“These are kids who just love their sport, love to participate,” Roberts points out. “None of them are on athletic scholarships. The University provides some resources—this year a total of $65,000 distributed among the clubs in different amounts for different purposes. These students are passionate and determined and very often winners on the sport club circuit.”

UR’s sport clubs attract dedicated student-athletes, many of whom played varsity sports in high school and continue to play for the love of their sport. Team members raise funds to pay for equipment and travel, with—for some clubs—supplemental help from the University. Most clubs are student run: they organize practices, take charge of their finances, schedule meets and tournaments, arrange travel, and sometimes even serve as coaches. “These clubs provide incredible leadership opportunities,” says Roberts, “with officer positions available on each club, as well as on the Sport Club Executive Council.”

When Roberts arrived at Richmond in 1988, sport clubs numbered four: rugby, lacrosse, volleyball and soccer, and they operated under the auspices of the athletic department. Because they were not varsity sports and not NCAA, they got the leftovers in facilities and resources. 

Sport clubs have come a long way. Today there are 25 clubs offering a wide variety of sports, from water polo to basketball, triathlon to tennis, martial arts to gymnastics, field hockey to dance. This year, more than 500 students are involved, including law and graduate students.

While sport clubs do not require as large a time commitment as varsity sports, the hours involved can be considerable. David Paolantonio, ’09, president of Richmond crew, says that sport clubs expect a lot from an executive board that is trying to juggle classes, homework and other aspects of college life with managing a club.

Peake and his ultimate Frisbee club also stress the time commitment. “We have three two-hour practices a week, but it doesn’t end there,” he says. “We spend countless hours in the gym on our own after class and during breaks to condition our bodies to withstand the rigors of a tournament, which can mean as many as seven two-hour games in a weekend. We travel to approximately five to six tournaments a semester, most of which are in other states, so we can end up driving anywhere from five to nine hours each way. We do all this on top of our workload for classes.”

Mike Sumbs, ’08, president of both the Sport Club Council and the ice hockey sport club, says the $500 dues he and his teammates pay each semester (they also pay for gas and food on road trips) are necessary to cover ice time expenses, referee fees, travel costs and other league dues and tournament fees. While the club “very much appreciates the money we receive from the school, we are constantly looking for ways to increase our school funding to lessen the amount students must pay out of pocket.”

Cost is clearly no impediment to enthusiasm. “Sport clubs are an extremely important part of student life and development,” says Sumbs. “I know members of the hockey club who chose Richmond over other schools simply because of the successful hockey program. Sport clubs give students the opportunity to learn the value of teamwork and build lasting friendships and memories.”

Johnny Harris, president and captain of the men’s baseball club, says the clubs definitely serve a social function, “creating friendships that continue off the field and onto the campus.” Initially, Harris, ’08, just wanted to play ball. “I knew I did not want to pursue collegiate level varsity baseball, so I focused on the club. For students who either do not want the commitment of varsity sports or simply could not make the teams, club sports provide the opportunity to play throughout college.”

Brittany Yates, president of the equestrian club, and Carrie Ryan, president of synchronized swimming, also were looking at colleges that would allow them to indulge their passion for sports. Yates, a senior in the Robins School of Business, says riding had always been an individual sport for her, but the equestrian sport club has allowed her to compete on a club for the first time. She also saw it as a challenge.  
“It is extremely difficult because we are not allowed to compete on our own horses. We ride horses that we have never ridden before.”

Ryan, a junior and captain of her synchro club, says her club “is unique because synchronized swimming is such a small sport. We compete against varsity and club sports, and at the national competition, we do very well against teams that have a D–I varsity status, like Stanford and Ohio State.”

Like so many sport club officers, Yates and Ryan appreciate the leadership opportunities their clubs make available. “The best thing about this experience has been the leadership role I have had,” says Yates. “I’ve enjoyed getting to know and work with both younger and older students.” Ryan adds that she has learned a lot about working with people through her club experience. “In synchronized swimming especially, there is a delicate balance in working with others. Learning how to do that is vital to success in the sport.”

“For a university our size,” says Roberts, “we have a lot more sport clubs available for our students, and we have more student participation. I would say that, in general, a 15,000-student university might have the number of clubs and the extent of participation that Richmond does.”