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Popularity of club sports has risen over the years due to range of activities, unique sports
By Matt Ehalt
Posted: 4/9/08, 11:59 PM EST Section: Feature
One of the biggest reasons behind the surge in addition of club sports is student interest.
"I think it's just a matter of student interest evolving and changing," said Scott Catucci, director of club sports at Syracuse. "Students find something that becomes interesting to them but also to other students at the university."
The requirements needed to petition to become a club sport at Syracuse include proposing a brief overview of the activity, holding a meeting to gauge student interest, registering and identifying four officers and a faculty/staff advisor and following the rules and regulations of the Club Sport Handbook.
There can be a review by university risk managers and attorneys to evaluate the potential injury risk of the new club sport.
Students have noticed the ease of starting up their own club.
"(At Syracuse) it's a lot more smooth with a lot of trust in the students," said Samuel Rivier, a graduate physics student who helped form the kendo club at Syracuse this year. "I think that makes a much better environment for making it successful."
Club sports have also been on the rise because of the different types of activities that can fit the requirements. Club sports allow for a wide range of activities and non-traditional forms of recreation that individuals may have never participated in before, such as underwater hockey, played in a pool with snorkeling gear.
"The great thing about sports clubs is they are all driven by student interest, and I think students interests have become more varied so you see these different clubs popping up," Halsey, UNC club sports director, said. "The more especially television coverage that all the extreme sports or sort of non-traditional sports have gotten it creates interest right there as well as everything else."
Unique sports also help launch distinctive clubs, said Kate Durant, the coordinator of club sports at UConn. The university added airsoft (similar to paintball but with plastic BBs) as a club this year, and Durant said having paintball as a club helped do so.
"I think it's just a matter of student interest evolving and changing," said Scott Catucci, director of club sports at Syracuse. "Students find something that becomes interesting to them but also to other students at the university."
The requirements needed to petition to become a club sport at Syracuse include proposing a brief overview of the activity, holding a meeting to gauge student interest, registering and identifying four officers and a faculty/staff advisor and following the rules and regulations of the Club Sport Handbook.
There can be a review by university risk managers and attorneys to evaluate the potential injury risk of the new club sport.
Students have noticed the ease of starting up their own club.
"(At Syracuse) it's a lot more smooth with a lot of trust in the students," said Samuel Rivier, a graduate physics student who helped form the kendo club at Syracuse this year. "I think that makes a much better environment for making it successful."
Club sports have also been on the rise because of the different types of activities that can fit the requirements. Club sports allow for a wide range of activities and non-traditional forms of recreation that individuals may have never participated in before, such as underwater hockey, played in a pool with snorkeling gear.
"The great thing about sports clubs is they are all driven by student interest, and I think students interests have become more varied so you see these different clubs popping up," Halsey, UNC club sports director, said. "The more especially television coverage that all the extreme sports or sort of non-traditional sports have gotten it creates interest right there as well as everything else."
Unique sports also help launch distinctive clubs, said Kate Durant, the coordinator of club sports at UConn. The university added airsoft (similar to paintball but with plastic BBs) as a club this year, and Durant said having paintball as a club helped do so.
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