Custom made clubs
If you are like most everyone else on campus and don’t have what it takes to even make it onto the practice squad of the football or basketball team, PSU actually has an answer. Club sports. There are over 30 of them and they range from cycling to aikido to water polo.
Club sports have been around for a while at PSU but tend to float beneath the radar. They shouldn’t. They are well run, intense and open to all. Furthermore, they offer competition at all levels of play and are an excellent way to meet people that you otherwise might never run into.
Jenny Welnick is the recreational club’s advisor and the best person to talk to for any information. Club sports also has a highly informative web site that can easily be linked to via the PSU homepage.
Most Club sports at PSU meet on a weekly basis and have their practices in or around the Stott Center. Equipment is usually provided or is made available for a small fee.
Into kickboxing or racquetball? Brazilian Jiu-jitsu or surfing? Dive into club sports.
The organization itself is put together and led by students. For the more intensive sports, the competition can rise to the national scale. While many of the clubs compete with other local teams, some end up going to regional tournaments.
“The best way for someone, anyone to get involved is to just check out the web site and go from there,” Welnick says. “On the site, you can find out the main person for each sport to contact, the practice and meeting times and what, if anything, is required.”
There are also pamphlets and programs located in Stott 102.
Racquetball, for instance, allows players of any skill to join and compete. There are quarterly tournaments and matches normally take place on the weekend. Students are also able to learn from a professional instructor. Faculty can join in on the fun. In fact, they are encouraged to do so.
“It’s all about just trying to have as much fun as you can and being able to play a sport or engage in an activity that otherwise you might not be able to,” Welnick says.
Where else, but on a college campus like PSU’s, can you take part in some nasty medieval combat and find other people who share the same aspirations?
“Club sports are really growing. People are becoming more aware and, as a result, club sports are just getting bigger and bigger and more popular,” states Welnick.
One of the best things about club sports is that they are funded by student fees. You are paying for them. So why not take part in them? Tame that hunger for fencing. Look into club sports at PSU and never look back.
Welnick concurs, “It’s just a great way to get out there and do something new and different. Most people can go through their whole college career and have no idea that you can join a club on campus that is centered on surfing or snowboarding. This is, without a doubt, the best way to find one.”
