Let’s get physical

Winter is coming and there’s nothing better to beat those cold-time blues than by getting a little physical exercise. Portland State offers a wide variety of recreation clubs and intramurals that are available to all students. The feminist kickball and ice hockey clubs recently sat down with the Vanguard and shared their stories.

“It was going back to the roots. Who didn’t either play kickball, watch kickball or get upset that people wouldn’t let them play kickball in elementary school—at least within a U.S.-based society,” said Stesha Heselius-Mashinchi, club co-captain of the feminist kickball team and a post-baccalaureate student.

The feminist kickball club meets every Wednesday at the east end of the Peter Stott field from 5 to 6:30 p.m. This is the club’s first year in existence, and their number one policy is to create an anti-oppressive space where everyone can come out and play some kickball. That’s where they feel the importance of having “feminist” in their name comes in.

On their website at orgsync.com, the club lays out their message: “Again, we are open to everyone: males, females, young, old, able-bodied or alternatively abled, every race, every religion, you name it and we’ll be happy to have you.”

“By taking [feminist] out, that completely makes it inaccessible to all the people who are already lacking the access to participate,” said Heselius-Mashinchi. “I’ve gotten a lot of emails from people asking, ‘well, I’m a guy; can I still come?’”

“Yes, please come!” responded co-captain and senior Frida Markgraf. However, along with a welcoming attitude often comes the need to deal with more negative comments and hassles, but it’s something the club doesn’t mind working around.

Feminist kickball is an opportunity for anyone to take a break from the books and go play for an hour and a half, or for however long one can spare. It’s a casual club where drop-ins are welcomed. Two weeks ago at their second game, they had a total of six people who “skipped” down the mound as they pitched the ball and also used a shoe, a book and a sweater as replacements for bases.

“I’m actually flabbergasted at how much fun I had,” said Markgraf. “I love kickball!”

To join this club or for more information, go to their website and browse the communities section, click on recreational clubs, scroll down to feminist kickball, click “join now” and type in the password: kickball.

As for the ice hockey club team, captain and junior Stephen Printup wants the Portland State community to know that he understands that there are hockey players out there looking for a place to compete.

“If there are [hockey players] out there, then come out and play because this is definitely a program where you get your money’s worth and we can definitely use you,” Printup said.

“For starters, we want the community to know we exist,” added fellow teammate and classmate Tucker Dougherty. The club meets for practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:45 a.m. in the Beaverton-Hillsdale Winterhawks Skating Center. They have both home and away games, which are usually held on Friday and Saturday nights.

For those who are interested in joining but have little experience in the actual game of hockey, the club meets every Monday night from 7–9 p.m. to play ball hockey in the Student Rec Center’s MAC court. A game is played on the ground with a ball instead of a puck to help new players get their fundamentals down before hitting the ice.

Unfortunately, for those who are paying for school themselves, joining this club might be a little financially straining. However, Printup believes that being part of this club helps people grow and helps to introduce them to people they might have never met before.

So for those looking for a little hockey action, take a trip to Monday-night ball hockey or go to the club’s website at psuvikingshockey.com or go to pdx.edu/recreation/ice-hockey for more information.