Progress puts club sports on Yale map

JULIA TIERNAN/YH The men's rugby team is one of few club sports at yale with a full-time, paid coach and on-site trainers.

On the fifth floor of Payne Whitney Gymnasium, near the club sports office, two cases cluttered with trophies, plaques, and certificates provide evidence of club success beyond Ramona. Among the awards displayed there are Max Lamont's, CC '00, two gold medals from the Skeet and Trap Shooting Nationals and the wrestling team's National Collegiate Wrestling Association Championship trophy. Although Ramona and other clubs have enjoyed recent successes, it hasn't always been this way.

The concept of club sports was developed at Yale over forty years ago by Ed Migdalski, who, as the first head of club sports, elevated "minor" and "hack" sports to a more legitimate level. Since then the club sports program has flourished. Approximately 35 club sports were active during the 1997-98 academic year. Current program director and skeet and trap shooting coach Tom Migdalski, Ed's son, expects similar figures this year.

Problems and Solutions

The club sports mission statement declares that "club sports must have the potential to compete," and virtually all teams do. Club sports "fill the gap between the varsity level and recreational pick-up games," Migdalski explained, saying that the club level is ideal for athletes who desire "less regimentation but are interested in competition." Club sports are student-run and managed, making them a valuable part of many Yale experiences. According to Migdalski, part of club sports' appeal is the "student involvement in fundraising, public relations, organization, administration, budget, leadership, and teaching." Yet clearly, some club teams have transformed this "potential" into an actuality.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Ramona, the women's ultimate frisbee squad, reached the semifinals of the national tournament in Minnesota.

Several club sports, such as rugby, ultimate, and wrestling, have been perennially successful at Yale, but the resurgence of the club sports program as a whole might be credited to a 1997 Council of Masters decision. "One major change has helped us so much," Migdalski was quick to explain. For the first time last year, Yale's Council of Masters gave the Club Sports program $5,000 to support Nationals expenses. Migdalski and his ad hoc committee of staff and club sport athletes developed criteria and proposal forms for receiving extra funding. "It was a significant boost for us," he said.

Ten club sports, including croquet, cycling, skeet and trap, sailing, ultimate, men's volleyball, several martial arts, and men's wrestling received approximately $500 apiece. The appreciative teams used the funds for registration fees, hotels, and travel expenses. Nevertheless, many clubs still rely as much on their dedication as they do on University funding. Volleyball captain Steve Hwang, TD '99, pointed out that players spent several thousand dollars of their own money, raised from fundraising and donations, on their April trip to Nationals.

But despite acknowledging that club teams receive insufficient funding, Migdalski reported that there are, to his knowledge, "currently no plans" to change the status of any club sport to varsity level. He explained that Yale athletics' current commitment to gender equity makes it difficult to consider changing even the national club champion wrestling team to varsity status.

Most teams don't have enough money to afford a full-time coach, so instead, they are coached by the more experienced players. A handful of teams have coaches, but in accordance with league rules, almost none of them receive salaries.

Another job unique to the club sports scene is the juggling of practice schedules and training facility space. In the past, club athletes shared the sixth floor weight room and were given lower priority than varsity athletes. This situation, however, will improve markedly this year as the club teams will be able to use the new fitness center. But although their training conditions may be improving, there is still a lack of day-to-day medical attention given to athletes who compete on the club level.

Expansion of the club ranks

The Yale club scene is growing not only in prominence, thanks to several highly competitive teams, but also in size. Team handball, a high-scoring game involving small soccer balls and goals, is the newest club sport at Yale. Founder-captain David Hecht, TC '00, became interested in moving from the junior high gym level after seeing the sport played in the Olympics. Hecht reported 15 committed players and about 40 freshmen signed up at the team's information table at last week's Freshman Bazaar. "The response has been better than I expected," he said.

The club's ultimate goal will be to reach the national championships, held every February in North Carolina. But the primary goal of the first season will be to develop relationships with opposing teams. "[Team handball is] not so common in this area," Hecht noted, mentioning only Princeton's brand-new club and West Point's more established team. He also noted that there is "no funding [from the club sports program] during the probational year," but that he has "been in contact with USA Team Handball and [expects] to receive up to $2,000 to pay for balls and goals." Hecht even mentioned building his own goals, and pointed out that handball is not as "equipment-intensive" as the other relatively new club sport, lacrosse.

The separate men's and women's club lacrosse teams are unique in that they were both started last spring and furthermore, they are the only teams with varsity-level counterparts. Both teams are still finishing their one-year-long probationary period. Each holds practices five times a week, requiring attendance at only three. "The goal of club sports is to be unique," Migdalski said. There is "no desire to draw good athletes off varsity teams," he added, mentioning that NCAA rules forbade flag or touch football because they too closely mirrored football scrimmages or spring football. Migdalski noted that both varsity lacrosse coaches, particularly women's coach Amanda O'Leary, were "great" at developing the club teams, providing advice, and most crucially, old equipment. The most critical problems that fledgling club teams face are a lack of space and equipment, as well as the deeply felt absence of an established alumni following.

The luxury of independence

Indeed, the problems confronting these new teams are not likely to disappear over time. Ramona, an established and obviously successful team, still faces them. The team used the modest $653 it received to cover hotel bills at Nationals. Captains run practices, many of which take place on Old Campus. Clearly, Ramona does not enjoy the luxuries afforded to varsity squads.

However, as co-captain Sarah Lieberman, JE '99, was quick to note, the consequences of playing a sport with club status may not be all bad. "Without a coach, we develop a real sense of team unity," Lieberman noted. "Ramona is a very self-motivated team; we teach each other and learn from each other. In the end, success and failure totally depend on the team." .

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