Club sports have been a popular activity for students at WCU for decades. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, club sports were put on hold last semester and resumed practice at the start of March. And people are not participating as much as anticipated.
Club Sports director, Michael Birch, believes that this is due to the late start from COVID-19. The University wanted to ensure that students felt safe on campus in the fall before club sports began again. But this has caused a drop in participants.
“Less people are participating this semester. I think it’s due to several factors. One that classes are online so students aren’t engaged with on campus events. Also, with a spring start, it makes recruitment harder,” Birch said.
Birch also believes that students love the competition aspect of club sports and without it, interest is lost. WCU is siding with many other Universities in North Carolina that are allowing practices but not competitions.
“Students understand the limitations of competitions and therefor they have no desire to play due to lack of competitions, only practice. Many students love to compete so that’s why they join. Once competitions are back in full swing, more people will join again,” Birch said.
Birch explains that students are required to follow the club sport “Safe to Play” plan which includes masks required, social distancing, capacity limits and sanitizing of all equipment. As long as the students show responsibility, they are allowed to participate.
While following these rules may seem simple on paper, students have showed that it is hard for some sports and they are working hard to keep everyone safe.
Sophomore James Simon plays on the club men’s soccer team and while he feels safe playing, he does see there are lots of challenges while trying to practice.
“We are cutting out some drills where social distancing is hard to do. Often times there are different drills for different sections, but it is a bit challenging for soccer,” Simon said.
Brooklynn Herold, the president of the club women’s rugby team believes that it is most challenging with a high contact sport such as rugby. She is trying to find ways to keep her club team safe while also keeping them physically active.
“Mask compliance has been difficult when the workouts are outside in warm weather. If all the players are further than 10 feet apart while doing drills, I don’t mind if they’re masks are off,” Herold said.
While keeping the players involved and complying with mask mandates is a challenge for Herold, she thinks recruiting is the biggest challenge during COVID-19, especially freshmen or new students.
“The freshmen class entered during a pandemic where they’re written up for having a friend follow them to their dorm room, so they aren’t as eager to go out and try club sports, especially when it’s not a common sport like rugby,” Herold said.
In club baseball however, President John Moore has had an easier time handling the team during the COVID-19 situation. Baseball is not a high contact sport or a sport where students must be super close together, so it is easier to maintain distance.
“The players are handling the situation very well in my opinion. I have tried my best to enforce a strict mask policy this semester and it has worked very well. All players wear WCU masks or gaiters,” Moore said.
Like Birch stated, the baseball players want competitions and Moore believes that is why it has been a struggle to have students join.
“The one thing that our guys are really concerned about is when we are going to play again. That’s our biggest challenge as well, making sure nobody loses their minds and that we remain set on our goals for the 2021-2022 season,” Moore said.
While the effects of COVID-19 on club sport’s future is unknown, students are working hard to continue these sports and keep the tradition alive for future students. Club sports rely on attendance for school funding and keeping their club alive on the WCU campus. This is a great way for to keep physically active and meet new people while staying safe from COVID-19.
