By David Thompson
Men's and women's water polo are just two of the 12 club sports on campus. Other club sports including men's and women's soccer, lacrosse, and ultimate Frisbee.
"A club sport is what I think of as an 'in-between' level sport" Senior Brett Turner said. "It's a step up from intramural sports, especially in intensity." Turner has been on the water polo team for all four years of his collegiate career.
Turner stated that club sports are not sponsored by the school meaning there are no scholarships and they do not play varsity teams from other schools.
"We are not affiliated in any way with the Athletic Department. However, we do receive support and funding from the school through ASUP as an officially recognized club on campus," Turner said.
One thing that is not different between club sports and varsity sports is they both enjoy fan encouragement. "We'd love to get some fans at any of our tournaments. We've always kind of lacked with having a significant fan base," Turner said.
While club sports do not play varsity teams from other schools, they play other club teams from different schools. There are divisions, playoffs and even championships.
"We compete in the Northwest division of the College Water Polo Association or CWPA. We compete against OSU, U of O, UW, WSU, Western Washington University and Central Washington University. Thus, we travel to Corvallis, Eugene, Pullman, Puyallup, Ellensburg, etc.," Turner said.
In fact, most of the other club sports compete against similar club teams. "For women's club soccer we coordinate games with nearby universities and usually travel to their fields," senior Heather Deedman said. "In the past we have competed in tournaments at Reed, Gonzaga University and U of O where we have been relatively successful and had a great time."
Deedman's experience with club soccer has been nothing but positive.
"I've been playing soccer since about fourth grade and came to the University of Portland with the desire to keep playing. With our amazing women's soccer team, intercollegiate wasn't really an option, so I began intramural sports and, eventually, met up with people on the club soccer team who invited me to practices." said Deedman.
The men's club soccer team does things a little differently. They do not play against other club teams but rather play in a league made up of semi-pro and very experienced players.
"We play our matches around the Portland metro area. UPFC (University of Portland Football Club) is part of the OPSL (Oregon Premier Soccer League). This is the highest level of adult soccer the state of Oregon offers," junior Pablo Dipascuale said.
The men's club soccer team decided to play in a more competitive league despite the intense competition.
Depascuale added, "The teams in this league feature mainly former D1 collegiate players, as well as ex-professional players, and it even includes Portland Timbers players during their off-season. Our league play runs all school year long and since we typically have the youngest and most inexperienced group of players, we do not get very many results."
One newer club sport that has become extremely popular is the ultimate Frisbee club team. Senior Captain Joe Coulter has been on the team from the beginning.
"(Ultimate Frisbee) is the best part of the school year for me," Coulter stated.
Coulter said that ultimate Frisbee is a blast and that the schedule of an athlete on the ultimate Frisbee team may look something like this: "Practice, play, travel, hang out, socialize, play, practice, etc."
One advantage to a club sport that does not exist in varsity sports is that anyone can join. Turner, Deedman, Depascuale and Coulter all stressed the point that if someone is interested in joining, all they have to do is show up.
Also notably, the men's club lacrosse team gained entry into the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League (PNCLL) and will play a nine game schedule, including a few home games this spring.
Club sports offer a unique opportunity for students, and they are still looking for student involvement.
