Club sports play for increased visibility

Interested in playing cricket, ice hockey or one of the many other sports not offered by the University at the varsity level? Or are you a high school "star" who's not quite varsity material? Then perhaps you should consider joining the 800 other students already participating in Penn's extensive club sports program, the highest-funded student activity on campus. Despite the club sports program's large size and budget, many students remain unaware of the groups' presence on campus -- a fact which riles the Sports Club Council, which manages the programs. "From the University side, I would like to see them promote club sports at a higher level," said SCC President Robert Fuller, a Wharton senior. "We need to have more publicity than a little club sports listing in some obscure mailing to freshmen." There are currently 28 club teams at Penn -- ranging from men's and women's soccer to synchronized swimming -- which belong to the SCC, an umbrella organization within the Student Activities Council. Last year, new women's field hockey, women's soccer and women's tennis teams joined the SCC. And this year, the men's gymnastics club has been reinstated into the SCC after having lost their membership for failing to attend the Council's meetings. A new weightlifting club has also approached the SCC for membership. And as the group continues to grow in size, it is working to gain more power and recognition on campus. The SCC Executive Council will "do whatever it takes" to get more publicity on campus, Fuller said, adding that the group plans to discuss the issue at their monthly meeting tonight in the Gimbel Gymnasium. Another area the group hopes to improve in is its funding from, and membership in, SAC. Although SCC is part of the Department of Recreation, it is funded through SAC and received $82,250 this year, the largest SAC grant for any student organization. UTV13 received the second largest SAC grant for 1997-98, totalling $20,190. The SCC allocation represented a significant increase from last year's $65,354 grant, but SCC officials said they believe the University -- through SAC or some other means -- should be willing to allocate more budget money when needed. "Our allocation is an improvement over years past, but so was the process we used to arrive at that budget. Some things we cut as too frivolous would be considered normal expenses for ordinary sports teams," Fuller said, adding that dues from SCC members provide 25 percent of the program's total budget. But while SCC receives the largest SAC grant, it only has one vote on SAC --Ea level of representation many SCC members complain is far too low for a group of its size. "SCC has the same voting power as any one entity in SAC, yet each club within the SCC has membership equal to any single club [within SAC]," Fuller noted. SCC's umbrella status within SAC, however, accounts for the apparent discrepancy in power, according to Assistant Director for Student Life Beth Hagovsky. "As an umbrella organization, SCC takes care of budgets for all the sports. But only one representative for all the clubs attends the SAC meetings and votes," she explained, adding that the arrangement is "a mixed bag because it saves them time in budgeting and meeting attendance requirements, but SCC does only get one vote." Fuller stressed that he hopes this policy will change soon, giving each club team a vote on SAC. "SCC should still manage all the budgets, but the clubs deserve their own voice," he said. Students interested in finding out more information on club sports can consult the Department of Recreation's World Wide Web site at http://www.upenn.edu/recreation.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.