The end of high school does not have to mean the end of competitive sports. For those who are unable to play sports at the collegiate level for whatever reason, there are alternatives that can compare to the competitive atmosphere of high school athletics. Sport clubs are a great way to find like minded people as well as continue to play some of the sports you love. 

CWU’s Sports Programs Senior Coordinator, Samantha Wary, said that sport clubs are a great way for those coming from varsity athletics to continue competing at a high level.

“Sport clubs just give you that higher level of competition,” Wary said. “Maybe you were a high school varsity athlete and you want to continue that higher, regimented sport level and that higher level of competition. We always recommend going with sport clubs. 

Along with the competitive nature of sport clubs, there are a multitude of factors that differentiate sport clubs from intramural sports. According to Wary, intramural sports focus on student to student competition within the university and are less time constraining compared to sport clubs.

Sport clubs, however, have scheduled practices, sometimes have coaches, and travel to compete against other colleges in Washington and around the nation. 

“It gives you more of that scheduled and higher level of competition,” Wary said. “There’s opportunities to travel throughout the Pacific Northwest and potentially all across the country and to Canada for postseason and other tournaments.” 

Wary said CWU will offer 20 different sport clubs for all students to participate in during the fall. One of these sport clubs centers around volleyball.

Vice president of CWU Women’s Volleyball Club, Angelie Sampson, said that club volleyball is meant for anyone to join, no matter what their skill level or experience in the sport is. 

“We accept everyone of all skill levels,” Sampson said. “We are a competitive team. However, we also have that team unity and team spirit.” 

Sampson said the goal for the club when they started it back in 2019 was to provide a community that united different people and helped people find new friends, while still competing and playing volleyball. 

Club President Alyssa Strub echoed the same sentiment and said they work to accommodate all students who are interested in joining.

“If anyone’s interested in joining, we just try to talk to them and see their experience and how their schedule is and we just try and help them as much as we can,” Strub said.

Fitting the schedule is important as the team begins to travel in the winter quarter to compete in the Pacific Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. According to Strub, winter quarter is when the club plays tournaments and travels around Washington as well as Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

Strub said there are about four to five tournaments hosted by schools in those states that the team will travel to and compete in every winter quarter.

Sampson said once the competition starts and they begin traveling to play, it’s a lot of fun. 

“We all pack into cars and we drive to the tournament,” Sampson said. “So you know, you’re singing and dancing and eating in the car and bonding with the girls in your car.” 

Strub also said traveling with the club is a fun experience.

“It’s just really fun to go travel somewhere and play volleyball against a bunch of different kinds of players,” Strub said.

As fall quarter brings new students to campus, Strub said they are always looking for new members to join the club.

“We’re always looking for new people and we always love to have new people join our club,” Strub said. “Even though it can be scary, I think we have a really good environment with the girls that we have right now and everyone is super nice. So, even though it might be scary, I think anyone new who would join would have a good time.”

One club that has recently been rejuvenated and is looking for members to join is the CWU Golf Club. Club President Joel Antush said it’s all a new experience for him and other members. 

“It’s really a learning experience for everybody in the club right now,” Antush said. “We have competition starting in the fall, but right now we’re just kind of figuring everything out as we go.”

Wary said the plan for the Golf Club is to begin competing in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association. Wary said there are typically three tournaments that the club will compete in during the fall as well as the spring. 

Antush said his goal for the club is to get as many people as possible in the club who want to play golf, then to send eight members of the club to compete when the tournaments start in the fall. 

“If we have a club of 12, we’ll still practice and still get to hang out, but only eight will go,” Antush said. 

Although Antush said the club is looking forward to getting back to competition, not everyone needs to feel like they are good enough to compete if they want to join. Antush said the club is from those who are the beginner level of golf and up.

“The skill range is from high to low,” Antush said. 

More experienced members of the club like Blair Maruhn, who has been playing golf since he was in middle school, said everyone should join despite their skill level or lack of equipment.

“Even if you don’t have a set of clubs, I would say still come because we have lefties and righties here, so that’s not even an issue,” Maruhn said. “It doesn’t really matter when you start because it’s going to be a sport you can play your whole life, so might as well start now.” 

Maruhn said one of the things he is most looking forward to about being a part of the club is the possibility of golf helping him in his future career in accounting.

“The career I am going into, golfing, talking on the golf course, it’s kind of a big thing,” Maruhn said. 

Maruhn also said he hopes the club helps him connect with new and like-minded people.

“For me, it would definitely be the networking opportunity and meeting new people, cool people that are interested in the same sport as I am,” Maruhn said. 

Antush said the club will utilize the Ellensburg Golf & Country Club course for practices and to play with the club. Antush and Maruhn both said they hope to get in contact with Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum so the club can play at their high-end courses in the future.

CWU sport clubs offer something for everyone. Whether you are experienced or not, sport clubs are a great way to find new hobbies and meet new people. For any students interested in what sport clubs are being offered in the fall, check CWU’s Sport Clubs page.