Club sports at CWU provide students an opportunity to meet other students, get physical activity and bond with friends. The clubs are student led and promote building a community. With over 15 sports clubs available to this day, students can find the one that calls to them.
Treasurer of CWU’s ultimate Frisbee club, The Windbreakers, Riess Magee detailed what the club is all about. “We have a really awesome club here at Ultimate Frisbee because we allow everyone. From skills, age, male and female we allow everyone, we are very accepting,” Magee said. “Ultimate Frisbee is one of those sports in clubs where you can come in with no experience. I can name five people here who have never played Ultimate Frisbee until this year and now they are stars … You can come in as a beginner and come in here and we will accept you guys.”
Magee spoke about the level of competition that The Windbreakers come up against in tournaments. “This is technically a Division I sport because there’s not enough colleges to have a Division II or Division III. We went to regionals and we played against [Boise State University]. We had three tournaments this year and two of them were legitimate tournaments and then we had one for fun. In between seven and ten teams come to one tournament and we play like five games in one day and then three games the next,” Magee said
Alum player and mentor Rob Kendig spoke about his years of being a part of the Ultimate Frisbee club. “It’s the best experience ever. You just come out here and enjoy the sport with a bunch of people you’ll probably be friends with for the rest of your life. I still talk to people who graduated when I was a freshman and still hang out with them. The Ultimate Frisbee community is a select group of people who love playing and love to compete and have fun.”
“Club sports are very important now that our school is kind of in debt. They don’t cost as much and anybody can join,” Kendig said. “For us, there are no tryouts. If you come, you’re on the team. It is a good way to get out, make friends and talk to people that you may start to see everyday.”
Cyler Clark, a freshman member of the club spoke about the importance of club sports as a freshman. “Being a first year, it’s cool to be able to meet new people and kind of just get acclimated to Central. It’s also nice to be able to get out and get some good exercise pretty regularly.”
Charlotte McNealy, in her first year as a Windbreaker, used to be a student-athlete at her previous university. “I absolutely love the Ultimate Frisbee club, it is so much fun. The tournaments are extremely enjoyable and it is a great place to meet new people. As someone who did collegiate sports last year and then did not this year … It was a nice segue to going back to being a normal person.”
Clark had a message for students interested in joining a club, or even specifically looking to become a Windbreaker. “Once you kind of start learning how to play [Ultimate Frisbee], it gets really fun. You should join. It is really fun going to competitions and traveling with the team. You get to stay in a hotel and go out to Red Robin with your friends. It’s such a fun bonding experience.”
“For people who are interested in joining the club, you don’t need to be nervous to come try. In my first year playing, I may not be very good, but I’ve improved a ton and it is such a positive environment. We need more girls,” McNealy said.
The Windbreakers practice Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. in the field house in the pavilion and occasionally at Alder field if the weather cooperates. To reach out to the club their email is [email protected] and their instagram is @cwu_ultimate.
