Women's Rugby Football Club 2004april

By Megan Klein, Issue 24, Submitted 04/21/2004

Following the Association of Amherst Students' (AAS) decision not to fund the ski team in the initial fall budget, there has been a swarm of interest and debate surrounding the funding of club sports on campus. With the AAS providing less funding for club sports, those teams will need to find alternative sources of funding.

Athletic Director Peter Gooding suggested that club sports teams try creative fundraising techniques to compensate for the diminished funding. "We support club teams using clever ways of raising money," he said. Gooding explained that club sports teams can increase the number of members to help the teams to raise money through dues.

Many club teams already charge a membership fee. "We collect dues from players, which go to social and recruiting events and for those expenditures not covered by our budgetary committee funding," said Aaron Wallman '05, president of the men's rugby team.

However, Gooding foresees that a dependence on membership dues could lead to exclusion from teams. "There is only so much that students can afford to pay," he said. "The more you expect from dues, the more you risk excluding students who can't afford it."

According to Gooding, a generous contribution can help to support a team for many years. "Currently, seven or eight teams are enjoying the benefits of a generous benefactor," said Gooding.

The ski team already has such a fund. "The team has a fund but the current value of interest is so small that the team cannot and does not draw from this source," said A.J. Korytoski '04, former president of the ski team.

The attitude of students poses a challenge to the funding of club sports. "In a very academic setting like Amherst, it is inevitable that a number of people are not sympathetic to expenditures for athletics," said Gooding.

AAS vice president Elan Ghazal '05 believes that the student government could better fund club sports with additional funds from the College. "I would like to have a discussion with President Marx to see if we can get money from the discretionary fund so that we can give a little more to [club sports] teams," he said. "The College advertises the existence of these teams to prefrosh so it would benefit both parties to continue these teams."

The ski team relies on money provided by the College. "The team cannot operate without financial support from the school," said Steven Hollister '05, vice president of the ski team.

Gooding also suggested that the ski team might raise money by providing ski lessons. "[The ski team] could have a recreational ski group, not just a competitive team, and charge a modest membership fee," he said.

"The ski team has always been a contentious issue in the student government," said Paris Wallace '04, the treasurer of the AAS. "They have the shortest season, the fewest people and the highest cost. There is also a considerable barrier to entry, as it has the highest memberships fees. We figured that it was the one club that by being eliminated, would help the most people and hurt the least."

The limited amount that the senate has allocated to club sports teams constitutes a significant portion of many of the teams' budgets. The funding that the rugby team gets from the AAS is very important. "We submit a budget to the committee every season for review," said Ranko Asari '05, president of the women's rugby team. "Some of the fees necessary to have a season are very expensive, and without AAS funding, we probably could not have a full season."

According to Matt Vanneman '06, a member of the men's crew team, the athletic department, membership fees, fundraising and an endowment turnover, the team has sufficient funding. "We have been very lucky and very pleased with the funding we have received from these sources, and have yet to hit a real budgetary shortfall."

Although club sports face many financial difficulties, Gooding believes that the creativity of students will sustain club sports on campus. "My prediction is that the ingenuity of students will overcome financial problems," he said. "I'd be very surprised if crew, skiing or rugby ever fell off the charts because of their traditions and integrity."