By Amy Cutillo  |Staff Writer|

The Rec Center is kicking into gear and wants you to help make fellow Coyotes aware of the campus Sports Clubs and all they have to offer.

The  Sports Clubs are an organized group of clubs on campus, much like the Chess Club or the Chemistry Club. They are student run and collect dues. Unlike the other organized clubs on campus, these clubs take place in the arena of active sports. In other words, there’s way more action and less talk.

Our campus currently offers only three sports clubs: mixed martial arts, co-ed tennis and wrestling. The Rec Center helps to  manage these clubs by finding places to practice, making reservations and by helping to pay their club insurance.

Unlike the other clubs on campus, which are all recreational, this club must stay competitive.

These action-packed sports clubs compete with other universities’ clubs. Many of the other universities have numerous sports clubs and most are larger than an NCAA athletic team.

Another interesting fact is that anybody can join any of the clubs, according to the Sports Club director Kari Brandt.
Students who are finding out about the clubs are excited and ready to join.

“I think that’s such a cool idea,” said student Bryan Sealey. “Our school doesn’t have a tennis team and I’ve always wanted to play, so now I’ll finally have the opportunity to compete.”

The club is for students but will allow people to join no matter what their skill level may be. So, there are opportunities for everyone to improve their game.

Faculty, staff and alumni can join the sports clubs, but only students are allowed to participate in the actual competitions.

Some of the objectives of the Sports Clubs are to build camaraderie among teammates, develop a student’s potential in the sport and develop leadership skills among others.

The cost of joining the club ultimately depends on the team and how much it will cost to run the team, but all the details are available through the Rec Center.

All the Rec Center needs to get more Sports Clubs started is for an interested group to get together and sign up. The two forms, a recognition packet along with a club charter packet, must be filled out and are available through the Rec Center.

After turning in the forms to the Rec Center, they will look into approving the individual requests. Since there have been facility issues with indoor sports, the chances are better for outdoor sports having available space to practice and compete.

A rugby team and an outdoor frisby club are two additional sports that Brandt feels would be popular amongst the sports enthusiasts on campus.

The Rec Center is on board to see their Sports Club branch out and succeed. All they need is the Coyotes to get on board and start some new clubs.

If you would like to see your sports club in the mix for fall quarter 2012, get busy, fill out the forms and get them in.

If you are interested in martial arts, tennis or wrestling you can contact Kari Brandt at brandtk@coyote.csusb.edu or visit the sports club website at http://csusbrecsports.com/sports_clubs.

Don’t put it off, join the Sports Clubs. It’s a good way to get off your duff, relieve stress and get some healthy activity into your life.