By Ezra Neumann | The Broadside (Contact: [email protected])

Here at Central Oregon Community College, we have two primary sporting opportunities for students: intramural sports, which are credit-based classes that are noncompetitive, and club sports, which are student organized and run competitive sports such as basketball, baseball, rugby, and indoor soccer.

Intramural sports far outnumber club sports in terms of student involvement, ranging from yoga to small basketball leagues. These sports also require less academic standards for students to participate, with most requiring students to take at least one credit through COCC.

According to Bill Douglass, athletic director at COCC, higher student involvement in intramural sports is most likely due to a few different variables. The first would be convenience for students; all the intramural sports are located on campus, so there is no travel or additional practice required. This can make it easier to include them into a busy student schedule. Douglass also said that all of the club sports are student-based, which means that aside from coach involvement, it is up to the students to organize and participate in practice. The club sports are localized around the state of Oregon. Traveling for sports can put stress on a student’s academics, “Students often stress about finances, but the athletics department has a good amount of funding to help students who struggle financially, so that no one is excluded,” Douglass explained.

Because club sports are run by the students participating, it leaves room for students to make proposals for adding another sport for other students to join and participate in according to Douglass. As long as students diligently make a plan for execution and run it by Douglass, there is available funding to support the idea for the next academic school year.

This could really be any competitive sport that students might feel the school is missing, and Douglass urges students to come to him with these proposals so the club sports can be further expanded to include the whole student body. If you or a group of students have an idea for a new club sport that isn’t already established at COCC, you can contact Bill Douglass at [email protected].

Students Zak Johnson and Luke Smith do not participate in any sports on campus. Both Johnson and Smith feel as though this is one of the reasons they are at COCC as opposed to other colleges, given it’s not based on a sporting culture. “There is no real reason for COCC to have competitive sports at all. Competitive sports are for four-year universities, not small community colleges,”Smith said.

There are many differing opinions surrounding our competitive and intramural sport pro-
grams. Even though COCC is not involved in any serious national sporting culture, there is still room for those who enjoy both competitive and non-competitive physical activities. There are many opportunities for students to both participate in sports, as well as create additions they may feel are necessary. ■