What it takes to start a club sport at USD

Club sports leaders reflect on creating new sports clubs on campus

AMARA BROOKS / SPORTS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

From Manchester Field to Mission Bay and the pilates studio, over 500 students at the University of San Diego take part in one of the 22+ club sports offered on campus. Club sports like lacrosse, sailing, pickleball and pilates allow students to pursue leadership roles while experiencing competitive or recreational sports. 

Every club sport varies in size, season and player ability, but one thing that remains consistent is that each sport is student-run and led. Students leading and participating in club sports are responsible for scheduling and budgeting events for their team, while also utilizing leadership tools to curate sportsmanship and teamwork. 

Students who are interested in starting a club sport team are required to complete the following six-item checklist created by  Campus Recreation to begin the process, a prospective club must have at least 10 people recruited to join. Once members have been recruited, clubs must assign at least three people to mandatory Club Leadership positions: General Manager, Finance Officer and a Risk Manager. Those placed into these leadership positions are required to attend mandatory Campus Rec. leadership development meetings. Once positions are filled, Campus Rec asks members to read through the Club Member handbook, which outlines the specific policies and procedures all Sport Clubs are required to follow. Before the club is finalized, the club must assign an advisor who must be a USD staff or employee. Once these steps have been completed, the prospective club can submit a “New Club Application” followed by an email to Competitive Sports and Facilities Supervisor Jeff Cirillo to set up a meeting with Campus Rec. staff to review the application, talk about following procedures and begin a budgeting conversation. 

USD sophomore and Vice President of Club Pickleball, Nina Pignatello explained that Campus Rec.’s support made the process of starting a new club on campus fairly easy. 

“We started meeting with Jeff Cirillo, Alec Parks and Serena Gandara to discuss details. We initially needed at least 10 members to start the club. We then stayed in communication with Campus Rec and followed the steps they laid out for us. By Spring 2022, the club was up and running.”

Creating a club sport can come with its fair share of challenges, especially when it comes to funding. Associated Student Government (ASG) only partially funds teams, with the rest of club funds heavily dependent on their own fundraising and donations. Campus Rec. states on their website that “there might be some money available through the Campus Rec department to support.” However, clubs are not guaranteed financial support from the department. 

To help cover the costs of equipment and dues to Campus Rec, each club can decide how they wish to come up with the extra funds. Piagtello described how Club Pickleball started by charging membership dues for players. 

“Initially, we decided to charge members $50 per semester in membership dues. $35 of that $50 goes straight to Campus Rec for insurance purposes,” Piagtello explained. “Last semester, we bought all new paddles and balls for the club. Now, we have decided to increase our dues to $75 so we’re able to get team sweatshirts and replace old or broken equipment.”

Now, after a full year of being an official club sport on campus, pickleball is involved in various tournaments where they compete against other colleges, including Point Loma, SDSU and Loyola Marymount University. The club is open to all playing levels and is now being offered as a 0.5 credit course that students can register for. 

While managing the financial aspect of running a club sport is important, maintaining club participation is also a significant hardship of running a club sport at USD. Along with budgeting and finances, consistent participation from other students can add to the list of difficulties when running a club. 

To spread the word and gain more members, Pignatello explained how the Alcalá Bazaar helped Club Pickleball obtain new members. 

“One of the biggest challenges of starting a club sport on campus is getting the word out to students. Our first semester as a club, we had about 10-15 students regularly show up to practice,” Pignatello shared. “The Alcalá Bazaar is super helpful by allowing us to spread the word… and now we’re at about 60 members signed up.”

Over the past year, USD’s Pilates Club has shown that with good marketing and an active Instagram presence, attracting student participants might not be as challenging as initially thought. The Pilates Club, which became official on March 22, 2022, has since gained almost 500 Instagram followers and a strong engagement between club members and leaders. Megan Soong, President of the USD Pilates Club, shared how they have used Instagram to market themselves to USD students. 

“With the help of our Marketing Director Arlethi Quintero, we have been able to use Instagram to engage with students and have found it the best way for students to receive information on Pilates events,” Soong said. “We gained many of our followers by following students that followed similar accounts and by targeting ‘Class of’ Instagram accounts.”

According to ToreroOrgs, USD Pilates Club currently has the most registered members, as they reached over 200 members this past November. Since their first class, the Pilates Club has only continued to grow as every mat has been filled up in their studio at the Sports Center.

According to Soong, one huge achievement of the club has been their high number of male participants in classes, since many classes are typically female driven. 

“Even guys have started to join the class, which is exciting to know that everyone feels encouraged to participate,” Soong shared.

With the support and guidance of Campus Recreation starting a new sport club can be a rewarding experience. Sport Clubs allow students to take on a wide range of leadership roles and connect with various members from the community that they wouldn’t have relationships with otherwise, while also being a great way to gain some extra course credits, or add some physical movement throughout the week.