Clubbin’ It

In a school that prides itself on its large number of varsity athletic teams (if not large number of varsity athletic wins), the recent cut in the junior varsity (JV) athletic program has taken many by surprise. Following weighted encouragement from the powers-that-be, also known as the Athletic Department, many JV sports this year have made the switch to the less-regulated club status.

This JV-to-club push has been met by a mix of annoyance and enthusiasm from student athletes. Though teams are not being required to make the transition to club status, many have felt pressure to do so. Nadia O. Gaber ’09-’10, a member of Women’s JV Soccer, says that she “got the picture that across the board they are trying to cut the JV program.” The Athletic Department were not available for comment.

Jacob E. Segal ’09, a member of Men’s JV-gone-Club Soccer team, witnessed the team’s transition. While Segal did not feel that the Athletic Department was “actively” trying to eliminate the JV program, he says, “for them, it’s definitely easier to have club sports than JV.”

It’s this passive yet decidedly exclusive atmosphere that now dominates the status of non-varsity sports—an atmosphere that has been greeted by an overwhelming amount of responses from athletes across the board.

BIG SPENDING

Harvard departments trying to save money is nothing new (HUDS, anyone?), and this case is no different. The JV athletic program is expensive, and eliminating their costs would save the Athletic Department big bucks.

“It sure felt like they were tired of having to give us money all the time,” says Caitlin N. Newhouse ’10, who is a member of the now-Club Women’s Volleyball team. Newhouse speaks to the traditionally large amount of money shelled out for each sport—the JV program is responsible for making sure its teams have proper uniforms and equipment, payment for coaches and officials, and also transportation to various contests. After all, you can’t exactly walk to New Haven.

Club athletic teams, on the other hand, are not guaranteed funding of any kind. They are allowed to apply for special events grants from the Undergraduate Council or full-year grants from the Common Grant Application, but “it’s a lot more work for us,” Segal says. This year, to help the transition, new club teams were given up to $2000 in funding for the current academic calendar, but in the fall they will all find themselves in the harsh reality of self-preservation. Segal notes that his team is looking into long-term fund-raising projects, such as having the entire team participate in Dorm Crew.

More established teams, especially those who do not have varsity counterparts (such as Ultimate Frisbee and Rugby) have more fixed systems of funding, but maintaining financial stability could prove to be more of a challenge for newly created club teams once the Athletic Department funds run out.

Money isn’t the only perk of JV status that will be missed: several downgraded athletes regret no longer being members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). “It’s cool to be considered part of the Harvard program,” says Katherine P. Waldock ’09, a member of the newly-reclassified Club Women’s Lacrosse. Gaber, a member of Women’s JV Soccer, agrees that “a lot of people want to be able to play for Harvard and support our College.”

But along with the drawbacks of being disowned by the athletic bureaucracy of the NCAA comes a certain degree of freedom. In addition to enforcing various practice and season regulations (JV teams are not allowed to practice outside of their playing season), the NCAA forces all incoming athletes to go through a process known as “the Clearinghouse,” which involves paying to send in high school transcripts and standardized test scores.

And despite all of the hoops that JV teams must jump through per NCAA regulations, they still face trouble finding competition. Gaber notes that even though her team “had to keep up regular practices,” they only had three games in their fall season. Similarly, Segal says that in his freshman year, Men’s JV Soccer had eight or nine games, but the number dropped to three by his junior season.

“That’s not too good for a club that is supposed to be more of a legit team,” says Segal, citing his team’s frequent seven a.m. practices as evidence of their serious attitude towards athletic success.

DEVELOPING BODIES

The JV teams that have turned over are also noticing that a significant change in atmosphere comes along with their new titles.

Segal says that he found club “a lot less formal,” since they no longer have a coach and are more relaxed about missing games. The more casual attitude about the club sports has encouraged significantly more participation. Segal’s team has “recruited from a few more pools” of people as a result of the switch, including “a lot of freshmen who didn’t want to play JV.” According to Waldock, the membership of Club Women’s Lacrosse “more than tripled after being a club team.”

Although maintaining a competitive team without support from a higher body may seem daunting, Waldock says that “Harvard students are very capable, very efficient, and personally committed to [their teams],” noting that lacrosse divvied up the various administrative tasks to stay on track. “Now that people have that personal commitment the team has become a lot stronger.”

Gaber, on the other hand, though she agreed that “JV programs across the board have had a lack of commitment,” hopes that JV Women’s Soccer will maintain its JV status, even though the team is currently discussing the possibility of going club. “[Club is] so much more recreational and wouldn’t feel like a serious team,” she says. The character of the team isn’t the only issue at hand for Gaber, who is also bothered by “the apparent lack of respect [and] effort from the athletic department” for club teams.

Still, it seems that the decision to change to club status has pleased many of the affected athletes. “I think if JV had been all that I expected it to be then the change might not have been necessary, but I think it’s been a really good change for us,” Segal says. Not to mention, no more seven a.m. practices.