NATCHITOCHES – The Club Sports program at Northwestern State University is continuing to grow with three more sports added and more on the way.
NSU has seven club sports with more than 100 students participating. New teams in volleyball, tennis and chess have recently been formed to join established teams in rowing, bass fishing, archery and Esports. Students are setting up club teams in golf, disc golf and powerlifting.
According to Northwestern Associate Director of Competitive Sports Dr. Jason Stelly, a club sport is a registered student organization formed by a group of students that share interests in a specific sport or physical activity. He said their purpose “is to encourage participation and engage its members in competitive, extramural sports.”
These sports can be competitive or recreational. Each club sport is founded, organized, managed and maintained by student leaders.
“Club Sports provides opportunities for students to develop leadership, management and organizational skills, as well as competition, physical activity and social well-being for all participants,” said Stelly. “Joining a club sport gives students a balance of having collegiate sport experience without the intensity of a varsity athletic team. Club sports are a great opportunity to continue an athletic career or learn new skills while also building new friendships.”
Stelly said these clubs can compete with other clubs and organizations of other colleges and universities. Club sports fundraise to cover almost all their expenses, and teams can request limited funding. There is a small student fee dedicated to club sports.
NSU’s fishing team is nationally ranked, and the rowing team has produced All-Americans which gets positive attention for the university.
The students who set up the newest club sports said they did so because of their love of the sport.
The volleyball team was formed last June and has almost two dozen participants, most of whom are also active in a number of other campus organizations
“I formed the team because of my love of volleyball,” said Michael Bertrand, a senior accounting major from Lake Charles, who leads the program. “I’ve only been playing for about two and a half years. Like most guys on the team, I didn’t know there was a league in this region men could compete in.”
Bertrand says NSU has two men’s teams and just one women’s team. NSU mainly competes against other Louisiana colleges and universities. He said the team has been competitive and recently finished third in a tournament at UL-Lafayette.
The chess club has five members and plans to compete against other schools in the future.
“I formed the chess club because of my love for the game,” said Aniyah Smith, a junior nursing major from Shreveport. “I had only been playing for one year prior to forming the club and I thought to myself if I love the game, I’m sure there are others that do too.”
The club tennis team is a coed organization that allows students from all experience levels to play and learn more about tennis.
“I played tennis throughout all my years in high school so going to club tennis practices allows me to keep that skill alive and is the reason I joined,” said Lia Portillo Cantarero, a senior communication major from Galliano.
The tennis team is not competing against other colleges and universities at this time.
For more information on club sports at NSU, contact Stelly at stellyj@nsula.edu or Club Sports Coordinator Courtney Chancellor at chancellorc@nsula.edu.
