Let’s rant about funding

Somewhere in the CKHS lies an equipment utopia (maybe)./David Shankbone

Varsity club team blues

Which sports teams at this glorious university get funded by the University of Regina? (Jeopardy music please) You guessed it! The varsity teams! For those of you who are clueless as to what I’m talking about, or those of you who just simply fail to peruse the U of R Athletics webpage to find out, a whole big ol’ bunch of teams make up the varsity crew. These teams include men’s and women’s basketball, cross-country, hockey, swimming, track and field, wrestling, football, and women’s soccer (I’m fairly certain I got all of them…if I didn’t, to those I offend, I am deeply sorry).

Now, second question: Which sports teams at this oh so illustrious school do not get funding? (Again, please, cue the Jeopardy music) Correct! All the varsity club teams! Even though the word “varsity” is present in the “varsity club” title, these teams are not funded by the U of R. Sad. Thus, U of R cheerleading, men’s and women’s rugby 7’s, ultimate Frisbee, synchronized swimming (yes, we have this sport here), rowing, and women’s softball lack funding from the U of R.

I personally think this situation is BS. As a member of the Cougar women’s softball team, I face the wrath of zero funding along with my team every year. Amidst all our studies, part-time work, practices, and games, we have to come up with fundraisers, fundraisers, and more fundraisers to pay for our clothing, our trips to Nationals, and any trips we decide to take to the U.S. in the spring. Lovely, isn’t it? Not so much.

Now, don’t get me wrong, VCAB graciously gives us a significant amount of funding, and for that we – along with the other club teams, I’m sure – are eternally grateful. However, this money, as awesome and as helpful as it is, does not even come close to paying for our expenses. Club teams, in my humble opinion, deserve funding from the U of R as much as the varsity teams do. Like, seriously, a bunch of us killer club teams win our divisions, go to Nationals, place at Nationals, and even win Nationals. How many of the varsity teams accomplish these feats? Very few.

I’m willing to bet if the U of R had decided not to build another new sign a block away from the new sign they built last year, they’d have plenty of funds to put towards…hmmm…who knows? Maybe deserving club teams that could sincerely benefit from the extra dolla’ dolla’ bills? Or, that incredibly well-spent sign money could at least pay for us lowly club folks to travel in busses instead of crappy minivans. Trust me, eight hours in a minivan is basically slow death.

Any who, ultimately, the U of R club teams deserve and should get just as much funding as the varsity teams do. Will this ever happen? Probably not. Especially if the U of R continues spending loads of money on aesthetic appearance instead of on supporting and advancing valuable and successful club teams. End rant.