Jasmine Casimir // Asst. Sports Director
Club sports give you a reason to get out of your dorm and widen your social circle. They also allow you to stay in shape while relieving some of the stress that academic life can bring.
Juan Vasquez, the vice president of the rock climbing club, said he has created an environment within his club for that exact purpose.
“We provide a different point of view with people at the university being stressed all day,” said the international relations and economics major. “You can relieve that same stress by joining our club and rock climb.”
In intercollegiate club sports, there are no athletic scholarships, no roaring crowds and minimal adult leadership.
Students conduct practices, make team rules, raise money for uniforms and game officials, and manage paperwork. It’s college athletics without the pageantry or prerogative, and that’s the way athletes in club sports like it.
“I like how we weren’t pressured into dedicating so many hours into the team,” said senior sports and fitness major Montrell Robinson.
The former member of the intramural basketball team said it’s flexible, fun, and it’s not as competitive as division sports.
College sports aren’t limited to the high-caliber NCAA division sports that you watch from the student section or on television. There are a few degrees of competition, ranging from intramural team activities to club sports and University-owned teams.
For many, the biggest benefit aside from continuing to play a beloved sport is the social connection.
“It’s nice because you see the guys around campus and since they’re on a team with you, you have a relationship with them that you don’t have with a lot of other people,” former member of the baseball club and senior psychology major Carl Alteme said. “I highly recommend joining a club sport, even if you just want to join for new friends.”
Clubs have been so enjoyable for many college students that if given the chance to turn their teams into fully financed varsity sports, most said they would decline.
“It would be less fun,” Robinson said. “We probably wouldn’t be involved for the same reasons because varsity sports have restrictions, caps, and incentives. But club sports eliminate the barriers and let anyone in to be free and do their best.”
If the University doesn’t have a sport that you’re interested in, you can also create your own club if you gather enough people who are interested and follow procedures laid out by FIU.
For a full list of club sports, visit studentaffairs.fiu.edu.
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