Sport Clubs

Training and Leadership of Sport Club Officers

February 05, 2013

Christopher Schmoldt
Assistant Director, Sport Clubs
Florida State University

Sport Clubs at Florida State University (FSU) are registered student organizations that have been formed for the purpose of competing and or participating in a particular sport. Each club’s level of competition or activity is unique and is dependent on club leadership. Sport Clubs at FSU are student initiated, student-led and student-managed, providing an opportunity for the development of leadership and other transferable skills, and to contribute to the overall college experience.

Florida State has 45 instructional, recreational, and competitive Sport Clubs for the 2012-2013 school years ranging from Lacrosse to Rugby to Bass Fishing. Sport Clubs at FSU are required to travel or host annual seminars in order to remain an active club within Sport Club Program. This helps to differentiate them from the 600 other organizations on campus. So for example, in the case of Martial Arts groups who may not travel as a group to competitions, they will host a seminar each week with an instructor from their discipline to provide demonstrations to students.

FSU employees 6 student club program assistants who are supervised by a full time professional Sport Club Program Director, who in turn is supervised by the Assistant Director of Intramural Sports and Sport Clubs within the Campus Recreation Department. Due to the number, size and diversity or our Sport Clubs, each club is required to have a minimum of three active officers or leaders of their organization who go through training each year. We require a President, Treasurer, and Safety/Travel Officer while also encouraging the use of a Vice-President, and Secretary.
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Sport Club Leadership — Do They Get the ‘Point’?

February 05, 2013

How a Point System Can Assist with Club Compliance

James Wayne, M.S.
Coordinator-Sport Clubs
Illinois State University

Do you have difficulty with Sport Clubs not attending meetings or submitting paperwork by established deadlines? Who doesn’t, right? Whether it is forgetfulness, busyness or complete disregard for the program; some groups just find a way to not get it done.

As part of our Sport Club program assessment and benchmarking project with state, peer and national institutions completed this past spring and summer 2012 at Illinois State University, two of the many new items we completed and implemented this fall were our:

– Points-Based Funding Model
– Compliance Program

The two processes work hand-in-hand to celebrate club successes and reward clubs for compliance with department expectations. We have tried to focus on the carrot…and not just the stick (which is still necessary sometimes)!

The points-based funding model was developed from a format utilized by the University of Central Florida (thank you Catherine Garland). Clubs earn points for submission of documents by established deadlines and attendance at meetings as outlined by our Sport Club Handbook and annual calendar, amongst other items. At the conclusion of the academic year, those “points” are converted to student-fee allocation dollars for the clubs. Two-thirds of our regular season funding budget is allocated based on the points their club has earned in the current year toward their upcoming academic year’s budget. It is a bit of delayed gratification at work, but it encourages our clubs to have strong, committed leadership each and every year. We utilize 10 total categories including club travel, registration, trainings, meetings and club sanctions in which clubs can earn points.
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Minimizing Risk Through Classification

February 05, 2013

Lexi Chaput
Assistant Director, Informal Sports & Student Personnel
Campus Recreational Sports
Indiana University

As another school year settles in and club sports get back in the swing of things, many universities and professionals are concerned with the level of safety and supervision that is being provided for the students participating. Although there is no way to ensure 100% safety at all times, there are some tools you can create and use to be sure the major risks involved in the various activities are thought through and minimized.

Classifying risk can assist a department and university in determining what type of risk they willing to assume, the level of risk they are already assuming and what measures should be taken to minimize the risk.

If you are not already assessing the risk of your club sports using one or more matrices, this is a great opportunity to start creating documents that can be used to put a quantitative value to an activity, classify it in a category, and have an easier way to determine the requirements that club must meet to safely be a part of the department and university.

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Webinar on Concussions

September 18, 2012

Bob Liebau
Associate Director of Campus Recreation
University of Mary Washington

A recent article in September issue of Athletic Business entitled MAKING HEADLINES — THE CONCUSSIONS EPIDEMIC RETURNS TO A FAMILIAR THEME: HELMET SAFETY, author Michael Popke points out some recent changes to the game of football based on our new understanding of the seriousness of concussions. Pop Warner Football now bans head-to-head hits. A new high school and college rule requires any player losing his helmet on the field of play to leave the field for one play before returning. And it’s not just football. We are beginning to see more headgear worn by soccer players. More than 20 NFL and NHL have added Kevlar gear to their equipment and at least two dozen pros are using Concussion Reducing Technology (CRT) pads to their helmets.

Why? In the hope that such measures will make sport safer for all participants regardless of the level of play. But despite the best efforts, the reality is that concussions can happen to any person, at any time, in any sport. Are you prepared for that? How are you going to deal with concussions that happen in your Sport Clubs or Intramural programs?

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Eagle C.A.R.E. — A Sport Club Concussion Management Program: Part 1

March 27, 2012

Bob Liebau
Associate Director of Campus Recreation
University of Mary Washington

Editor’s Note: In this two part series, the Eagle C.A.R.E Concussion Management Program is divided into two parts (a) Education and Baseline Testing and (b) Concussion Management & Assessment and Post Concussion Treatment Plan.

Concussions awareness has increased astronomically in recent years; professional ice hockey players and football players have become highly visible icons for the need for better understanding of the injury, management of the injury, and guideline for return-to-play decisions. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Athletic Trainers Association and other professional and medical organizations have established guidelines for concussion management. Concussions can be serious and potentially life threatening injuries. Research agrees that these injuries can have serious consequences later in life if not managed properly at the time of the initial injury. However, before going any further, it is important to understand what a concussion is.

A concussion is also referred to as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The injury is caused by when there is a direct or indirect physical insult to the brain. As a result, impairment of mental functions such as memory, balance and equilibrium, and vision may occur. It is important to understand that many sport-related concussions do not result in a loss of consciousness. This predicates that all suspected head injuries must be taken seriously.

The Department of Campus Recreation at the University of Mary Washington realized a record number of reported concussions and one death (not a UMW student-athlete) during the 2010-11 academic years. This emphasized the importance of having an appropriate concussion management program to safeguard the well-being of all student-athletes participating in Sport Club Programs. The result is the Department of Campus Recreation’s Eagle CARE Concussion Management Program. The program was developed in collaboration with Mary Washington Healthcare/Mary Washington Hospital and its Neuroscience Center for Excellence.

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Eagle C.A.R.E. — A Sport Club Concussion Management Program: Part 2

March 22, 2012

Bob Liebau
Associate Director of Campus Recreation
University of Mary Washington

Editor’s Note: This article is part two in a series documenting the Eagle C.A.R.E Concussion Management Program. Part 1 focused on the ‘Education and Baseline Testing’ part of the program. The current article deals with’ Concussion Management & Assessment’ and the ‘Post Concussion Treatment Plan’.

Concussion Management and Assessment
The summary items for this component are:

  1. Student-athlete is immediately removed from play
  2. Sport Club first responder or coach will provide sideline assessment following Pocket SCAT2 guidelines (http://www.irbplayerwelfare.com/pdfs/Pocket_SCAT2_EN.pdf). This pocket assessment tool provides a step-by-step process for identifying a concussion. It is endorsed by FIFA, IIHF, IOC, and the IRB.
  3. A student-athlete that looses consciousness or whose condition worsens will immediately be transported to Mary Washington Hospital by ambulance/rescue squad
  4. A student-athlete who is conscious but has exhibited signs and/or symptoms of a concussion is to be referred to Mary Washington Hospital for evaluation
  5. Student-athlete will notify physician upon arrival of ImPACT data availability

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