Two teams have applied to become competitive clubs for the 2011-2012 season, but Carleton’s department of recreation and athletics has no money to give them, confirmed Bob Rumscheidt, manager of interuniversity programs.
The application deadline for new club teams was March 31. There was an application for a dance team and another for a women’s curling team, Rumscheidt said. He also said that no new teams applied last year.
The department is reviewing how it runs competitive clubs, he said.
For the first time in at least three years, the athletics department had a risk management audit done, which is completed by a contracted company and looks at all aspects of the way a department runs, he said. The department found there is an increase in the resources needed to run competitive clubs and the cost of playing on a club team may increase for students.
“The rules have slightly changed, so we’re trying to figure out the best way forward,” Rumscheidt said.
The department is now reviewing the way competitive clubs are run in response to the audit’s recommendations, he said, adding the process is ongoing.
“They’re saying, ‘You need to change the way that you’re doing business,’ and the reality is that changing the way we do business means we may not be able to offer some things,” he said.
Some club teams, such as archery, cheerleading and the prospective dance team, are not Ontario University Athletics sports and should be run by the Carleton University Students’ Association as opposed to the athletics department, he said.
The exact changes have yet to be decided upon, as has the list of competitive club teams for next year, he said. The department will decide on next year’s teams over the summer.
While there is little money for new clubs, there is funding available for existing club teams for next year, Rumscheidt said.
“We already have a small amount of money that’s set aside for the clubs,” he said, “but I’m not taking it away from existing clubs.”
Norman Adams is the head coach of the women’s fastpitch team, one of Carleton’s nine competitive club teams. He has no complaints with the way the university has worked with his team, he said.
“[Athletics] has done quite well by the women’s fastpitch program,” Adams said. “We’re funded exactly the same as the men’s baseball team. So they don’t get a dime more or a dime less than we do.”
However, the team would like to get more money for travel expenses, he said, because they play against 12 teams and go all over Ontario for their games.
“Our travel budget is fairly huge and it isn’t even close to covered by the university. From that perspective, we’d like to get more, but we’re not going to,” Adams said, adding the university has been helpful and hasn’t caused the fastpitch team any trouble.
The cost of the fastpitch team is mostly covered by fundraisers and player fees, Adams said, but the athletics department funding does cover the cost of new equipment.
Even with little funding from the athletics department, competitive teams shouldn’t suffer in quality because they are run by students, so the quality depends on the students and coaches involved, Rumscheidt said.
“Our reality is we can’t offer all things to all people,” he said. “The financial and human resources means we just can’t and that frustrates some students, but we run a very good intramural program and we run 10 varsity sports. We just can’t offer everything.”