Organization of intramurals and club sports a frustration

Athletic administrators cite understaffing

The bulletin board in the lobby of Philips Gym is covered with fluorescent sign-up sheets for intramural soccer and basketball. Similar sign-up sheets are not common in other places of campus, however, leading some students to criticize the way intramurals, as well as club sports, are run.

Other complaints students have made about the department include difficulty in getting reimbursed for purchases, confusion over their budgets and funding, inaccessibility on the part of administrators and generally poor organization.

Theories explaining the reasons for the disorganization of intramural and club sports vary. Students cite incompetence on the part of Jeff White, director of the Recreation Center and organizer of club and intramural sports, the scope of White's responsibility and the specific needs of sports.

White said low levels of student participation are not due to a lack of effort on his part; he said Oberlin's student body is simply not athletic-minded. He also cited his busy schedule and many responsibilities.

White is responsible for running the Recreation Center, hiring student employees at the gym and organizing, running and financing club and intramural sports.

Director of Athletics Don Hunsinger said the disorganization in intramurals and club sports is due to a lack of staff in the Recreation Department. He said White's responsibilities are too broad and the department needs funding to hire an assistant director to help White.

Hunsinger did not think students' complaints are entirely unfounded. "Sometimes students do get shortchanged," he said.

"All the problems in the Recreation Department stem from it getting so big without getting more staff. Every year for seven years we've asked for another position," Hunsinger said. He said, however, that Dean of the college of Arts and Science Clayton Koppes is looking at the proposal and that action may be more likely than ever before.

"Dean Koppes and the President seem very open to things we're talking about," Hunsinger said.

"I think intramural and club sports are very important to Oberlin and I am eager to find a way to have a more effective program in these areas," Koppes said.

Some students think a solution to the problems could be a little more immediate. "Maybe the position [of director of the recreation center] should be given to someone who is competent and the powers should be expanded," Jim Woodroffe, college junior and Ultimate Frisbee player, said.

A student who wished to remain anonymous said, "I definitely think [White] doesn't do his job."

"Intramurals are terribly run. [White] puts up sign-up sheets and collects people that want to play and then puts students in charge," a student who wished to remain anonymous said. "It's laughable."

One major complaint students have concerns the limited publicity for intramural sports. White said his method of publicity is to post signs in Philips Gym and give some fliers to Resident Coordinators.

White said participation in intramurals are low, but attributes it to a lack of interest in athletics. "The make-up of the student body is not athletic-minded," he said. "For us to put flier up is futile. Those who are really interested in playing will contact an RC or come to the gym."

Woodroffe disputes this point of view. "I don't think that's the right approach at all. I think a lot of people here played sports in high school but aren't on varsity teams. A lot of people would like to play intramurals but don't know about it," he said.

The anonymous student said, "You hear about people who drop out of intramural sports all together to play varsity. That is a little backwards ... I think athletics at Oberlin all together suffer. My feeling is that most people on campus don't get enough exercise. A good strong intramural program would help that."

White said interest in physical education classes is down as well. "I'm at a loss," he said. "It is not a lack of effort on our part."

White also said that he had responded to student requests for different kinds of sports by working with the Outing Club and other groups to go on skydiving and whitewater rafting trips. He said 17 students went on a whitewater rafting trip.

Adam Shoemaker, Office of Communications intern, OC `96 and former varsity athlete, said, "In the time I've been here, there have been some problems with publicity … There are a lot of people who are disinterested, but if they see a sign they might get interested."

General disorganization of intramurals bothers some students. Woodroffe said intramural soccer is an example of the disorganization. "It's horribly unorganized. No one knows what is going to happen or when it is going to happen," he said. Woodruff said this year intramural soccer started two weeks late and extended into standard time, so games were played in near-darkness.

Alex Freuman, senior and gym employee, said some intramural sports operate well. "Softball happens to be run very well. Aside from the fact that teams tend to disintegrate, people seem to really enjoy it doing it. It is nice outside and not very competitive," he said.

Senior Jeremy Goldson, who manages sports for WOBC, said White faces some difficulty in accommodating all students' needs. "You have teams going in with an agenda. He takes a laid back approach. It is a bit of a tough job because you have to fit in all these students' schedules and agendas," he said.

White said some of the disorganization is out of his hands. "It is my job to coordinate them and hire competent people to run them. Hopefully I hire competent people," he said,

Hunsinger also said that many of the intramurals happen in the afternoon when White has already left the office, making it hard for him to oversee them. He cited this as another reason to hire an assistant director for the Recreation Center.

Another issue students in both intramural and club sports cite is the difficulty they have getting in touch with White. Many students complain that White is only in his office for limited hours. White said he has responsibilites that take him out of his office.

"His typical working day is something like 9:30 to 11, so it's very hard to get in touch with him," Woodroffe said.

White said that he is out of the office because he teaches three physical education classes, billiards, racquet ball and racquet sports. "I've got classes and meetings. I don't know how that got fabricated," White said.

White said that when he is not in his office, his student workers are. "There's always someone in my office," White said. He said if students leave a message for him he returns it.

President of the Women's Rugby Team and college junior Tara Ikenouye said getting in touch with White is very hard to do. "He doesn't return phone calls and you can never reach him on the first try," she said. "I think he should be there as a resource for intramural and club sports and I feel he works against us more than for us."

Members of club sports have other complains about the way the system works. A member of the water polo team who wished to remain anonymous said their club asked for money from White and "he turned us down flat."

White said he has a budget of $9,000 for 11 club sports, which can be a stretch. He said teams need to submit a budget and he will review it and let the club know which of their requests can be honored. "Some expectations are unrealistic," White said. He said he will usually pay for gas mileage, tournament fees and league fees.

Woodroffe said trying to get reimbursements filed with the Controllers Office is an ordeal. "Generally someone has to sit there and wait for him to sign it and take it to Hunsinger and take it to the Controllers themselves," he said.

Woodroffe also said he has gone in to ask about a reimbursement to see it piled under papers on White's desk.

Many club sports receive funding from the Student Finance Committee (SFC) as well as from the Recreation Department. Becca Barnes, junior and treasurer of SFC, said the committee gave club sports over $10,000 this year.

"SFC doesn't know what to do about club sports. It is unclear if it is our responsibility to make club sports happen," she said.

Barnes also said there seemed to be little rationale behind which club sports receives funding from the Recreation Department and which didn't. "If he is a funding body I feel he should go through a system and do it systematically like Forum Board."

The anonymous student said it seems backwards for a sport to go to the SFC for money instead of the Athletic Department. He also said, "I don't think it's money. I don't think [the department] is suffering from lack of equipment. We're suffering from a lack on initiative."

In terms of funding, Hunsinger said he is also proposing that more of the revenue from the Recreation Center being returned to the Recreation Department's budget. "They are using your building. You should be getting some benefit from that," he said.