Women’s club volleyball Tier II status request put on hold

The women's club volleyball team's recent request for Tier II club sport recognition was put on hold due to constraints on staff and practice space, according to Assistant Director of Athletics Branwen Smith−King.

"We didn't deny them, but we didn't accept them," Smith-King said.

The Club Sport Oversight Committee, a part of the Athletics Department, decided to put the team's application for club recognition on hold and plans to reconsider it next semester, Smith−King, who oversees Tier II club sports, explained.

Though the group has existed unofficially since 2009, this marks the first year that it has sought recognition, according to team captains senior Dana Cheriff and junior Maria Parinova.

"We looked into it the first year and it looked like you really needed to be a more established team and have everything in order. We decided to build up the team first," Cheriff said.

The team has grown over the past few years, from 20 students attending the team's first general interest meeting in 2009, to 40 this fall.

"It was very relaxed in the first stages," Parinova said.

This year, 17 girls out of approximately 25 who tried out were granted spots on the team. The team consists of eight freshmen, three sophomores, three juniors and three seniors.

The team has over the past three years competed in tournaments and organized scrimmages against local teams.

In its application, the group expressed a desire to compete in the future in additional tournaments held in New England, but had no plans to host tournaments, eliminating host liability for the university. They also wanted practice space twice a week in Chase Gym.

A lack of campus athletic facilities forced the committee to refuse the team's application, Smith−King explained.

"Right now, we need to stop and look at how are we going to move forward and support these programs, especially the indoor sports, when we don't have enough facilities," she said. "It's impossible to give them time in the gym because we have so many other priorities."

Currently, the only approved indoor Tier II clubs are self−defense teams, which are able to practice in Jackson Gym, and men's ice hockey, which rents facilities off−campus, Smith−King noted.

In previous years, the volleyball team practiced wherever they could find space on campus, Parinova said. This semester, they have not been practicing regularly due to lack of space, she explained.

A lack of athletics staff also makes it difficult to accept another Tier II club sport, Smith−King explained. While the demand for Tier II clubs has increased in recent years, the Athletics Department does not have a full−time staff member who can focus primarily on club sports, she said.

The team is currently working to find a coach and considering renting space at a gymnasium at a local high school, such as Medford High School, for next semester, according to Parinova.

If the team can obtain practice space off campus independently, the committee will be more likely to approve their request next semester, Smith−King added.

"I want to make sure that if or when we approve them they have a space to practice," she said.

Parinova said that the team hopes that their request will be granted in the spring.

"I'm happy that it's a least a possibility that we will be recognized in the future," she said.