On Thursday, March 29, Mount Allison University club sports got together for the second annual banquet to celebrate the accomplishments of athletes who are not on varsity teams.
The event was organized by the Club Sport Alliance. One of the organizers, Krista Nix of the women’s curling team, said that this relatively new committee hopes to initiate more events between all club sports.
“The Club Sports Alliance consists of one captain/representative from each team,” said Nix. “The goal is to develop it more in the coming years and do more with it than just the banquet.”
The event brought together the eight club teams: cross-country, curling, dance, field hockey, lacrosse, men’s rugby, women’s rugby and Ultimate Frisbee.
Dual club/varsity athlete Jenecca Crossman said that this night is just as special as the Vvarsity Bbanquet. “It’s awesome how much the club teams have started to gain recognition and support across campus,” she said Crossman. “[At the banquet], you feel the sense of community, as each club wouldn’t have started without the hard work of the students involved.”
The evening began with opening remarks from Pierre Arsenault, director of athletics, welcoming the athletes at Jennings Hall. Following this, the leaders of each club presented their each team’s respective awards.
Following the awards, there was a chance to take photos with Mt. A athletics photographer Paul Lynch, creating memories for the evening.
“It’s a pretty special event,” said Nix. “Club sports get little support from the school, so doing something like this helps us feel like part of a community and like we have a place in the school as athletes.”
The Cclub Bbanquet picked up more traction this year as the clubs are being recognized both on a provincial and national level. The Club Sport Alliance will be looking forward to hosting such events for years to come and continuing to expand clubs sports at Mt. A.
