Club sports at Cal State Long Beach are struggling to gain publicity as a result of on-campus advertising restrictions.
Associated Students Inc. Senator-at-large Vanessa Mendoza said a student concerned about club sports’ lack of publicity contacted her during the second week of school.
In addition, team leaders of the belly-dancing and ice hockey teams on campus also expressed their concerns about getting publicity for their teams. The concern has resulted from restrictions on where clubs may place flyers on campus.
“One of the few places flyers can be posted is in the [University Student Union], but it’s only for on-campus events, and most of the club sports hold their events off-campus,” said April Sanchez, president of Beach Bellies, CSULB’s belly-dancing team.
Sanchez said one reason why her club wants more publicity is to recruit more members.
“It is a fun and healthy activity that can help improve your poise and confidence, and I just want people to be able to take advantage that,” she said.
Captain of the ice hockey team James Robelotto said that most times, people are unaware that an ice hockey team exists on campus.
“We advertise through local newspapers and pass out flyers … but it would be nice if they didn’t put restrictions on where we could advertise,” he said.
Ice hockey is one of the most expensive teams to join on campus, with club fees as high as $2,600 per member, according the CSULB website. Robelotto said ice time at V Rinks Lakewood, where the team practices, adds up to nearly $50,000 a year for the entire club.
Robelotto said that more publicity would mean more attendees at their games, which would help give the team a bigger budget to work with.
Mendoza said she believes the concern should be addressed.
“Many of our teams have been successful in the past and didn’t get the recognition they deserve,” she said.
Beach Crew, the on-campus rowing teams, has participated in the grand final at the American Collegiate Rowing Association’s National Championship, with one team finishing in fourth place, according to the CSULB website.
In addition, the roller hockey team competes in one of the five national regions in the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association, according to the CSULB website. The team won the Division I championship in 2011.
Seventeen archers on the archery team have been named as All-American Collegiate Archers, the highest honor for collegiate archers in the nation, according to the website.
Director of Club Sports and Recreation Rita Hayes said there are 40 active club teams with rowing having the largest membership, 60, and kung-fu with the smallest, 15.
“We are the largest club sports program in the CSU system … and we try to promote our teams the best that we can,” Hayes said.