If there's a will there's a way, and so it goes with the Track and Field club at UCSC.
Striving to compete against Division I, II and III schools, yet lacking in any of the facilities to coordinate practices, the Track and Field Club fits its work to the lower east fields awkward angles and its inconsistently sloping or inclined track. Long jumpers can sometimes be seen gliding into volleyball courts while sprinters handoff batons at make shift checkpoints.
Yave Guzman is the Track and Field Club President, and like so many sports enthusiasts, finds more obstacles than accommodations on a UCSC campus erected in 1965. He believes UCSC could benefit from a more robust athletics program.
"I haven't heard of the school building any track field or any sort of stadium that would benefit not only track and field, but also benefit the soccer team and rugby team as well," Guzman said. "Such a stadium could provide a needed boost in school spirit to the athletes on campus that find our athletic facilities lacking."
Ryan Andrews, the Director of OPERS at UCSC, noted the financial difficulties surrounding the construction of new facilities on the second youngest UC campus. Interestingly the decision to construct new facilities has always fallen on the vote of the student body.
"When Cal and UCLA were founded, PE programs were state funded, many years ago when the state stopped funding these programs those schools already had the infrastructure in place," Andrews said. "Whereas Santa Cruz had barely been constructed, and not with the vision of a prominent athletic program on its agenda."
In 1998, the wellness center was placed on a ballot before students as the third and least costly alternative to an athletic facility. The east Field Gym was initially the universities first dining hall. In 2004, students again turned down a proposition to construct an indoors facility-complete with climbing walls, and place bleachers, restrooms and amenities around the lower east field.
Andrews is optimistic that in the near future a multi-use space will be constructed, in addition to replacing the sod of the east field with artificial turf.
What drives Guzman and Geoff Foley, the club's Head Coach, to push their program further is simply a love of sports. This past year alone Foley coached three local wrestling teams in addition to Slug Track and Field. He retired in 2001, and has never, for a moment-not coached.
"I'm rededicating my efforts to this club and sticking to it," Foley said.
As a member of the Track and Field club in 2007 Paul Tran remembers working around the lack of official track and field amenities.
"Santa Cruz obviously has a really unique team, last year it was nice having enough people to field a competitive team," Tran said. "It's just makes it more difficult not having the resources to practice with readily available on campus."
The team frequents Soquel High and other local schools to utilize tracks unavailable to them at the University.
Guzman finds enthusiasm for the program wide-ranging.
"We have gotten responses from incoming freshmen who want to do track next year," Guzman said. "And in our meets we meet community college transfer students who want to continue their track season here at UCSC."
"We love the Division III sport philosophy, we don't want special treatment, we don't want DI athletics," Andrews said. "Just facilities to accommodate the teams we have."
"There's talk of incorporating some kind of track into the plan for the refurbishing of the lower athletic field," Foley said. "Maybe just painting 400m track lanes on the synthetic field but, particularly in the present fiscal environment the school finds itself in, we're not holding our breath."
Striving to compete against Division I, II and III schools, yet lacking in any of the facilities to coordinate practices, the Track and Field Club fits its work to the lower east fields awkward angles and its inconsistently sloping or inclined track. Long jumpers can sometimes be seen gliding into volleyball courts while sprinters handoff batons at make shift checkpoints.
Yave Guzman is the Track and Field Club President, and like so many sports enthusiasts, finds more obstacles than accommodations on a UCSC campus erected in 1965. He believes UCSC could benefit from a more robust athletics program.
"I haven't heard of the school building any track field or any sort of stadium that would benefit not only track and field, but also benefit the soccer team and rugby team as well," Guzman said. "Such a stadium could provide a needed boost in school spirit to the athletes on campus that find our athletic facilities lacking."
Ryan Andrews, the Director of OPERS at UCSC, noted the financial difficulties surrounding the construction of new facilities on the second youngest UC campus. Interestingly the decision to construct new facilities has always fallen on the vote of the student body.
"When Cal and UCLA were founded, PE programs were state funded, many years ago when the state stopped funding these programs those schools already had the infrastructure in place," Andrews said. "Whereas Santa Cruz had barely been constructed, and not with the vision of a prominent athletic program on its agenda."
In 1998, the wellness center was placed on a ballot before students as the third and least costly alternative to an athletic facility. The east Field Gym was initially the universities first dining hall. In 2004, students again turned down a proposition to construct an indoors facility-complete with climbing walls, and place bleachers, restrooms and amenities around the lower east field.
Andrews is optimistic that in the near future a multi-use space will be constructed, in addition to replacing the sod of the east field with artificial turf.
What drives Guzman and Geoff Foley, the club's Head Coach, to push their program further is simply a love of sports. This past year alone Foley coached three local wrestling teams in addition to Slug Track and Field. He retired in 2001, and has never, for a moment-not coached.
"I'm rededicating my efforts to this club and sticking to it," Foley said.
As a member of the Track and Field club in 2007 Paul Tran remembers working around the lack of official track and field amenities.
"Santa Cruz obviously has a really unique team, last year it was nice having enough people to field a competitive team," Tran said. "It's just makes it more difficult not having the resources to practice with readily available on campus."
The team frequents Soquel High and other local schools to utilize tracks unavailable to them at the University.
Guzman finds enthusiasm for the program wide-ranging.
"We have gotten responses from incoming freshmen who want to do track next year," Guzman said. "And in our meets we meet community college transfer students who want to continue their track season here at UCSC."
"We love the Division III sport philosophy, we don't want special treatment, we don't want DI athletics," Andrews said. "Just facilities to accommodate the teams we have."
"There's talk of incorporating some kind of track into the plan for the refurbishing of the lower athletic field," Foley said. "Maybe just painting 400m track lanes on the synthetic field but, particularly in the present fiscal environment the school finds itself in, we're not holding our breath."
