SPORTS
STRENGTH & POWER
Several student organizations offer a variety of ways to stay active and find a niche in fitness. BY EMMA STEFANICK | PHOTOS BY ANDREW THOMPSON
FINDING YOUR FIT: CHAARG With over 200 members, Ohio University’s CHAARG chapter is one of the most popular fitness groups on campus. CHAARG, short for, “Changing Health, Attitudes + Actions to Recreate Girls,” is a female health and wellness organization that strives to help women “find their fit” on college campuses across the U.S. “The whole point of the organization is to help people along their fitness journey and find their favorite way to sweat,” says Lexi Garvey, a sophomore studying integrated language arts and OU CHAARG’s vice president of membership. Every week, the group has several events including a full group workout that is open to all members, a small group workout of eight to 10 girls catered to their individual schedules and socials for group bonding, an important aspect of the CHAARG community. “CHAARG is here to just make people feel like they have a little solidarity and guidance,” Garvey says. “And so it helps you, in my opinion, feel like you’re not alone.” For the first three weeks of each semester, CHAARG hosts info sessions and free trial workouts for anyone interested in joining. Memberships can also be purchased both before and after recruitment. It costs $47 per semester, and Garvey suggests trying the organization for one semester in order to get the full experience and understand the meaning behind the organization.
BUILDING MUSCLE, BUILDING CONNECTIONS: OHIO BARBELL CLUB Despite competing in national tournaments across the state and being predominately male, the Ohio Barbell Club has no requirements to join other than an openness to learn and a positive attitude. The weight-lifting club welcomes people from all backgrounds and with all levels of experience. “We’re more than happy to teach, more than happy to learn, as long as you’re more than happy to work on it,”
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says Caleb Moore, a senior studying nursing and the vice president of the Ohio Barbell Club. The club focuses primarily on competitive weightlifting, specifically powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, and competing in United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) and International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) tournaments throughout the year. In addition to tournaments, members have the opportunity to work at the meets and grow within the sport — some even become judges. The club also has a partnership with Columbus Lifting Company, who has been a sponsor of the Ohio Barbell Club. “The focus of the team outside of competition is to foster a good training environment, to bring some intensity, to bring a lot of years of training knowledge to the table in order to help the members be safe in the sport, get them on a program and help them progress,” Moore says. Moore adds that the best way to get involved with the club is to come to a practice and converse with the club’s current members. For more information about the organization and meeting times, contact the Ohio Barbell Club via Bobcat Connect.
EN-GARDE... PRET... ALLEZ: OHIO OLYMPIC FENCING CLUB The Ohio Olympic Fencing Club works to instill fun in the sport of fencing. The three styles of fencing—sabre, epee and foil—are the same forms which can be seen during the Olympics every four years. The Ohio Olympic Fencing Club participates in competitions at other schools in Ohio and bordering states in addition to hosting competitions biannually on campus. Despite the seemingly intense nature of the club, Helen Stec, a sophomore studying neuroscience and the club president, says practices are enjoyable and relaxed. “By no means do we expect anyone to go to every practice because we meet three times a week,” Stec says. “As long as you gained something and you had fun, that’s what we go for.”
