SFA Rec Insider

Stephen F. Austin State University

Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham The Man Behind the New Campus Rec Scholarship Page 3

Volume 2, Issue 1 November 2010 - January 2011

Fitness Through The Ages Be fit at any age!

Q&A With An OP Trip Leader Page 5

Letter from the

F

Director

irst off, I’d like to say welcome to the SFA Campus Recreation Alumni newsletter! Next I should probably introduce myself.

My name is Ken Morton, and I am the new Director of Campus Recreation at SFA. For those of you who do not know, SFA has built a fantastic recreation facility and program here on campus. Opened in 2007, the Student Recreation Center houses all of the Campus Recreation programs including Wellness, Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs, Fitness, Outdoor Pursuits, Aquatics, and Informal Recreation. We have over 12,000 visits per week, and the numbers keep growing.

We have created this newsletter as a way of staying connected to the thousands of SFA Alumni who participated in and benefitted from their recreational experience while at SFA. Many of you who played in the SFA Intramural leagues will recall how much fun you had competing and making friendships along the way. You may also recall that the Intramural Department was led for over 40 years by Dr. Ray Worsham. In honor of his many years of service to the students of SFA, Campus Recreation has created an endowed scholarship named the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship will be given to a deserving student employee of Campus Recreation each year. You can learn more about the scholarship in this issue of the newsletter.

We will have many other opportunities for our alumni to get involved with the Campus Recreation Department in the months and years to come. For now, enjoy the trip down memory lane and learn about some of the great programs we offer here at SFA.

2010 Campus Recreation Staff Ken Morton Director Janice Casper Office Manager Kelley Consford Administrative Asst.

Kenneth Norris Facilities & Membership Services Michael Maningas Outdoor Pursuits & Safety Debbie Norris Fitness, Wellness, & Aquatics

Axe Em Jacks,

Elizabeth Ross Promotions & Sponsorships

Ken Morton Director of Campus Recreation

Brian Mills Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs, & Camps

1817 Wilson Drive • Nacogdoches, Texas 75962 Phone: (936) 468-3507 • campusrec@sfasu.edu Page 1

IMPORTANT EVENTS

This semester, Campus Recreation has been a place to empower yourself in all areas of life: physical, emotional, intellectual, cultural, environmental, spiritual, and financial. You can see how each of our program areas enhances each of these dimensions in the 2010 Fall Program Guide on our website www.sfasu.edu/campusrec. v

2010 NIRSA NCCS Regional Flag Football Tournament back at SFA for 3rd straight year SFA will be hosting its third straight NIRSA NCCS Regional Flag Football Tournament the weekend of November 5-7. The university has been honored to host this event since 2008, and every year it has gotten bigger and better. SFA has had the largest turnout of women’s and co-rec teams in the country, and the men’s division has been full of great teams. In 2008, SFA hosted 61 teams, in 2009 hosted 64 teams, and this year hopes to break 70 total teams. This tournament will also bring in close to 80 non-SFA staff members to officiate and work the event. The regional tournament in NIRSA Region 4 is traditionally a powerhouse of teams in all divisions (multiple women’s national championships from SFA and Sam Houston since 2000), co-rec national champions (in 2008) and men’s quarter and semifinalists (multiple finalists since 2000). As competitive as the teams are, the student officials who travel to this tournament also compete for spots to travel to the national tournament. This region has also produced some of the best intramural officials in the country (dozens of All-American officials since 2000, most notably Brian Mills and Joseph Wise, both currently at SFA).

Alumni Relations Committee Hosts 1st Annual 5K Fun Run The 8 a.m. start time and near-freezing temperatures did not faze the 67 runners and walkers who attended the Campus Recreation Alumni Committee’s first Homecoming 5K Fun Run/Walk on Saturday, October 30. Over $1,200 was raised to benefit the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Endowed Scholarship. The 5K route started and ended at Wilson Drive and highlighted the newly-reconstructed and reopened bike trails close to campus. Engraved axe handles were given as prizes to the various award winners.The Jewels of Jacks earned the Best-Dressed and Largest Participating Group awards. Norm and Mary Markworth earned 1st and 2nd place for the best-guessed walkers’ times. Kendall Whitbeck and Nicole Adams won the men’s and women’s Non-SFA Associates divisions, while Bobby Krywalski and Eden Howard earned 1st place for the men’s and women’s SFA Associates divisions.

Jennifer Martin rounds a turn at the Fun Run.

Want to find other ways to empower yourself? Check out our blog! You can also find SFA Campus Recreation on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

sfacampusrec.blogspot.com

sfacampusrec

student rec centercampus rec

twitter.com/campusrec Page 2

Connecting the

Past with the

B

efore there were the Intramural Fields.

Before there was the Rec Center.

Before there was intramural horseshoes, tennis, soccer, flickerball, or racquetball. Before most of what we see in existence at Campus Recreation today, Raymond Lee Worsham was participating in intramural sports at SFA. “Football, basketball, volleyball, and softball. That’s all we had.” The only individual sports were handball and badminton.

After playing two years of college basketball at Navarro Junior College, Worsham decided to attend SFA in the footsteps of his older brother, who played on the basketball team.

Although Worsham never played on the SFA team, he found a place in intramurals. When asked why he decided to work for Intramurals in 1961, he chuckles, “They paid 50 cents an hour; that was more than anyone else paid. I worked four hours a week.”

In the time Worsham worked for Intramurals, he and his staff formed traditions and a department that would grow from six IMS sports and two sport clubs to the 30 IMS events and 19 sport clubs Campus Recreation boasts today, in addition to aquatics, fitness, wellness, and outdoor pursuits programs.

Present Future and the

office. Of course, we only had one gym floor, so there wasn’t a whole lot to check in and out.”

Worsham received a Graduate Assistant job in the Kinesiology Department after receiving his undergraduate in Kinesiology and Biology in 1963 and pursued a Master’s Degree in Education and Biology. After completing his Masters in 1964, and with no immediate job offers, Worsham eventually accepted a job working at the new junior high (Thomas J. Rusk Middle School) teaching physical education and driving a school bus. He also took classes at SFA in hopes of acquiring an Administrative Certification and becoming a superintendent, counselor, or principal. Worsham began working on his Doctorate at Texas A&M University soon after, taking classes in the summer and working at SFA in the fall and spring.

“Football, basketball, volleyball, and softball.

That’s all we had.”

The world of SFA Intramural Sports was run quite differently when Worsham was a student worker. The Aikman Gym closed at 6 p.m. (because everyone had to go home and eat dinner), then was reopened from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

During intramural games, the student workers would close the equipment checkout and officiate the games. “In between games, if somebody wanted something, we would go back and open up the

Worsham was asked to be the Intramural Director in January 1966. He also taught six classes in the Kinesiology Department.

Soon after taking the job as director, Worsham began improving the department. The hours changed, and the gym was now open on Saturdays. The “new” Shelton gym was also opened on the weekend for free play. Many intramural events were added including washers, horseshoes, archery, and 3-man basketball. About a year later, the department started awarding THE Intramural Champion shirt to championship individuals and teams. “We’ve had people come back after 20 years and want T-shirts.”

At the time, the most popular intramural sport was softball, with up to 135 teams participating. 3-man basketball was also popular, and at one point consisted of 75 men’s teams.

When asked which sport was the least popular,

Worsham noted there really wasn’t one, except maybe flickerball, because “most of them didn’t have a clue what it was.” Because there were no designated intramural fields at the time, softball games were moved around wherever there was room. Some of the games were even played where the Rec Center stands today, even before the tennis courts that preceded the Rec Center were built. They also played on what would become the intramural fields today, except then it was a cow pasture.

“One weekday, one of my student supervisors came in and said, ‘Doc, there’s a bulldozer rounding first and heading toward second on Field 3.’ They were expanding the football field, and no one told us.” But it didn’t stop the games, and Worsham always found places to play.

As far as sport clubs go, there was only one Worsham remembers before his tenure, and that was rodeo. Once he became a professional, rugby, bass fishing, badminton, baseball, and wrestling clubs were formed. Worsham bonded most with the bass club, as he was an avid fisherman. “I got to be very good friends with a bunch of those guys, and I still keep in touch with a lot of them.” The most controversial sport club of the time, according to Worsham, was the rugby team, because they were always getting into fights. “Not so much our rugby team, but the rugby teams that came here, particularly the Aggies and a couple teams from Louisiana.”

As interest in sport clubs grew, the university decided to have the clubs move from their different academic departments to the Intramural Department if they wanted to receive funding. And so, the IMS family continued to grow.

In the early 1960’s, SFA Intramurals participated in what were then the Intramural State Playoffs at Texas Christian University. “We should have won basketball, but we didn’t.

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We won all the other sports: flickerball, softball, handball, and badminton.” Most of the participants in these playoffs, and in intramurals in general at the time, were competitive athletes who had just missed playing at the NCAA level.

However, back at SFA, the range of intramurals participants varied greatly. When it came to basketball, “we had what was called a mullet league. The guys would come to me and say, ‘We got beat 75-2. We don’t want to play against those guys.’ These were the people who really didn’t know how to play, but still wanted to compete.” All the other competitive teams would play from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. Then the mullet league would play at one or two o’clock in the morning. “When you only have one court, sometimes it takes a long time to play the games.” At that time, the intramural basketball season started in October and finished in March, excluding two weeks for Christmas. The scores in the mullet league were nothing to brag about, sometimes not even making double digits, but the teams enjoyed playing against their own level.

recreation space. They would never swim in the lazy river or scale the 34-foot indoor climbing wall. But they planted the seeds.

One of the things that kept Worsham working for SFA Intramurals for so many years was his love for kids, including his own eight adopted children, ages 5 to 40, whom he raises with his wife of 46 years. He sought to drive those he knew to new potential and possibilities. “I know I’ve helped a few, probably hurt a few. Down through the ages, I could point out where I think some people have been successful with a little pushing from me.” Worsham was born in 1940 and grew up in Barry, Texas, playing basketball and working on his Worsham’s team attitude shone through as he family’s farm. He retired from SFA Intramurals discussed the newly founded Campus Recre- in December 2006. ation scholarship in his name. “I thought it should have been named the ‘Campbell, Casper, Worsham Scholarship’ because the three of us worked so long together – 25 years. Everything we accomplished, I didn’t do it, we did it.”

Much has changed since the days when tuition was $88 a semester, and Words from Friends and Former Employees Worsham agreed that the scholarship is a muchwelcomed addition to Campus Rec tradition.

“We had what was called a ‘mullet league’.”

The expansion continued when Worsham talked to then president Dr. William R. Johnson into allowing the cow pasture and creek bed across campus to be straightened out for intramural use. Johnson agreed, and the university funded the moving of the creek bed and cutting down of the trees. Worsham even put in his own time during the renovation. “I spent many a day with a chain saw, cutting and hauling and piling and what not.” Even after the fields were established, there were still some trees at the corner of Wilson Street and Starr. “We had ground rules...If you hit it (a tree), it was a ground rule double. If it went over the tree, it was a home run, and so forth.”

In 1975, Intramurals and Sport Clubs moved to the “new” HPE Complex. Room was hard to find, as faculty, students, and intramurals shared the facility. Another issue the department faced was the lack of diversity in participants, even years after integration.

“Finally, we had a team who recruited one black athlete who was good in basketball, and they won the basketball championship against a fraternity. The black team member scored the gamewinning basket. And that made the change.”

The biggest change, however, came when some students pitched to Worsham the idea of a brand new facility. He told them, “I can’t get you a new facility. You can get your own facility by voicing your opinion, and here’s how to do it.”

These students were juniors and seniors at the time and graduated long before even the planning for the new facility had begun.

In their time left at SFA, they would never use the 152,000 feet of indoor and outdoor

Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham. But this man, in his 43 years as the IMS director, with his own manual labor, time, inspiration, and loyal staff, took the small Intramural Sports Program at SFA and helped transform it into the incredible, multi program department it is today. The Campus Recreation staff is privileged to honor and celebrate the man who has made such a lasting impact on this department. This is the man behind the scholarship.

The Character of Dr. Worsham

David Campbell

Former Associate Director of Intramural Sports

If you walk around the Rec Center today, “He was a friend to everybody. He had an open-door many patrons and policy with anyone who wanted to visit. He cared a lot employees about the students. I’ve known him for 40 years. I can’t might not be say anything negative about him. You can’t say that for able to tell most people. That just shows you the kind of guy he is.” you about the man w h o started it all, Former Administrative Assistant to Dr. Worsham

Janice Casper

“You really couldn’t ask for a better person to work for and have as a friend.”

David Shows

Roommate to Worsham at both Navarro Junior College and SFA “We were opponents in high school and teammates at Navarro. We both came to SFA for our undergraduate degrees and went to Texas A&M for our doctorates. We even bought adjacent lots, so we still live next to each other. It has developed into a lifelong friendship. He is a very dependable person who loves to help people and still does that today.”

For more information or donations to the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Endowed Scholarship, please contact Brian Mills, Assistant Director for Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs and Summer Camps at millsbrian@sfasu.edu or call 936-468-1775.

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EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Face to Know:

Nathan Rector

Outdoor Pursuits Trip Leader Q & A

by Kati Van Dunk - Promotions GA

What does it take to be a trip leader at Outdoor Pursuits? I sat down with one of the best to find out all the ins and outs of planning and executing an Outdoor Pursuits trip.

KV: What are the different trainings and certifications you’ve had to attain to become an Outdoor Pursuits trip leader?

NR: First off, to be a trip leader, it requires a different kind of background as far as students go. All the trip leaders have some sort of special outdoor background and experience they can bring to the table. We do the common training here (at the Rec Center, required by all staff) and our trip leader training which we do at the beginning every semester. It’s about two days of going through countless skills - lost participants, car accidents deep water rescue - anything and everything you can imagine, we try to do those scenarios. Michael (Maningas - OP and Safety Asst. Director) also requires us to be Wilderness First Aid certified. When the University doctor signs off on us trip leaders, because of our training, if we’re not within an hour of any kind of hospital or help in the back country, we can perform wilderness first aid.

KV: What are the different trips you’ve led so far in your time in Campus Rec? NR: I led a horseback riding trip in Livingston State Park, canoeing and backpacking at Big Bend - Spring Break, and I just got back from Zip Lines and Waterfalls in Spicewood,TX. KV: What are the key things to remember when planning an outdoor trip?

NR: Doing extensive research about the trip what could happen and the dangers in the area. Actually sit down and read about it online or visit the Outdoor Center. We have all these resources on different places to go. Know what to expect and be prepared.

New Faces at the Rec Meet the Graduate Assistants!

Dan Belcher Facitilies & Membership Services

Greg Nord Aquatics

George Giavasis Outdoor Pursuits

NO PICTURE AVAILABLE

KV: Can nonmembers go on OP trips?

NR: Yes, through our “Take A Friend” program, active members can sponsor guests.

(Certain conditions apply - ask an Outdoor Pursuits staff for details.)

Nathan is a former marine and a senior studying in Accounting. He has worked for Outdoor Pursuits since January 2010 and plans to pursue a Master’s Degree in Accounting.

Kati Van Dunk Promotions

Joe Wise Intramural Sports

Michael Ryan Fitness & Wellness

Travis Lankford Intramural Sports

Page Page55

Fitness and Wellness

As we all know, physical activity can help improve the quality of life as the years go by. Whether you are an active individual or perhaps inexperienced with exercise programs, we are all affected by the aging process. Our choices about physical activity can greatly factor how our bodies will respond to the five major fitness components today, as well as 20 plus years from now.

ability to improve their muscle strength and size specifically through progressive training methods. Beginning a strength training program within the years of 10 – 20 will produce greater gains than starting a program above this natural development range. “For each decade after 25, 3-5 percent of muscle mass is lost.” (ACE Personal Training Manual, 2003)

The five major components of fitness: • Cardiorespiratory Fitness • Muscular Strength & Endurance • Flexibility • Body Composition • Skill-Related Components

Flexibility:

Incorporating flexibility training into one’s exercise regimen can significantly improve adaptability and therefore increase the ability to function.

Body Composition:

Cardiorespiratory Fitness:

Body Composition changes as we age, however, the extent of these changes and how they can be affected by physical activity is still being researched.

Frequency and intensity of training, initial level of fitness, genetics and exercise history all factor into one’s ability to increase aerobic capacity. It is recommended that when testing for heart rate during activity on elderly individuals, it is suggested to use a rate of perceived exertion along with heart rate checks to gain a more accurate idea of how hard they are working.

Skill Related Components:

While function may not be on our minds early in life, we’ve seen research that shows with active adults, functional training can add physical improvements.

Muscular Strength & Endurance:

Studies have shown that both men and women of all ages have the

Fitness Through the Ages 20s

Kneel on a mat with knees under the hips and slowly lean forward placing hands on the mat directly under shoulders.

Maintain a neutral spine through exercise. Slowly raise the right arm and left leg simultaneously. Avoid any hip rotation or tilting at the shoulders. Limbs should remain at or near parallel with the floor when extended. Only raise the limbs to heights that allow the spine to reamain in neutral position. On the return phase, bring the knee into the chest and arm in to meet the knee.

Hold briefly and extend both arms and knees out, at, or near parallel to the floor. Gently lower to start position and repeat on opposite limbs.

30s

Kneel on a mat with knees under the hips and slowly lean forward placing hands on the mat directly under shoulders. Maintain a neutral spine through exercise.

Slowly raise the right arm and left leg simultaneously. Avoid any hip rotation or tilting at the shoulders. Limbs should remain at or near parallel with the floor when extended. Only raise the limbs to heights that allow the spine to reamain in neutral position.

Gently lower to start position and repeat on opposite limbs.

40s

Kneel on a mat with knees under the hips and slowly lean forward placing hands on the mat directly under shoulders. Maintain a neutral spine through exercise. Exhale and engage the core muscles.

Hover the right palm over the mat (center). Begin to move the palm forward up to six inches directly forward and return to center then immediately move the palm back up to six inches and return to center; keeping the palm in hover position through the movement phase. Repeat with opposite arm.

50s

Lie on a mat in a prone position with the arms and legs extended.

Make sure the head is aligned with the spine.

Exhale and contract the core muscles while slowly lifting one arm and the opposite leg simultaneously only a few inches off the floor. Hold this position briefly then gently inhale and slowly lower the arms and legs back into the starting position. Repeat with the opposite limbs.

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BLAST FROM THE PAST Where They Are Now An update on former Campus Rec employees

Zebine Bojler was a Campus Recreation cornerstone

from September 2006 - January 2010. She was a

Service Manager in 2006 and 2007 and was

promoted to Operations Manager in 2007. She

graduated in December 2009 with a degree in

Communication-Advertising and a minor in Leadership. Zebine’s best memory of Campus

Recreation: “It’s really hard to pick just one memory Zebine Bojler shows off her SFA pride in front of the Sydney Opera House.

because I was a part of the C-Rec family for so many years. The best one would have to be September 22, 2007, when we opened our brand new sliding glass doors to the SFA Community. I remember standing in front of the welcome desk outside of the gates welcoming our students and staff into the Student Recreation Center. I was proud of everyone’s hard work leading up to this day and was honored to see our patrons’ faces as they had their first look at our beautiful facility!” After graduating from SFA, she has set foot on four continents and three new countries: United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), Australia, and Fiji. Zebine has now moved to Sydney, Australia, to pursue a Masters of Higher Education in Leadership and Management at Macquarie University.

Katie

Mathenia

graduated from SFA

in Spring 2009 as one

of the longest tenured employees in the Campus Recreation Department. Katie began work as a

basketball official in

2005. She was one of Katie Mathenia (back row, far right) and her 2007 IMS team.

the first hires of the new Campus Recreation Department in 2006, and she officiated at the 2006 ACIS Regional Basketball Tournament hosted by TCU. Katie was an avid participant in all IMS events. She was a captain of the women’s recreational basketball champions Katie’s Klowns in 2007. She also won a women’s softball championship with the Campus Rec women’s team in 2008. Katie also served as the first student manager for the newly formed Little Jack Rec Camps in summer 2008. She is now a teacher in Arlington, TX, at the same elementary school she attended and is heavily involved with the Beep Baseball Association in the DFW area.

She is the defensive coach and spotter of the Fort Worth Roadrunners who made their way to the World Series in Minnesota in 2007.

Kelcey Gabriel, a former fitness employee, graduated in August 2010 with a degree in Psychology.

Kelcey was an employee with Campus Rec from Sept 2007- Aug 2010. Her best memory with IMS was playing in the Beat Sam Kelcey Gabriel throws up the axe ‘em at an IMS event.

Tournament in Spring 2009. “We were playing in the championship game, and at half time we were down by 16 points. We held the other team off to only 9 points and ended up winning the Beat Sam Tournament, and going to regionals.” Kelcey won championships in flag football (Fall 2006, Fall 2009), basketball (Spring 2006, Spring 2007), Beat Sam basketball tournament (Spring 2007 & Spring 2009), and Beat Sam football (Fall 2007). Since graduation, she has become a behavior therapist at an autism clinic called The Shape of Behavior. They perform behavior therapy for children with autism, where children receive one-on-one therapy sessions with trained therapists. “We try and get these children ready to function in a public school setting.” Right now she is living in Houston, TX, working daily, working out at least four times a week, and playing a couple of pickup basketball games at the gym.

If you are a former Campus Rec employee or participant and want to be featured in this newsletter, please contact us at ejross@ sfasu.edu or 936-468-5844. Please include your experiences working at SFA Campus Recreation and what you’ve been doing since your time at SFA. If possible, please also include a recent picture.

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Where Are YOU Now? An update on former IMS participants

The GOATS (Good Ole American Traditional Studs) knew a lot about winning. When asked what was the best part about playing intramural sports at SFA, former team member Randy Brown said, “We dominated so much. There are a lot of guys I met playing intramurals. A lot of times we’d recruit the best players from fraternities like Theta Chi who wanted to come play on our team.”

The Goats (Paired with LOTT: Lords of the Tube) did dominate in their time at SFA, winning multiple seasons in flag football (1986-1990), basketball (1988, 1990, and 1992), volleyball (1987-1991), softball 1987, 1990, and 1991), and flickerball (1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989-1992). They were the overall IMS champions in 1986, 1987, and from 1989-1992. “It started in the early 80s and went through the mid 90s. That’s what made it unique,” says former team member Darren Webb. Webb says he was the bridge between the older and younger GOATS, as his brother Barry was in the older group, and as they graduated, he would recruit younger members. The team also had an interesting mascot, according to Webb. “We had some buddies who brought out a goat and put an inner tube around its neck.” Webb’s favorite memory was beating the Sig Tau flag football team in the 1988 finals. “The intramural fields were lined up on both sides. It was a heated rivalry.”

One year, the GOATS even extended their winning tradition off campus by earning a bid to a national spring break tournament in Florida.

GOATS 1987 Softball Champions

Front Row (left to right): Kenny Webb, Mike Haney, Randy Brown, David Reeves, and Rex Dorman Beck Row (left to right): Tyler Tabor, Louie Baumann (?), Bobby Maas (?), Phil Carrell, Harold Wunderlich, and Dempsey Compton (Not Pictures: Daryl Bell)

Some of the GOATS still keep in touch, including Randy Brown, Steve Oden, Barry and Darren Webb, Scott Callaway, and Tyler Tabor. “It’s so hard to get together anymore,” says Brown, who now lives in Tyler working for a medical device company and selling apparel online to support the American Cancer Society and the Military Warrior Support Foundation.

You can visit his website at www.veteranscamo.com. Webb graduated from SFA in 1991 and is now the superintendent for Garrison ISD. He says he still keeps in touch with a lot of the former GOATS, including Randy Brown, Mike Teperia, Mark Cates, Tracy Ranes, Steve Oden, and Steve Griffith, many of which have since become coaches.

Who Am I? Do you know these past Campus Rec Intramural participants? Is it you?

Help us remember those who have helped keep the strong IMS traditions of SFA by sending us what you know!

The left picture is the men’s flag football championship team called Bad Co. We need players’ names and the date the picture was taken.

If you know the names of these players and/or the date these pictures were taken, please email us at millsbrian@sfasu.edu or call 936-468-1434.

The right picture is another men’s flag football championship team from the fraternity Theta Chi. We need players’ names and the date this picture was taken.

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Sport Clubs NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Skateboarding Team Hosts First Major Event

The Skateboarding Club recently hosted their first Nac Bash Skateboarding Tournament Saturday, October 9. 74 skaters participated, which is only one fewer than the national tournament last year. This was the largest long board event in the state of Texas this year.

They held their first ever women’s and gave Longboarders compete in the final race at the first division ever Nac Bash. away $2,000 in prizes. $1,000 was given to top-placing skaters in each division. Red Bull and the “Wings Team” were also in attendance.

The team is currently trying to get a skate park built on campus in conjunction with the Student Government Association.

Bass Club Competes in 4th Annual Bucketmouth Bass Club fishing teammates Blaze Platt and Ryan Watkins competed in the FLW College Fishing Texas Division Regional Championship October 28-30 held on Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The SFA duo placed fifth in the tournament, earning a spot at the 2011 National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship that will be hosted by Murray State University on Kentucky Lake, April 7-9, 2011. Blaze Platt holds us a catch at the final weigh in Saturday, October 30.

December will also be an important month for the Bass Team, as they will be hosting their 4th annual Bucketmouth Tournament at Sam Rayburn December 18-19. Fishing will commence on Friday with the final weigh in taking place Saturday, December 18 at 3 p.m.

Teams from all over the nation have fished this tournament, and this year will be no different. Last year, the SFA team of Zach Brown and Bryan Swann finished 4th out of 49 teams.

Rugby Keeps Old Traditions Alive and Starts New Ones

The Rugby Team sported Pink-Out jerseys at every game in October.

Rugby has been on a roll since last spring, when they won the state title against Midwestern State (32-5) in Nacogdoches. Being one of the oldest sport clubs at SFA, Rugby is steeped in tradition. This year, the team hosted their 31st Alumni Game Saturday, October 9, and had about 50 alumni show up for the game. Alumni players ranged from those who played on the team in the 1970s to those who graduated just last year. Even the referees who participated were all alumni.

Up next is their 23rd Annual Rugbyfest on Saturday, November 13. This all-day event usually consists of 8-12 teams from all over the state, including Texas State, Baylor, and Sam Houston. Last year there were five women’s teams, and they hope to have even more this year.

A new tradition this year, the team has worn pink jerseys for the month of October in support of breast cancer awareness. They will continue this tradition with plans in the future to add fundraising for breast cancer research.

Rodeo Club Hosts 53rd Annual Rodeo The rodeo team holds the honor of being the oldest sport club at SFA. November 11-13, the team will host their 53rd annual rodeo at the Nacogdoches Expo Center.

The number of competitive teams SFA sends to rodeos has increased over the years from two to three to four. This The Rodeo club will compete year, the rodeo club plans to at- in their third national rodeo. tend their third national rodeo. Last year, team member Jacqueline Pannell placed 4th in breakaway roping.

Want to get in touch with old club members? Please email us at millsbrian@sfasu.edu or call 936-468-1434 and give us some details about your experience with the club program, when you were a part of the club, and who you are looking for. We will do everything we can to help.

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In the next issue of the

REC INSIDER, Outdoor Pursuits celebrates Earth Day Fitness Through The Ages - Part II Where Are YOU Now? - Intramural Overall Champions for over 10 years - Pi Kappa Alpha

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