sports
✓-Commentary
No funding means
no wind for sails
--—Mike Marino
If you've ever been down to Dexter Reservoir, you've probably
seen, off in the distance, what amounts to a shack and a few boats.
That's what some folks on the Oregon sailing team call home.
Oregon sailing team? You probably didn't know about it unless
you’ve enrolled in Intro to Sail Racing in the past, or happened to see the
racing team practicing while on your way to McCredie Springs.
You could have even seen them in Hawaii earlier this month, which
may have brought about the kind of shock that comes when you see any
Club Sport at a national competition.
“We re not a varsity sport,” said coach Charles Howard, “and the
Club Sports office has decided that national competition is something
that they're not oriented towards."
The team made it to Maui, and logged a second-place finish in the
Captain Cook invitational, a meet that included the top competition from
eight districts in the nation.
Then the next week they finished seventh overall in the North
American Sloop nationals — seventh out of the 210 schools that were
eligible.
But the team — skipperred by senior Peter Powell with crewmem
bers Kevin Dobroth, Andrew Freeman, and Kay Doering — still has to
scramble despite success.
“We almost didn’t get to go,” Powell said, “because the Club
Sports people wouldn’t pay for the trip. I had to get a grant from the
Seattle Sailing Foundation for one half, and the rest we will have paid
ourselves.”
The team did get a loan from the Club Sports office — $1,000 —
which Powell and his mates are currently working to repay. As if money
problems weren’t enough, the team constantly finds itself up against
“political” foe — the University of Washington.
“They have a million-dollar sailing center and we have the shack,”
Powell sniffed. “And then they play politics by not telling us where the
national elimination races were.”
Maybe it’s a leftover from the fervor caused by “Moon over
Michigan,” but the folks in Seattle have been rather snobbish of late at
least on the high seas. When the Ducks venture north for a regatta, the
Huskies stick them with crummy boats. For you that haven’t sailed
before, if you have a crummy boat, you’re not going to win.
And as far as having money for new craft, the Oregon team doesn’t.
“I don’t want to rattle the cage or anything," Howard said. “But we’ve
done a helluva lot with what we have. We took the loan so we could have
the ability to send people places.”
The question is, though, should they have to secure a loan for that
purpose? “National competition is something ihat the Club Sports sys
tem is not oriented toward,” Howard explained, “it’s more towards the
local duffer stuff.’’
By now you’ve probably guessed that the team, like most club
sports teams, has a budget — funds that are controlled by the IFC.
Sometimes members of the Comittee are sympathetic to the Club
Sports, other times not so.
“We were lucky in that this year, they were sympathetic,” Howard
said. “But we don't spend out budget badly, and last year we turned
back money that we didn’t use. But if we re going to be allowed the
ability to use our budget, we should be allowed to use it when we
choose, as long as its spent wisely.”
This is definitely the year to do that. With the team under veteran
skipper Powell having proved their status against the best, they’ll be set
up for the season come spring. And the national meets then will also be
accessible, providing the team wins the region — and they’ve proven
that, having crushed Washington all but once with Powell at the helm.
Now all they need is a little help in the pocketbook. And other Club
Sports, given the opportunity to attend national events and given the
power to budget wisely, should get that help, too.
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Ducks face Oregon State |
but likely without Closs
It looks like Oregon will probab
ly have to face Oregon State
Saturday without the services of
junior starting guard Rob Closs, at
least if the report of trainer Larry
Standifer is correct.
Closs injured his leg in the first
four minutes of Oregon's 63-62
Pac-8 basketball loss to Southern
Cal. Since that time, Closs has
been on crutches.
"Status quo. There’s no change
from yesterday," said Standifer of
Closs’ condition Wednesday.
X-ray’s taken Monday showed
no fracture in Closs’ right leg, but
soreness and tenderness indicate
the possibility Closs suffered a
stress fracture in the lower fibula.
“We’re just treating him for the
symptoms,” Standifer said.
If Closs is unavailable against
Oregon State, the Ducks must
face the red hot Beavers with only
three full-time guards. Mike
Drummond, the only member of
Dick Harter’s squad to play con
sistently well, is a sure starter
Harter has John Murray, who has
started three games this year, and
freshman Stu Lyon, who has
started two games, to choose
from.
Another person who has seen
backcourt action for Oregon this
year is freshman Felton Sealey.
He could be called on to see some
action at guard, though Harter has
been using him at forward as of
late. Harter has also mentioned
using 6-7 freshman forward Phil
Barner at guard, if the occasion
arises.
Whether they have Closs or not,
Oregon will be facing an OSU
team that has been playing very
good basketball as of late. The
Beavers surprised everyone, and
maybe even themselves, by plac
ing second in the Far West Clas
sic, even after losing star center
Steve Johnson for the year.
Through the first two weeks of
Pac-8 piay, Oregon State finds it
seif in second place in the confer
ence. Their only loss at the hands
of UCLA, and everyone knows
what they can do.
The Ducks are looking to come
back from a lost weekend, in
which they dropped two decisions
to USC and UCLA. Oregon hopes
to improve on their 2-2 Pac-8 re
cord.
DUCK NOTES — Junior
center Dan Hartshorne con
tinues to lead Oregon’s bal
--—m,
anced scoring with a 10.8 aver
age. The 6-10 postman also av
erages 6.3 rebounds per game,
which ranks him second on the
squad. Kelvin Small leads the
rebounding category, grabbing
off 6.9 a game. Small is fourth in
scoring at 8.6.
Through the first 16 games,
Oregon has outscored its op
ponents, 72.5 to 65.7 points per
game. The Ducks have held
those sixteen opponents to a
.412 shooting percentage from
the floor.
u
Rob Cioss
- sportfolio -
Rally squad promotes spirit
The Oregon rally squad is promoting a spirit-conciousness
week in preparation for this Saturday's game with Oregon State.
In addition to the wearing of green and yellow, and cowboy hats,
they have other things planned. See Friday’s classified section.
Ski Team in weekend meet
The ski team will be at Mt. Bachelor this weekend to compete
in a ten team meet. The traveling squad list is posted by the Club
Sports office. All those on the list are requested to meet in the
EMU, Thursday, at 3:30.
Handball squad in Gresham
Oregon's Club Sports handball team will travel to Gresham
this weekend, to compete in the Oregon State singles Tourna
ment. The team is coming off a split of eight matches last
weekend with Oregon State.
Outdoor Program offers tours
The Eugene Park and Recreation's Outdoor Program is
offering three advanced ski tours this season. The fee for each is
five dollars. On January 28 at 7:00 a.m. in the Campbell Center, a
Survival Skiing class will be offered. The fee is six dollars. Waldo
Lake Overnight Ski Tour will be held Feb. 11 and 12. For more
info, stop by the Parks office, 858 Pearl, or call Mary at 687-5307.
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