Sports clubs and intramurals at CSUN offer students the chance to compete in athletic competitions, both regional and national.
As of the fall 2023 semester, there are 24 sport clubs. Overseen by manager John Paul Gale and senior coordinator Bladimir Martinez, the Sport Club program requires each club to pay a participation fee.
Every currently enrolled student is eligible to join a sport club. Seven are categorized as either men’s or women’s, while the remaining 17 have no gender specification. Each club, though, has additional requirements beyond enrollment.
“Each club is part of their own governing body, and each governing body has certain requirements,” Martinez said. “Sometimes that’s a unit requirement for undergraduate and graduate students. There are age limits for some of the sports as well.”
The Sport Clubs program dates back to 1960, when CSUN was still called San Fernando Valley State College.
Intramurals are separate from sport clubs and have shorter seasons. Sports offered at the intramural level include basketball, flag football, indoor volleyball, outdoor soccer, softball, and swim challenge.
For intramural sports to make their teams and schedule their seasons, students need to register on IMLeagues.com by creating an account.
Registering for a sport club is similar. You have to fill out three online forms. The forms consist of a waiver, emergency contact card, academic release, and code of conduct. Once a roster is formed, a medical history questionnaire is required. For higher-risk sports a physical is needed, while some high-contact sports may even require a baseline concussion test. Finally, before officially participating in any club sport, students must complete an online anti-hazing awareness training module.
Every year, near the beginning of October, a Sport Clubs 101 orientation event is held for new participants to learn more about not just their club, but the program as a whole. Tutorials, guidelines, and ethics are covered by administrators, trainers and coaches.
Finally, each athlete must produce a government ID and a student ID.
Since last fall, CSUN added swim and weightlifting clubs. With the initial surge of COVID-19 becoming more and more distant, each club is operating with fewer drawbacks.
“Last year, baseball was pretty successful,” Martinez said. “They had a slow start, and then they ended up making it deep into the tournament and playoffs.”
Beyond success, some clubs have seen a surge in popularity. “Brazilian jiujitsu is pretty popular and has a lot of insurance,” Martinez said.
The Brazilian jiujitsu club offers two separate classes. One is classified as a beginner class. The other is more advanced: it is tailored to those who have experience in Brazilian jiujitsu.
Boxing had more than 130 tryout attendees during the fall semester. However, soccer tryouts had the largest turnout with roughly 160-180 individuals.
The majority of sport clubs play their home games on campus. CSUN and California Lutheran University, though, both play their home hockey games at the Iceoplex in Simi Valley. The baseball club also rents fields around Los Angeles County since they cannot use Matador Field. “They’ve bounced around and played at fields out here in the valley,” Martinez said.
Sport clubs can be found on CSUN’s website by going to the Associated Students page and clicking on the Sports Club tab. Students can also speak to staff members in the Sport Club office about starting a club.
