Have you ever sailed down the side of a mountain at 60 mph while snow is biting at your face? Have you ever ventured your way through a forest at below freezing temperatures all to achieve victory? Who are these people? They are the Mesa State ski team. The Alpine and Nordic ski team is gaining attention by the student body and has many asking the question will it become an official varsity sport?
The Mesa State College ski team is a collection of people that have one common goal, to have fun and ski fast; it even says it on their Facebook page. The team trains as hard as any other squad at Mesa, they travel to their competitions, they have a good roster size, and multiple coaches. So why are they not a varsity sport yet? There are actually many factors as to why this process is still in the works. “When looking at the situation it really comes down to that there is no one for our team to ski against in the RMAC,” said head athletic director Butch Miller adding “the team would have to travel great distances for every race which becomes expensive for transportation as well as a liability.”
Skiing is only considered an “emerging sport” on Mesa State’s standards, it is already recognized by the NCAA as a varsity sport that holds NCAA national championships every year for division’s I-III. Skiing is not what the NCAA would consider an “emerging sport” like for example sand volleyball. Very popular in clubs but there is no NCAA sponsored national championship. Seeing as skiing is recognized amongst NCAA division II there is more optimism that points their way. “It’s not just that there are not other teams to compete against, there are athletic rules that we have to abide by that would make having two new ski teams very difficult,” said Kristen Mort senior women administrator. Mort continued to explain that Mesa has to be in compliance with Title IX in terms of men to women ratio in athletes. If Mesa were to add the ski team it would most likely include both men and women, which would throw off the numbers. Since Mesa does have a football team it up the ration of male vs. female athletes. Men’s sports usually carry greater numbers in general hence fewer sports that men can actually compete in at the collegiate level.
By Megan Swan
Despite what may look like little to no hope for the ski team there is another aspect the college looks at when considering a new sport and that is the demand from the students on campus and the community. “We really try to look at what the student body wants,” said events coordinator Jermaine Williams, adding, “take lacrosse, we surveyed, saw that you guys were very interested and the sport was growing heavily in the community, it was a perfect fit.”
“Even if the team isn’t a varsity sport, who cares, what they do is legit and I would totally watch them compete,” said senior business major Alicia Kahler. The ski team at Mesa is broken into two divisions Alpine and Nordic. Alpine is the downhill competition and Nordic is cross country skiing. Come support the next in state competition February 26-27 in Leadville, Colorado for the NORDIC- USAFA every little bit of effort counts to make this ski teams hopes a reality.