Club Sports holds tournament for field time

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As snow storms continue to batter Bozeman, a major problem faces the campus administration: which club sport gets priority to use the single turf field that is regularly plowed? Finally, Athletic Director Lionel Castille has stepped in to provide a solution, with a little inspiration from March Madness.

Castille recently announced that the 27 club sports on campus would play a single elimination basketball tournament, with the grand prize being exclusive rights to the turf practice field near Yellowstone Hall.

The tournament will start on April 1 at the basketball hoop at Bozeman Ponds. When asked why the tournament wouldn’t be taking place on campus, Castille said, “We want to really push one team to step up and earn the right to have a club sport be supported by the athletic department. Until then, they can practice and play in local parks.”

The proposed tournament idea has drawn a mixed reaction from the club sports community on campus, with some clubs scoffing at the absurdity of the idea and others already scheming for the best way to come out on top.

The women’s volleyball club was initially excited at the prospect of using height advantage in the basketball tournament, before reluctantly admitting they had no need for an outdoor turf field.

Trey Thompson, president of the Roundnet club, speculated the tournament wouldn’t be possible because Bozeman Pond would also still have snow. “Wait, if there is snow here, shouldn’t there be snow there still? I don’t think we can play basketball in a foot of snow,” Thompson said.

The possibility of snow on the court led several clubs to change their minds about the absurdity of the tournament, sensing a competitive advantage they could exploit. The nordic skiing club has lobbied the administration to allow the team to wear their skis during the game, allowing them to glide over the snow instead of having to plow through it. If this request is granted, they will be a clear favorite to win the whole tournament and secure the plowed turf field, which would be relatively useless to a skiing club.

The polo club, a clear challenger to the nordic skiing team, hopes to be allowed to use its horses in the competition. The obvious advantage of this would be the added height, but the size of the horses would also help to project the polo club as the number one defense in the tournament. Some have argued this would give the team too much of an advantage in the competition, forcing the athletic department to step in and make a rule clarification. “Horses are allowed in the tournament,” Castille said. “However, each horse will count as one person. A team could be composed of two horses and three people, or even five horses if you wanted.”

While nordic skiing and polo are the clear favorites, don’t forget to come to Bozeman Pond on April 1 at 2 p.m. to watch the madness of the tournament unfold and root for potential Cinderella teams like the triathlon club and the women’s lacrosse club to win it all.