For the Club Sports program at UCCS, April is a time of transitions for all members and athletes, including those on the UCCS Women’s Club Soccer team.
During the spring months, most club sports hold elections to vote on new club officers for the upcoming year. There are usually at least three or four officers per club, although the exact number of available positions varies according to the specific needs of each club or team.
Senior and math major Marlee Ruge, the treasurer of the UCCS Women’s Club Soccer team, broke down the election process for the team.
Given lower participation than usual, Ruge admitted that circumstances are a bit odd this year, as she is currently serving in all four officer roles for the team. She is fulfilling the duties of president, vice president, treasurer and secretary.
For the UCCS Women’s Club Soccer team, the election process begins toward the end of the soccer season, usually at the end of October, when the current officers inform team members that elections will be coming up by the middle of November.
Team members who are interested in becoming an officer the following season must then message the club president and indicate that they would like to be a candidate for the position. The pandemic caused the team to hold off officer elections until this semester.
If only one person expresses their interest in a position, they get it by default. On the other hand, if multiple individuals are interested in a specific position, then a vote is held among the current members and anyone who has joined before the election.
The existing officers prefer to take their time to give potential incoming officers the chance to settle into the idea. They also make sure that those running are committed to the position and team and will be reliable for the other members.
After the vote, the new officers “shadow” the current officers for the rest of the year. The current officers do this to ensure a smooth transition between the teams.
Although Ruge is currently acting in every officer position, she will be graduating at the end of this semester, so she will not be running for an officer position next year. She expressed her readiness to help the team and incoming officers with the transitions into next year, especially because many of the women are new team members this year.
Ruge was adamant that she is willing to offer whatever she can, should the new officers need it. This would include assisting the new officers with budgeting, scheduling practice sessions for the team, learning how to pay the league and scheduling callouts throughout the summer and next season.
There are four women on the team who are interested in the officer positions this semester. The final vote was planned for the weekend of April 18, because the team now has enough members to both fill the positions and to vote.
Ruge noted that at the very least, the team needs to have a president, vice president and treasurer. A secretary is also helpful to the team because they often take on the administrative tasks, or they support the other officers in areas like budgeting and scheduling.
Normally, the team fills the time after their season and their voting process with other team building activities and meetups. They like to set up indoor games among themselves and with the men’s soccer team to help keep the team together in the months when they are not meeting regularly for games.
Ruge said she is hopeful that the team will be able to get something set up before the end of this semester.
When it comes to the incoming officers, most of their tasks are performed over the summer. This includes filling out the required budget forms and attending the necessary training meetings. Ruge explained that the officers usually like to get these tasks out of the way over the summer so that the team can primarily focus on playing soccer for the rest of the year.
As a final note, Ruge encouraged everyone to come join and play on the UCCS Women’s and Men’s Club Soccer Teams. Even if you have not played very much, or at all, Ruge added that the soccer teams are fun communities for anyone and everyone to get involved in.