Athletics have always been a strong part of Garfield tradition. Since 2010, Garfield athletics as a whole won eight state championships, across four different sports. However, Garfield athletics isn’t just about the official school sports, there is also a slew of club sports. Unfortunately, club sports is sort of an unknown subject at Garfield. But the club athletes are hoping to change that and create a new wave of clubs at Garfield.

Club sports are teams created by students whose sport is not offered by Garfield and the Metro League. Since these teams’ existence relies entirely on the students and volunteers, it creates a different atmosphere from your normal school sport. “There’s a sense of community apart from Garfield, it feels like a really tight community that has Garfield to feed from, but it really feels like it’s own thing” Elan Gorham Siegler said. Elan is a senior at Garfield, and a member of the Ultimate Frisbee Club. The club even has its own name, the Purple Haze. Club sports are a great way for people to have fun playing team sports without having to follow the rigorous schedule of official school teams. As Sophie Nguyen, a junior in the lacrosse club put it, “anybody can join, no matter what your experience with sports is.”

While being a club sport has its advantages, there are disadvantages as well. Lack of organization, lack of funding, and lack of recognition, just to name a few. A lot of the organizational duties for the club teams fall on the shoulders of the volunteer parents and athletes in the club. Many members of the teams agreed that they hope their club becomes a school sport sometime in the future. 

“I would love it if we could get more recognition from the school,” Lydia Craemer said. Craemer is a senior in the Ultimate Frisbee Club. “I think it would be really nice to have people know that it actually exists, and feel like it’s an actual sport.”

 The fact that the clubs aren’t official school sports can lead many to believe that it requires less skill and athleticism. However, this isn’t true. Gorham Siegler and Craemer are just two of the many club sports athletes that play a school sport as well. 

“We also want to break the stereotype that ultimate has no athletes,” said Gorham Siegler, “the varsity players are good athletes.” 

Although the club sports are all-inclusive, there is no shortage of competitiveness. The Ultimate Frisbee Club has two teams, the JV for more recreational, and the varsity for more serious games. The varsity team has been very successful in the past, going as far as tournaments in California and Nevada. If you are interested in joining a club sport, contact either team through their Instagram.