When N.C . State hosted the football game against Central Michigan on Saturday in Carter-Finley, 55,000 fans watched and cheered for their team to win. When the Aikido Club recently hosted their friendship seminar, its 20 members and other neighboring college Aikido clubs came to State with parents and friends anxiously watching for kicks and punches to be thrown.
The fan base for the Ballroom Dancing club, the Aikido club and the Rodeo club may not be as large as 55,000, but these organizations are still an important part of the Wolfpack’s student life.
Aikido club focuses on self-defense and harmonizing with an attacker. Although a form of defense, Aikido does not teach retaliation to an attacker but rather diffusion of the attack without causing permanent damage to either side.
According to junior computer science major and Aikido vice president Steven Loudermilk , the team practices in Carmichael Gym, so it is likely that one has seen the Aikido club practicing this technique on a Tuesday or a Thursday when they get together in the evening.
Unlike football, Aikido is not a competitive sport and therefore does not have tournaments. Instead, it has seminars. Loudermilk was pleased at the amount of people who came to their most recent seminar.
“At our seminars, we invite high-ranking guest instructors to come for a day and teach a couple of classes,” Loudermilk said. “Many neighboring Aikido practitioners also came out to receive instruction, which was a great way for our members to meet other people in the Aikido community as well was learn different styles and variations of technique.”
The club has been trying to host this event for a while and finally accomplished their goal. In the future, they hope to continue the seminar as a regular event. Another accomplishment for the club is the increase of female members. Loudermilk is glad to see this trend growing.
“Our techniques and exercises work for people of any size, shape, age and body type. Many of our members are women, and once they learn the techniques, they are able to perform them against opponents who are much larger and more muscular than they are,” Loudermilk said. “I’m glad to see the increase of female members since Aikido doesn’t require someone of great physical strength. It is a great way for females to defend themselves, which is a practical skill to have, as well as improve their confidence and energy.”
Another active club team is the Rodeo Club.
Senior in animal science industry and current president of the Rodeo Club, Katie Toney, and the rest of the team of around 30 members have been busy preparing to showcase the animals at the State Fair this week. Toney says it’s likely that one has seen the team practicing roping and all things rodeo around campus.
“Rodeo Club is easily distinguishable around campus because we have ropes and roping dummies that we practice on every other Monday night in the Court of Carolinas and during other events such as Agriculture Awareness Week in the Brickyard,” Toney said.
According to Toney, the club does not cost anything to join and they do not participate in tournaments. They have been in existence for about 10 years and are a unique social club.
State has a dance team and a cheerleading team, but on top of that, the Ballroom Dancing club team practices three times a week and even on the weekends for competitions throughout the semester.
No partner or experience in dancing is necessary to join, and the club holds free social lessons once a month to the public. The next major event for dancers who are just starting out is on Dec. 3. President Caitlin Daniels, senior in biological sciences, is still welcoming members to add to their roster of 40 and hopes that fans will come out and watch the club’s competitions coming up.
“Dancing With Wolves is a club sports organization open to N.C . State students, faculty and staff of all skill levels. We are the most affordable way to learn ballroom dance, and we teach over 10 dances,” Daniels said. “The team generally travels to three or four competitions per semester, including Nationals, and we are hosting the Cackalacky Beginner Challenge, a competition for dancers who just started, on Dec. 3. Our annual full collegiate competition, Triangle Open, is February 3-5, 2012.”
There are over 50 club teams that engage in activities, seminars, and for the competitive folk, competitions and tournaments. Fans are always welcome to watch a performance; there are plenty of club sports events to see, and with all the variety, there’s something to satisfy everyone’s interest.
