New CSULB clubs drum to their own beat

Dragon boat racing, boxing, cinematic fighting and outdoor adventuring are new to Cal State Long Beach.

Director of Sports and Recreation Rita Hayes said that these are the subjects of four new clubs that will have a spot at Week of Welcome, a promotional event for CSULB’s over 200 campus organizations, which will take place next week.

“The number-one club to look out for at Week of Welcome is the Outdoor Adventure club,”   Hayes said.

The Outdoor Adventure club is a recreational club where nature-enthusiastic students partake in outdoor activities ranging from yoga, to hiking, to whitewater-river rafting. The club is emerging at CSULB, as well as other campuses across the country. Hayes said CSULB’s new club recently received a $5 thousand grant from the organization.

Outdoor Nation, a non-profit organization, has awarded hundreds of grants to youth-led projects and universities, “in effort to mobilize a movement to get our generation outside,” according to outdoornation.org.

By launching the Outdoor Nation Campus Challenge, Outdoor Nation is encouraging students to break the habits of the technology-washed generation and change the way their communities engage in the outdoors.

The schools selected to participate include:  Appalachian State University, California State University, Long Beach, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, George Mason University, James Madison University, Michigan Technological University, Spelman College, University of Central Florida, University of Iowa and University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Cal State Long Beach is the only university in California that will compete.

Sydney Kantor, a senior sports training major, said that she and many of her friends will join this club.

“I already love hiking, and I try to get outdoors as much as possible whenever I am off work or out of school,” Sydney said. “And this club will just get me to travel more and will even pay for some trips.  I also like the whole goal of the program. I think our generation is too obsessed with technology and needs to start getting in touch with the outdoors more.”

Another new club that is growing rapidly at CSULB is the dragon boat-racing club.  “Dragon boat-racing is just like rowing,” Hayes said. “Except, there is a person who is holding a drum beat on the boat who is setting a rhythmic pace for the crew.”

The crew consists of 20 paddlers, a drummer and a steersperson according to the Long Beach Dragon Boat festival website.

Students at CSULB have formed competitive teams and plan on competing at The Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival held at Marine Stadium in Long Beach, July 25 through July 26,  2015.