|
Club Founders
Oct. of 2001
In October of 2001, Darrin Barner, a WSC Alum and former football
player for the WILDCATS from 1985-88, decided to place an
ad in the Wayne Stater, and set up a campus meeting in the
upper level of the Student Center. Over 60 students attended
the meeting and showed strong interest in having a men and
women’s rugby team in the spring of 2002.
Barner was the Intramural Sports Coordinator at WSC from
1988-1994, and played rugby in the Iowa Rugby Union after
his football days were over in the fall of 1988. Barner, who
moved to Texas for a sales position with Northwest Airlines
in 1994, was now living in Fort Worth. He joined the Fort
Worth Rugby Stampede in 1994, and won the 2000 National Championship.
Barner had a guest speaker at the meeting, former Fort Worth
Flyhalf, Henno Trablanche from South Africa, flew to Wayne
to help coordinate the meeting.
During the meeting only one hand out of the 60 students had
ever played rugby before, Shane O’Conner. O’Conner
was very motivated to encourage other meeting attendees, the
benefits of playing rugby. When the meeting was concluded,
O’Conner, Barner and Trablanche went to the Wayne Bowling
Alley to enjoy a game of pool and discuss the future of WSC
Rugby knowing that Barner lived 700 miles away, and to draw
out a game plan for being instated as an official WSC Organization
and Sports Club.
After reviewing the Student Handbook, the only way to have
the rugby team approved by the Dean of Students and the Student
Senate, was to have an actual faculty member of WSC to be
the official sponsor of the club.
Barner had a meeting with Stacey Altman, the Co-Division
Head for the Health, Human Performance and Sports Administration
Department. Altman jumped at the idea that she could hold
the golden key to start up the WSC Rugby Football Club.
Ms. Altman presented an excellent speech to the Curt Frye,
Dean of Students and the entire Student Senate, on the benefits
of approving the official WSC recognition of the rugby club.
Altman also mentioned that Wayne State should look at the
TITLE IX possibilities and the thought of rugby becoming a
varsity sport at WSC, would not take that much if the rugby
club fallowed the same shadows on how the Women’s Soccer
Club became varsity sport after being a club sport on Campus.
Entering the final stages for approval, an official list
of By-Laws had to be presented to the Student Senate. Brian
Geltster drew up the By-Laws, helped with all administrative
organization, and assisted in final plans with Barner, when
he could not make the commute up to Wayne for the presentations.
Barner did mention that every strong foundation has four
corner stones, and the WSC Rugby Football Club should honor
ALTMAN, O’CONNER, AND GELSTER with just as much recognition
as himself, for starting this club in the fall of 2001 for
a first year team in the spring of 2002.
Barner also mentioned Frank Teach, Director of Student Activities
and Curt Frye, Dean of Students helped tremendously in the
preparation for the final presentation to the Student Senate
for college recognition.
|
