With winter being just around the corner, the outdoors might not be as enjoyable compared to autumn or spring.
However, that doesn’t mean there is nothing to do.
With the amount of snow that fell last year, there is no doubt that snowboarding is not such a bad sport to try.
With Minnesota’s cold winters, there is one place Winona State students can retreat to for a fun time, the Winona State Snowboarding Club
“We are the largest club on campus,” said club President Tom Caflisch. “We have about 300 students who get the e-mails.”
Who said nobody likes winter?
With almost 300 members, the Snowboarding Club is one of Winona State’s most popular clubs.
“We’re always trying to promote the sport,” club member Jameson Holtz said. “There are always more than 100 people at the meetings too.”
“We do a lot of snowboarding, meet a lot of new people and learn some new stuff,” Caflisch added.
“It builds such camaraderie with people who wouldn’t normally talk to each other,” said club Vice President Elise Jordan. “We take our likeness of the sport and use that as a starting point for a relationship. It’s a common thing that we all share that lead to other similarities.”
Caflisch, Jordan and Holtz all said that one of the main reasons that they love the club was to get to know new people.
Due to a lack of downhill slopes in Winona, the club goes on a few big trips every year, including one to Colorado during Christmas break.
“This is the first time we’re doing the Colorado trips,” Caflisch said. “Everything in Colorado is way different than it is here. We encourage people to go up to Welch (Minnesota). We personally ride up to Welch more.”
Although a lot of students were interested in the trip to Colorado, the club could only take 82 people.
“It kind of sucks that we can’t bring more people to Colorado,” Jordan said. “We don’t want to turn anyone away because we are limited to 82 people. We want people to come see what its all about because I think people are really going to enjoy what we do.”
Even the fundraisers can be a fun exercise in the Snowboarding Club.
“We sold chili dogs the night before homecoming,” Jordan said, “we collect dues to fund, we sell t-shirts and hoodies to fund and hold dodgeball tournaments.”
This past Sunday, the Snowboarding Club held a dodgeball tournament fundraiser.
However, the Snowboarding Club even receives some outside help.
“Adventure Ski and Cycle gives us gift certificates as far as fund raising,” Jordan added, thanking them for their contributions.
The club members seem to have fun on the slopes and off.
“Sometimes we play horse, and freestyle,” Caflisch said, explaining what “horse” is in snowboarding terms. “Someone does a trick and then somebody needs to match that trick.”
“Riding different places, riding with new people. Usually when we’re done snowboarding, we let loose a little bit,” Holtz added, although some members of the club don’t take such a conservative approach.
“We’re a party club with a snowboarding problem,” Jordan added jokingly. “I feel like we become really good friends (with new members). I think anyone you go on a student trip with, you hit it off with people you don’t think you’d ever talk to.”
The Snowboarding Club is beyond just sharing a common interest; it’s about building lifelong friendships.
If you have an interest in joining the Snowboarding Club, you can e-mail Tom Caflisch at TJCaflis6151@winona.edu to receive all the information on club meetings and fundraising events.
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