Newspapers / The Chowanian. / Feb. 1, 1982, edition 1 / Page 4
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Women's athletics Programs strong By KEN RAINVILLE Sports Editor Aboi^ Ncwf-HeraU In the early days of women s athletics at Chowan College, com petition was centered entirely around an intramural program. The young ladies compet^ in soft ball, basketball and volleyball. There was very little participant interest and competition was dif ficult if not impossible to find. Most of the schedule centered around competition haphazardly arranged with high school teams and alum ni. “You have to remember,” Athletic Director Jim Garrison says, “that at that time it was not considered very ladylike to com pete competitively on the athletic field. Very few young ladies had the ability or the inclination to play sports seriously. There was really very little interest. ” Organized In Mid-60s In the mid-60’s, under thr direc tion of Mrs. Janet Collins, the women’s athletic program was organized under the Women’s Recreation Association forming a varsity and an intramural division. With talent in short supply, many of the athletes compet^ in boUi divisions. Again, competition on the varsi ty level was difficult to find as all schools were facing the same type of problems at the time A few years later. Title IX made its impact on women athletes at Chowan as it did at schools around the country. Basically, Title IX called for equal oj^rtunity for competition by the lady athlet^. Officials set out to restructure the women’s athletic program with the foremost thought of developing the nost competitive program possible. The WRA was abolished and the Intramural Program was established with a men’s and a wo men’s division. They opened the Monogram Club to female athletes and hired full time coaches for the women’s varsity teams. At first, there was no money available for scholarships while the men maintained a very limited amount for scholarships and aid. During the next four years, the col lege provided equal funtog and facilities for both programs. “Strongest Program” Possible “The attitude at the college at the time was to establish the strongest program possible,” Gar rison said. “We set out from the start to establish a program that would be representative of the school.” The program began developing in earnest in 1976. Roy Winslow, coach of the women’s basketball team recruiting discriminatingly, lay the foundation to develop the Lady Braves into the winners they are today. As the program gained momentum across the country, more schools became available for scheduling. With the change in the girls’ rules, players developed to a proficient sWlls level and basket ball moved out of the 70’s with a very healthy base. Softball play really took off under the direction of IJnda Owens as she built the Lady Braves into a junior college powerhouse in the late 70’s. Today the Lady Braves are under the direction of Gay Scott who was probably one of the top rated softball players in the country. Girls’ softball is now a 25-30 game schedule with a 20 win season a normal performance. “Our volleyball team over the past two years has really brought fruits of our labors with the women’s program at Chowan,” Garrison said. “It really shows you where you can go with a program with the right people.” Janet Collins has taken the Lady Braves voUeyballers from club competition to 49 victories in the past two years over some of the best junior college competition available. The program now has full funding, athletic aid available to players, and some of the best facilities on the East Coast. Garrison summed up, “women’s athletics at Chowan is on a very strong foundation. It has taken a lot of work and dedication by a lot of people but we are all very proud of the program we have now.” , Campus receives blanket of snow Women’s softball team becoming a "powerhouse" in intercollegiate competition. Page 4—The Chowanian, February, 1982 Chowan got its first taste of real snow in January, when the cam pus was blanketed with snow to provide a wintertime scene. Students made their way to classes seeming ly unaffected by the snow, although some found time to engage in a bit of snowballing fun as shown at right.
Feb. 1, 1982, edition 1
4
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