Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250026
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``The Blacksburg Sports Club started out as a group of retired fellows just sitting around talking about how things use to be in the area," club President Darrel Clowes said. ``They just enjoyed getting together and talking about sports. That's how it all got started, with those guys."
In the time since those informal gatherings, the Blacksburg Sports Club has undergone a rise in membership to approximately 200 active members, mostly via word-of-mouth publicity.
In contrast to the early days, Clowes said a good portion of the club's membership now is female.
``The percentage of women in the club has grown a lot over the years," Clowes said. ``They have been very active members in the club."
Clowes said that membership in the club is a great value compared to other booster-type organizations, costing only $15 a year.
The primary function of the Blacksburg Sports Club is the support of local athletics, especially involving Virginia Tech and Blacksburg High School. Although the club is not a fund-raiser for the programs, like the Virginia Tech Hokie Club, the club does provide members with an active voice in the area sports scene.
The Blacksburg Sports Club holds weekly meetings at the Custom Catering Center in Blacksburg. There the members gather to enjoy a luncheon and discuss the past and upcoming week in Blacksburg sports.
``We have someone that gets up at the meetings and talks about Virginia Tech and how they did the past week and what they have going on in the near future," Clowes said. ``Then another member talks about Blacksburg High School and how they are doing.``
The club also invites many area coaches to come to the Wednesday meetings and discuss their teams and sports in the area. Speakers for this year include Tech football coach Frank Beamer, Tech soccer coach Sam Okpodu, Tech football assistants Billy Hite and Terry Strock and Hokie volleyball coach Stephanie Hawbecker.
``We are also trying to get Blacksburg High School coaches and maybe some area sportswriters to come and speak," Clowes said.
The Blacksburg Sports Club also holds an annual awards banquet to honor athletes in the Blacksburg High and Tech programs. According to Clowes, the club asks the coaches of the area teams to nominate a senior deserving of recognition for outstanding achievement to be lauded at the banquet.
``It's a really nice event," Clowes said. ``The awards banquet is the high point of every year.``
The Blacksburg Sports Club is attempting to expand their areas of interest beyond just Blacksburg High and the Tech varsity programs. Clowes said the club has been in contact with the Virginia Tech Department of Recreational Sports about incorporating club sports into the year-end banquet.
``I've talked to Chris Wise [Tech's director of extramural sports] about the club sports at Tech and I'm hoping we can include them in the awards banquet this year." Clowes said.
Those interested in joining the Blacksburg Sports Club, or interesting in obtaining more information may call Darrel Clowes at 951-3011.
Chad Willis writes about community sports for the New River Current.
by CNB