IU Club ready to kick bass

IU will be represented in the National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship, one of the largest collegiate bass fishing events in the country, during the weekend of Oct. 19 in Lewisville, Texas.\nSophomore Jesse Schultz and junior Ryan Queen will represent Hoosier nation in the IU Bass Fishing Club’s first tournament of the fall semester.\n“It’s the competition that sparks our interest and gets us going,” Schultz said. “You get out there at the break of dawn with the steam still rising up off the water with a purpose to win. When you’re in that point when you have 40 to 50 boats, (it’s like) when you first walk out on the football field or baseball field. It’s that same rush.”\nFounded in 1987, IU’s Bass Fishing Club was the first collegiate bass fishing club in the nation. \nHowever, the current club is fairly new, having been declared an official club sport last spring. The previous club disbanded in 2005 after a picture of an IU fisher holding a bass and a case of beer at the Minnow Bucket Tournament between IU and Purdue circulated, eventually finding its way back to IU, Schultz said.\nUpon his arrival at IU last fall, Schultz began searching to see if such a club existed. After learning about the fate of the previous club, he decided to take initiative and reinstate it. Schultz began the process by writing a new constitution, getting necessary forms signed and getting in contact with other fishers, including Queen. \n“As soon as I heard about it, I jumped on the bandwagon,” Queen said. “Jesse gave me a call, and I said I’d do whatever it takes to get the program started.”\nHowever, becoming a club sport is not an easy task, said Stacy Smulka, assistant director of Club Sports.\nTo regain their status as a club sport, Schultz needed to find an advisor, go through the Club Sports Federation application process and present to the federation reasons why they should become a club sport. Additionally, the club needed to have two safety officers certified in first aid, CPR, use of an automated external defibrillator and prevention of disease transmission. Both also had to attend a safety workshop specific to recreational sports before the process could be completed.\n“Some students think that it is a pretty complex process, and it usually does take quite a real and tremendous dedication. That has definitely been shown on Jesse’s part,” Smulka said. “His leadership, even as a freshman last year trying to get the club started, is quite tremendous. I don’t know that I see that much leadership in freshmen, so I was quite impressed.”\nThe club fished two tournaments in its first year, but is still aware of its presence as a new organization.\n“We’re happy to have all new people and have nothing to do with the old club,” Schultz said. “It’s a new group of people really interested in fishing and starting up the new club.”