issue 02 // volume 41

School pride

» Why you should be c

: more going in, but the weather
: can be wild and unpredictable
: and the spectators’ areas are often :
: nothing more than a set of cold
: and wet metal bleachers.

Eric Wilkins
Assistant Editor
M assistant

_ @theotherpress.ca

 

his is my fourth year at the
Other Press. ve always been
a sports guy—always will be—but

the Royals was never even close
to being a point of interest when
l arrived. The last thing I wanted
to do was head around the Lower
Mainland watching what I'd

rate college team take on similar

And really, why should I have felt
any differently?

Douglas College has received
a rap as a “commuter college”
in the past. Get in. Get out. No
one sticks around. There’s no
community. Many barely interact
with the people actually in their
classes. From what I'd heard from
friends, pub nights and other

mixed results.

When I took over as Sports
Editor last year, | was determined
to give Royals athletics a real
shot. If ] opened myself up to
the possibility of caring, maybe I
would. So, I started my adventure
into the Canadian Collegiate
Athletic Association with the
soccer season. For someone on
the fence about watching college
athletics, soccer was the worst
choice. Not that I was expecting

I’ve trekked out to some

: miserable locations via our

: fantastic transit system. I’ve

: stood in the pouring rain witha
honestly, the thought of following : notebook in one hand, a pen in
: the other, acamera slung about —:
: my neck, and an umbrella gamely :
: held by whichever unfortunate :
: friend I managed to con into

: accompanying me. I’ve struggled
always perceived as a clear second- ! through pieces when the teams

: have lost, and groaned when I’ve
nobodies. With nobody watching. ; found my notes to be nothing

: more than a soggy mess at the

: bottom of my bag upon arriving
: home. I’ve had to be that annoying :
: reporter tossing the clichéd

: questions to our understandably

: miffed athletes after tight ones,

: and the guy sitting by himself in a
: gym loosely populated with a few
: Royals’ parents—and a contingent
: from the visiting team. Needless :
: to say, there’ve many instances

school events were often met with : ' .
: where it wasn’t fun.

But that goes for anything.
Each and every sport and

: team had at least one moment

: that made it all worth it. The

: women’s soccer team dominating
: their final game. The men’s

: volleyball team clinching gold

: at Provincials. The softball team

: trouncing all comers on a regular
: basis. And, perhaps my favourite
: of all, the women’s basketball

: team upsetting Vancouver Island

hecking out the Royals

I've had to be that
annoying reporter
fellow tossing the
clichéd questions to
our understandably-
miffed athletes after
tight ones...

: University in overtime of the semi-
: final game at Provincials in front
: ofa packed gym.

The sweat. The tears. The

: great grins from ear-to-ear when

: all the work in the weight room

: and practice pays off. The exultant
: roars of victory. The cries of

jubilation. The embraces. The

: high-fives. The hardware.

Watching Douglas College

sports isn’t just for the players
: and their friends and families—it
: should be for all students. For

those who complain about the

: lack of a college vibe at Dougie,
: please take a moment: where

: does that vibe come from? The
: students. Whining about the

: lack of pride and then being

: completely apathetic about

: putting any effort into doing

: something about it seems to

: bea relatively self-explanatory
: situation.

So you know what? Come on

: out toa game sometime. Cheer

: on your Royals. Get a little rowdy
: even. Who knows, you might just
: enjoy yourself.

 

  

AO i ts

    

sports // 19

 

Gimme an E-X-P-L-O-]-Tation!

» Compensation markedly absent for professional cheerleaders

Natalie Serafini
m, Editor-in-Chief
re editor

fs @theotherpress.ca

  

€€7 ¢ definitely cost you a lot
more money to be on the
team than what you made.”
Who do you think said
this? Could it possibly bea
hockey player? A football
player? How about a curler?
All wrong. The person who
politely pointed out that she,
and countless others, don’t
get reimbursed for their time,
effort, and energy, was Ceilynn
Howse, former cheerleader
and current choreographer
for the Calgary Stampeders.
She added that a paycheque
“would have been nice.”

Five former cheerleaders for :
: required to pay to register.

: The rules for the cheerleaders
: also harken back to those

: that Gloria Steinem reported
: on in her renowned piece, “I

: was a Playboy Bunny.” The

the Buffalo Bills have recently
filed a lawsuit, bringing the
extreme discrimination they ve
experienced to the fore. The
primary allegation isa lack

of pay, where cheerleaders

: are either working for free or

: below minimum wage—the

: CBC reports that one New York
: Jets cheerleader estimated she
: had worked for $3.77/hour.

Essentially, professional

: cheerleaders are being paid

: about the same amount as

: high school cheerleaders—but
: they get treated worse. Other

: allegations in the suit include

: being given a handbook with

: rules like not overeating bread,
: using appropriate products for
: menstruation, and allegedly

: “being forced to sit on men’s

: laps, and evena jiggle test

: to check their weight.”

This is extremely similar to

: the notorious Lingerie Football
: League, where the players are

: not reimbursed despite the

: long and physically taxing

hours required—even being

: work demands that you put

: up with degrading treatment,
: as those in authority take

: advantage of their positions.

This treatment is particu-

: larly horrendous given the fact

: that teams are often all-too

: eager to meet their players’

: demands. Even in the CFL,

: where the pay is considerably

: lower than in the NFL, the

: cheerleaders’ pay trails long and
: far behind. The salary cap in the
: NFLis $133-million, while the

: CFLs is a comparatively puny

: $4.4-million; the CBC reports

: that even the NFL mascots gen-

: erally earn between $23,000 and
: $65,000/year. That cheerleader

: who estimated she’d made

: $3.77/hour had made $1,800

: inan entire season’s work.

These aren't just hobbies

: that the cheerleaders are

: signing up for. They should

: be treated like employees,

: especially given the hours

: they're required to put in,

: and the training that is often
: behind their dancing ability.

: They're skilled performers

: who attend rehearsals, man-

: datory cheerleading camps,

: training, and performances.

: The women often have to take

: on part-time work if they’re to

: make any kind ofa living, while
: the football players they're

: cheering for demand a few more :
: zeros on their paycheques.

Neither the NFL nor the

: CFLtreat their professional

: cheerleaders as anything

: more than volunteers: Eric

: Holmes, a spokesperson for

: the Toronto Argonauts, says

: that “Most of our girls will tell
: usthey’d do it for free. They’re
: happy to find out afterward

: we do have an honorarium.”

I’m not sure I take his

: statement at face value: at the

: very least, I think there are

: extenuating circumstances,

: whether the girls were in reality
: making a hyperbolic expression
: of delight, or whether the (likely :
: extremely small) sample of girls
: don’t speak for all cheerleaders.

Regardless of the verity

: of his statement, the leagues

: are either oblivious to the fact

: that it is unethical as well as

: unlawful—hence the lawsuit—
: to commit wage-theft, or the

: leagues are accepting labour

: forno reimbursement with

: full-knowledge of their culpa-

bility. Sorry Holmes, bud, but

: if you're claiming the former,

: ignorantia juris non excusat.

: Ican say I’d work for free all I

: want, but you’e still obligated
: to pay me. Reimbursement

: through sunglasses, tanning

: deals, and per diems don’t

: count, and it’s an insult to the
: cheerleaders that, not only are
: they not paid, but they have

: to cheer on millionaires.

Here’s a little piece of

: advice, direct from me to the

: football leagues: instead of

: tacking millions of dollars

: more onto athletes’ salaries

: which are already inflated, put

that money towards giving

: your cheerleaders an actual
: wage—and make sure it’s
: minimum wage or higher.