1. Contact your school’s principal, athletic director, and ASB advisor. Ask for an appointment to discuss creating an equestrian team/club at your school. The following are talking points for your meeting:
·The team/club will include hunter/jumper, western and dressage riders to unite the equestrian athletes at the school. The team/club is being formed so that equestrian athletes can have the same recognition and support from the school that mainstream sports enjoy.
·The team/club will be entirely self-funded.There is no need for funds from the school. If a team is formed within the athletic department, the team may be eligible to participate in booster club or school fundraisers and receive some funding from their activities.If the team is formed under a club status, ask if you can secure sponsorships and/or host fundraisers for your club.
·The team/club does not require a coach. The team members have their own coaches and/or trainers who attend the “shows” with them. · There is no need for a practice facility, practice times, etc. The team members practice in their own barns on their own schedules with their own trainers.
·The team/club will meet (set your own schedule, once a month?) at (school, during lunch is convenient for everyone) and a parent(s) will be the coordinator/advisor. · The “shows” and “show season” will be set by the San Diego Interscholastic Equestrian League (SDSEL). There is no minimum experience level required to participate on the team. Riders will be awarded individual and team points for participation, and overall individual and team points will be awarded for select classes.
·The SDSEL promotes the awareness of the NCAA and IHSA collegiate level equestrian programs (for more information on collegiate riding, please refer to the 'Collegiate' tab in the side bar) and will provide information on collegiate level riding as well as opportunities to participate with the two college teams in San Diego, the University of San Diego (USD) and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). SDSEL equestrian athletes now have the ability to receive scholarships to NCAA schools, and to receive help with admissions into several IHSA programs. In 2008, four San Diego equestrian athletes were accepted to NCAA equestrian teams.
·Equestrian athletes train and participate in horse shows with their own horses, equipment, trainers, etc. Liability for these athletes is covered by the school’s general liability policy. The regular school forms in place for the other sports teams can be used for equestrian athletes. Whether or not the team is run as a sport under the athletic department or as a club sport within the ASB, all current and in-place school sports documents and policies should be adequate to cover the equestrian team members. ·Bring along a copy of the charter. This document may be a perfect example for your team/club to follow. Ask if there needs to be changes made to the charter to fit any additional requirements that may be necessary for your school.
·Inform them of the SDSEL’s website www.sdsel.weebly.com to learn more.
2. Ask for a follow-up meeting day and time. Ask what information you need to bring to the administration so that they can move forward and give your team/club official status.
3. Ask the Principal, ASB Advisor and/or Athletic Director if you can hold a meeting, at school, to identify other students who are interested in an equestrian team. Set a day and time (a day late in the week is best for your first meeting). Make sure you have at least one parent who is willing to help and who can attend the meeting. If you receive permission to hold a meeting, make announcements over the public address system, the morning newscast, whatever communication method available at your school and invite anyone who’s interested in an equestrian team/club at your school. Start the announcements a few days early (you can start on Monday, and repeat on Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.). Your announcement should include: Date, time, and place of meeting, and an invitation to all equestrian athletes including hunter/jumpers, western, dressage, pony club, etc. to attend. Remind everyone to bring a sack lunch. The purpose of your first meeting will be to announce the opportunity of having an equestrian team/club at your school, and to be able to participate as a team in the SDSEL (or any other IEL in Southern California; you’re not limited to the SDSEL). You’ll want to keep a record of your meeting, have the potential team members write down their name, grade, email address, phone number, etc. so you can communicate with them about future team meetings, status updates, etc.Give a short speech about why you are creating a team/club: to promote camaraderie within the equestrian disciplines, and the recognition of equestrian athletes within the school. Discuss the possibility of receiving PE credits and the ability of earning a varsity letter, if your team is considered an athletic sports team. If considered a club sport, outline the opportunities for team members to hold leadership positions, etc. Mention that being a founding member of your school’s team/club and an active participant in team/club duties and functions is a good opportunity to work on organizational and leadership skills. It will also look great on those college applications! Talk about the opportunities to advance to the collegiate level riding programs. Tell your participants that teams/clubs are being formed all over San Diego County and how fun it will be to represent your school at horse shows and see all your barn friends in their school colors. Tell participants that you’ll update them on SDSEL news, the status of the team within the school, etc. Give them the date, time, and place of the next team meeting and send reminders via email, school public address system, etc. You may consider inviting parents and trainers to the next meeting so that everyone is on- board and working together (an evening meeting would work well in this case).
4. Gather any concerns your school’s administration has, or if they are in need of any further information, and follow up with Debi Gibney, SDSEL President, via [email protected].Debi can help you gather the information necessary to help you and your administration move quickly on to the next step(s) to form your equestrian team.
·The team/club will include hunter/jumper, western and dressage riders to unite the equestrian athletes at the school. The team/club is being formed so that equestrian athletes can have the same recognition and support from the school that mainstream sports enjoy.
·The team/club will be entirely self-funded.There is no need for funds from the school. If a team is formed within the athletic department, the team may be eligible to participate in booster club or school fundraisers and receive some funding from their activities.If the team is formed under a club status, ask if you can secure sponsorships and/or host fundraisers for your club.
·The team/club does not require a coach. The team members have their own coaches and/or trainers who attend the “shows” with them. · There is no need for a practice facility, practice times, etc. The team members practice in their own barns on their own schedules with their own trainers.
·The team/club will meet (set your own schedule, once a month?) at (school, during lunch is convenient for everyone) and a parent(s) will be the coordinator/advisor. · The “shows” and “show season” will be set by the San Diego Interscholastic Equestrian League (SDSEL). There is no minimum experience level required to participate on the team. Riders will be awarded individual and team points for participation, and overall individual and team points will be awarded for select classes.
·The SDSEL promotes the awareness of the NCAA and IHSA collegiate level equestrian programs (for more information on collegiate riding, please refer to the 'Collegiate' tab in the side bar) and will provide information on collegiate level riding as well as opportunities to participate with the two college teams in San Diego, the University of San Diego (USD) and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). SDSEL equestrian athletes now have the ability to receive scholarships to NCAA schools, and to receive help with admissions into several IHSA programs. In 2008, four San Diego equestrian athletes were accepted to NCAA equestrian teams.
·Equestrian athletes train and participate in horse shows with their own horses, equipment, trainers, etc. Liability for these athletes is covered by the school’s general liability policy. The regular school forms in place for the other sports teams can be used for equestrian athletes. Whether or not the team is run as a sport under the athletic department or as a club sport within the ASB, all current and in-place school sports documents and policies should be adequate to cover the equestrian team members. ·Bring along a copy of the charter. This document may be a perfect example for your team/club to follow. Ask if there needs to be changes made to the charter to fit any additional requirements that may be necessary for your school.
·Inform them of the SDSEL’s website www.sdsel.weebly.com to learn more.
2. Ask for a follow-up meeting day and time. Ask what information you need to bring to the administration so that they can move forward and give your team/club official status.
3. Ask the Principal, ASB Advisor and/or Athletic Director if you can hold a meeting, at school, to identify other students who are interested in an equestrian team. Set a day and time (a day late in the week is best for your first meeting). Make sure you have at least one parent who is willing to help and who can attend the meeting. If you receive permission to hold a meeting, make announcements over the public address system, the morning newscast, whatever communication method available at your school and invite anyone who’s interested in an equestrian team/club at your school. Start the announcements a few days early (you can start on Monday, and repeat on Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.). Your announcement should include: Date, time, and place of meeting, and an invitation to all equestrian athletes including hunter/jumpers, western, dressage, pony club, etc. to attend. Remind everyone to bring a sack lunch. The purpose of your first meeting will be to announce the opportunity of having an equestrian team/club at your school, and to be able to participate as a team in the SDSEL (or any other IEL in Southern California; you’re not limited to the SDSEL). You’ll want to keep a record of your meeting, have the potential team members write down their name, grade, email address, phone number, etc. so you can communicate with them about future team meetings, status updates, etc.Give a short speech about why you are creating a team/club: to promote camaraderie within the equestrian disciplines, and the recognition of equestrian athletes within the school. Discuss the possibility of receiving PE credits and the ability of earning a varsity letter, if your team is considered an athletic sports team. If considered a club sport, outline the opportunities for team members to hold leadership positions, etc. Mention that being a founding member of your school’s team/club and an active participant in team/club duties and functions is a good opportunity to work on organizational and leadership skills. It will also look great on those college applications! Talk about the opportunities to advance to the collegiate level riding programs. Tell your participants that teams/clubs are being formed all over San Diego County and how fun it will be to represent your school at horse shows and see all your barn friends in their school colors. Tell participants that you’ll update them on SDSEL news, the status of the team within the school, etc. Give them the date, time, and place of the next team meeting and send reminders via email, school public address system, etc. You may consider inviting parents and trainers to the next meeting so that everyone is on- board and working together (an evening meeting would work well in this case).
4. Gather any concerns your school’s administration has, or if they are in need of any further information, and follow up with Debi Gibney, SDSEL President, via [email protected].Debi can help you gather the information necessary to help you and your administration move quickly on to the next step(s) to form your equestrian team.