In a UK study, 2,000 women were polled and almost half of them said they felt negatively judged when working out. That problem is not isolated to just the UK, and women on UP’s campus are confronting this issue together.
“There are just so many boys and sometimes it would be nice to just see a girl in the gym.” Erin Carillo, the co-captain for the new women’s club basketball team, said.
There are two new clubs coming to UP that are encouraging women to go to the gym — women’s basketball and weightlifting.
Weightlifting
Weightlifting Club is a new co-ed club at UP.
Sitting down with Rand Aldujili on a bench outside of the UP Bookstore, you wouldn’t necessarily know that she has been weight lifting for almost a year and a half. Wearing leggings and a hoodie, she looks like a lot of students who go to UP. She explains that she goes to the gym as a way to relieve stress and help her mental health.
The freshman decided to start the weightlifting club on a whim.
“I actually was in my leadership class with my advisor James Peña,” Aldujili said. “And we both share a passion for weightlifting, so I talked to him about it and out of nowhere it just came to me in class.”
Right now Aldujili is planning to have meetings on Wednesday evenings and occasionally on the weekend. The Engage page and Instagram has the information needed to join.
Aldujili wants this club to promote being comfortable in the gym. She knows that it can be scary if you haven’t done it before, but wants to show people that it can be an outlet.
“For me, it's like a mental outlet or it's like my safe space, but it's also like something that makes me feel strong,” Aldujili said.
Aldujili wants people who join the club to be able to set goals and see them achieved.
“I want them to write down their goals and say by March, I want to hit 50 pounds, that'd be a great accomplishment to see,” Aldujili said.
The club was initially going to be a women’s weightlifting club but the school’s protocols require either a male equivalent to a female club or the club must be co-ed. Aldujili has embraced the opportunity to work outside of her comfort zone.
“It's given me more of an open mind, because, in the beginning, it was a woman's only focus,” Aldujili said. “I wouldn't mind if anyone joined because I think everyone should be included. And I don't discriminate against people based on who you are or where you come from. If you like weightlifting, join the club.”
Women’s Basketball
Julianna Galian returned from her stint at nationals with the UProar ultimate frisbee team with victory in tow and ideas on her mind. She came together with co-captain Erin Carillo to form the Women’s Club Basketball team. Carillo has been playing basketball from a young age and, after stopping in high school, is ready to get back into it.
Both Julianna Galian and Erin Carillo talked about watching boys pickup basketball in Beauchamp.
“You see a bunch of girls who just like to shoot around and just play and sometimes you just want to get up and running, but it's hard because boys will sometimes not play as hard because she's a girl,” Galian said.
Galian and Carillo’s goal is to offer an intermediate playing level between intramural and division-1 where women aren’t intimidated to play the game.
The club team doesn’t know when meetings will occur or if they have a coach yet, but Galian is asking her high school coach who played at Corban University.
The team’s Engage page has the information needed to join.
Wilder Isom is a Sports Reporter for the Beacon. She can be reached at isomw24@up.edu.
