The UC Berkeley women’s ski and snowboard team qualified for a national competition, but as a non-NCAA sports team, must seek funds to support the trip. 

The team is not an NCAA sports team, but a Registered Student Organization, or RSO, which creates obstacles to receiving campus funds. The team applied for emergency funding to help with the overall cost, but have yet to hear back.

“Our Ski Captain, Elizabeth Gammariello, has been in contact with the University about emergency funding but we currently have not heard back,” said club member and GoFundMe organizer Scarlett Schroeder in an email.

Schroeder expressed the team could have applied for funding at the beginning of the year but did not, as they have never applied for funding before

They also did not expect to compete in nationals.

“Due to a fantastic recruiting period and lots of effort put in by our women, our team had a stunning season allowing us to qualify for Nationals,” Schroeder said in the email.

The team created a GoFundMe to support the trip this Sunday, with $1,930 out of the $7,000 goal reached as of press time.

The ski and snowboard team would use the emergency funding to cover all of the registration fees, with each student having to pay $520.

“It’s a little bit ridiculous because they know that most of the people that are going to nationals are being represented by the school, so they make the registration fees pretty hefty,” said Schroeder.

Campus sports clubs are eligible to receive funding from campus without the larger obstacle that non-NCAA teams face. Adam Ratliff, campus spokesperson, added the campus Department of Recreational Sports provides campus funds to campus-affiliated sports clubs.

Although clubs have the opportunity to directly receive funds from the campus Department of Recreational Sports, the amount offered is alleged to be small. Nicholas Figueira, co-president for California Club Tennis, alleged that the club usually receives a “small allotment” from campus but “primarily” get funding from their own members.

On the other hand, RSOs, such as the ski and snowboard team, receive funds from the ASUC or the Graduate Assembly alongside independent funding they conduct themselves.

“University recognition also allows these organizations other privileges such as access to the RSO insurance policy, free or reduced fees for on campus venue rentals, and the ability to rent tabling supplies from Cub-e,” Ratliff said in an email.

As the ski and snowboard team continues to fundraise independently for the upcoming competition, the members feel grateful for the support they have received.

“I am still very grateful for everyone’s contributions and hope they tune in to our race next week!” Schroeder said in the email.