Can you imagine flying through the trees 40 feet above the air or overcoming rapid waters? These are just a couple of the experiences Orlin Jespersen, assistant director of recreation, is trying to get Cabrini students excited about.
Outdoor activities include whitewater rafting, watersports, paintball, outdoor rock climbing, a canopy tour and hiking. The canopy tour, which is an afternoon of ziplining 40 feet above the ground, and whitewater rafting have been the most popular in the past.
“Zipping from tree to tree felt like I was flying. It was exhilarating,” Melissa Kudzmas, sophomore elementary education major, said.
The ziplining trip was something fun she had never experienced before that helped her overcome her fear of heights.
Free indoor rock climbing is also offered every Wednesday. It has been consistently popular among students.
“I think Orlin has it down to a science. He always has everyone’s interest. I have not gone on them before but I have had a bunch of friends who have. He gets different things that aren’t usually offered and are affordable. He listens to what people want. I might go on the boating one if I am able to go.” Maddy Edwards, sophomore elementary education major, said.
Among the off-campus activities, intramural sports are also available to Cabrini College students. Flag football, powder-puff football, kickball and seven-on-seven soccer are the sports available fall semester. An inner-tube water polo league is also a possibility for the future.
The winter sports available are basketball, indoor soccer, flag football and a volleyball league has been greatly talked about as well.
Students can start signing up anytime at Cabrini.athleague.com to create an account which allows them to see the leagues and create a team. Schedules are also available on the same website.
Flag football is a popular intramural on campus. Last year, there were six men’s teams and the year before they had about nine teams.
“Flag football is one of the best activities Cabrini offers. The fact that we are a DIII college without a football team, it is nice to have the opportunity to play with friends.” Kevin McAvoy, junior business administration major, said.
“I love football and it was nice to play again for the first time since high school. You meet new people and get to bond with your friends more,” Craig Goeke, senior political science major, said.
Powder-puff football has a lot of interest each year but Jespersen is not sure if the best way to go is to have a league with weekly games, or one night of tournament games. There has not been a league before but the tournaments go over well.
“I hope we can get at least two teams and do a best of five series,” Jespersen said.
“I would be interested in playing powder-puff because I played in high school. As a freshman it would be nice to meet new people,”Jaimie Kelly, freshman pre-pharmacy major, said.
One thing he has noticed with activities is that there are mostly men with only a few women. Women are mostly interested in the outdoor activities.
“I want to try and balance it more this year and to find interest for both,” Jespersen said.
Transportation is offered for all of the activities and pre-registration is required.
To register, visit Cabrini’s website and search for, “Outdoor Recreation.”
