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by Colin Beltz
Concordia women will have another sport to choose from next fall as swimming has been added to the program for the Î96-â97 season.
The sport was added as a result of a close look by a committee at gender equity at Concordia, including the budget, personnel and programs.
ãComparisons were made between the menâs and womenâs programs to see if the school met the gender equity guidelines,ä said Athletic Director Dr. Armin Pipho. ãThe committee was satisfied except for the participation of females.ä
Since women outnumber men at Concordia, the committee suggested that ratio be true in athletics as well. Their recommendation was that two more sports be added in the next five years. This would even the number of sports with 10 each for men and women.
Once the decision was made to add the sports, a committee was formed to decide which sport. It came down to swimming and Nordic skiing.
Pipho said there were three main reasons for choosing a swimming program.
1. Concordia already had a facility for swimming. It was a plus even with the adjustments.
2. Nine schools in the MIAC sponsor womenâs swimming compared to just three with skiing.
3. Participation opportunities in swimming are similar to that of track and field.
ãThere is the butterfly, breathstroke and relays,ä said Pipho. ãThere are just more opportunities for participation in swimming than skiing.ä
However, it was a difficult choice, according to Pipho, because many students expressed interest in Nordic skiing.
ãWe feel bad,ä said Pipho about voting down skiing. He added, however, that Nordic skiing will probably be considered for the next sport added.
Another advantage for the swimming program was the availability of quality head coaches.
One look at the resume Connie Kirchoffner, new head coach, and people will realize why Pipho is excited about her coming to Concordia.
ãShe has been very successful as a head coach,ä said Pipho. ãShe is motivated, and Iâm convinced she will develop a strong program at Concordia.ä
Kirchoffner has won state championships at Mandan High School as well as Smokey Hill High School in Colorado. She is the first coach to win back-to- back swimming titles in two different states.
Now that Concordia has a coach, it needs to make some modifications to the swimming pool.
New diving boards at one meter will be installed over the summer while the three-meter board will be removed since the pool isnât deep enough.
Starting blocks will be moved to the deep end of the pool. New lighting will also be installed. It will be able to be adjusted to levels appropriate for instructional situations, recreation or competition.
Even with the modifications, Concordia will only host a limited number of events each year.
The shallow end of the pool measures three feet and one inch, five inches short of NCAA regulations. However, despite the regulations, a meet with one MIAC opponent is a possibility.
ãConnie has tentatively scheduled a meet with Macalester,ä said Pipho. ãBut we would not anticipate hosting many meets.ä
Another reason for not hosting a meet is the NCAA requires an eight lane pool while Concordiaâs is only six lanes.
Other possibilities include using the pools at neighboring NDSU and MSU.
ãNDSUâs pool is regulation size for swimming and diving and MSU will begin womenâs swimming a year from now. If they find their pool meets regulations, we could host meets with them.ä
He said Moorhead High School is also a possibility, but the three-meter dive will be excluded because high schools donât have that event.
Although everything seems to be falling into place, there still is the matter of how the swimming program will be funded.
Pipho assured that no other programs would have to be cut back to allow swimming to become a reality at Concordia.
The money will come from an enhancement fund that is for programs which are in the development stages or are in need of additional funding to survive.
Reaction to the new program has been positive thus far, exceeding even Piphoâs expectations.
ãThere are larger numbers than I anticipated,ä he said. ãI thought around 10 to 15 participants for the first year would be good. Now we anticipate 20 to 25 participants.ä
Kirchoffner was hired last fall and has been actively recruiting since then.
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