A SSOCIATION A FFAIRS
Chalk Talk by Trueson Tarinelli, Director of Athletics Development
D
uring the last few months of 2020, USCGASports.com ran several features “Celebrating 40 Years of Women Graduates at CGA.” Alumni athletes like Molly Riordan ’83, Jen (Revelle) Walther ’91, Hayley (Feindel) Gipson ’12, and more achieved outstanding success, and as cadets, these athletes over the last 40 years were crucial in setting the standard for much of the success that continues today [view their profiles at www. cgaalumni.org/Dec20]. While of course 2020 was full of unique challenges, the Bear Club National Competition award was still presented to several cadets for their performance throughout the 2019-20 season. Of these recipients, seven women cadets earned the award in 2020: Esther Choe ’21 – pistol, Drusilla Corbett ’21 – pistol, Isabella Firenzi ’22 – pistol, Josephine St. Ledger ’22 – pistol, Sarah Passilla ‘21 – swimming & diving, and Kaitlyn Mooney ’21 – cross country. All the women cadets who earned a Bear Club National Competition award in 2020 were supported by Bear Club funds for one or more of their coaches and support for team travel. Since the inception of the Bear Club National Competition Award in 2014, 136 cadets have earned the prestigious award, and of those 35% were women.
Emily Benson ‘21, Josefina McGuire ‘22, Sarah Passilla ’21, and Mary Westkott, Associate Head Coach Swimming & Diving show off their Bear Club National Competition award rings. (Photo by Brad Clift)
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One of the great aspects of the Bear Club is that it offers a high level of precision for donors to control the impact of their gift. Of the twenty-two Bear Club funds, more than half are designated to support women’s teams or co-ed teams at the Academy. For example, the Women’s Lacrosse Fund supports both the head and assistant coach positions while this program has seen exceptional growth since it began as a varsity program just a few years ago. The Women’s Rugby Fund has helped support team travel to multiple national championship tournaments. All in all, six Bear Club funds are exclusively designated to women’s teams, while another seven support women’s and men’s teams or coed sports. Like all Bear Club funds, these thirteen funds help provide the Corps of Cadets with the best possible athletics experience at the Academy. To take advantage of the limited athletics period that cadets have in comparison to their peers at other schools in the NEWMAC and throughout the country, it is crucial for athletics to provide a robust coaching staff throughout the Division. Like the way academic institutions highlight student to faculty ratio, the more coaches the Academy can provide to the cadets, helps ensure competitive success and the best possible athletic experience for the Corps of Cadets. It is for this reason that we frequently tout the fact that more than thirty coach and staff positions are at least in part supported by Bear Club funds. And pointing to the fact that as Bear Club support has grown considerably in the last five years, so too has the overall success of the Bears. To learn more about how our Bear Club supports both women’s and men’s teams at the Academy, check out the “Supported Teams” page from www. cgaalumni.org/bearclub or email me at ttarinelli@cgaalumni.org. Go Bears!
December 2020/January 2021
