For all new members of the Dalhousie community, welcome to one of the best schools in the world. You are now a Tiger – wear it proud and wear it loud.
To all returning Tigers, welcome back: let’s go release the roar and make this an epic year for Dal athletics.
I think it’s safe to say that most of you newcomers did not come here because of Dal’s reputation in sports. I also feel comfortable saying you should be pleasantly surprised at the quality of athletics here at Dal.
Last year, the Tigers were able to score eight – that is right, eight – AUS (Atlantic University Sport) titles, seven Coach of the Year awards, 9 CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) all-Canadians, and 88 academic all-Canadians.
These numbers put Dal athletics in the conversation with the top athletic schools in Canada.
I could go on and on about how great last year was, but this is a new season, and in order to make ‘15-16 the best it can possibly be, I need to take a moment to get all you new Tigers up to speed on athletics here at Dal.
Varsity Teams
The Dalhousie Tigers are proudly represented in seven varsity sports by both men’s and women’s teams which compete in the AUS and CIS. They are, in alphabetical order: Basketball, Cross Country, Hockey, Soccer, Swimming, Track and Field and Volleyball. We have varying levels of success in each sport, but that will be broken down in the individual team previews.
Club Teams
Club teams are competitive teams that proudly boast the Tigers name but do not play at the AUS and CIS levels. The club teams are broken down into Tier1 and Tier 2 divisions.
Our Tier 1 sports clubs include Baseball, Field Hockey, Football, Lacrosse, Ringette, Rowing, Men’s and Women’s Rugby. The quality of play is actually pretty good at this level and we usually tend to be fairly competitive in the respective leagues.
Our Tier 2 teams are a bit harder to get to, as the events are less frequent and more scattered across Atlantic Canada. Dal has a large selection of Tier 2 clubs.
Badminton, the Black and Gold Dance Team, Breakdancing, Cheerleading, Curling, Dance, Fencing, Figure Skating, Judo, Kayaking, Masters Swim, Sailing, Taekwondo, Tennis, Ultimate Frisbee, Water Polo and Women’s Lacrosse all represent the Tigers as Tier 2 club teams.
Just to make sure you know, all of the Tigers teams are open to all Dal students. If you think you have what it takes to make a team, you better find out when the tryouts are and give it a shot!
The Leagues
As already mentioned, all of our varsity teams play in the AUS conference of the CIS. The winner of the AUS goes on to play the winners of other conferences in the CIS to compete for the national title.
Last year our Cross Country and Track and Field teams were able to bring home some medals at nationals, and the Men’s Volleyball squad came oh-so-close with a fourth place finish.
The club teams all play in different leagues against competition from Atlantic Canada. If they win, they are the champs. If you are looking for an even bigger sports fix, the Blue Devils of Dal’s sister school, the University of Kings College, play in the ACAA (Atlantic Colleges Athletics Association) against other universities and colleges in Atlantic Canada.
Getting In
As I said above, if you go to Dal, you are a Tiger. That means that you get to go to all our home athletic events for FREE: you got it, $0, nil, nadda, nothing. All you have to do is present your Dalcard on the way in and get ready to release the roar for your Tigers teams.
Also, if you are anything like me, or most Canadian postsecondary students, you will be pleased to know that there is beer available at Tigers home events.
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