Jockey Club, Ride it! As Gee-Gee’s we are all familiar with the massive pregame kegs and parties put on by Jockey Club. Although what we might not know are the stories behind the creation of the club and the story of the president, Steven Baker-Findlay. Her Campus has had the pleasure of getting to know Steven by finding out his Jockey Club experience.
Q: How did Jockey Club start and what was the reasoning behind it?
A: I was on the GEE-GEE football team in first year and was, just generally, really into football. I had gone down to the U.S. a few times for college and NFL games, and a huge part of their culture is tailgating before the games. In second year, I decided it would be awesome to get a few of my pals to tailgate before the games.
A few hours before the games on Saturday we’d get a couple vans, invite as many of our friends as we could, fill the van with beer and people, buy tons of cheap hot dogs, pick up our buddy’s BBQ, and then we’d grill and serve up beers and wieners to whoever came and visited us in the parking lot and was going to the game (going to the game was not a requirement)!
We started getting to know a few of the girls from the sports services promo team pretty well, at the same time the security at the stadium was not appreciating our “generosity and affability”.
We all came up with the idea to have the tailgate parties at my friends and my house “the Stable”, use the buses the school provided as transport to the games, and sell t-shirts that say hung like a Gee-Gee so everyone would be “coordinated” (there were a few of us who would forget the t-shirt and go with face and belly paint). We would strive to be the loudest and craziest fans at the games, otherwise known as the JOCKEY CLUB.
Q: What are some of the changes Jockey Club has experienced over the years?
A: As the Jockey Clubs popularity and demand grew it made it unfeasible to host the parties at my house. So we have them in local bars, on and off campus. Still using transport provided by the University to the arena/gym/field.
For me personally during the Jockey Clubs embryo stage, my friends and I would know everyone at the party except maybe a select few, now it’s the opposite everyone is a new face, except for a couple of my close friends!
Q: What is your role as president and what are the responsibilities come along with the position?
A: I think I bring a general enthusiasm and passion toward sport viewership and “hooliganism” that people can see, relate too, and also connect with. Finally, I help take care of administration tasks, negotiations, logistics, design, and balancing of our budget.
Q: What problems within and outside of UO have you encountered with Jockey Club over the years?
A: Angry neighbours: Often there were noise complaints by people disturbed by the parties but because we cleaned up any messes and the noise only lasted a few hours during the middle of the day, this never amounted to more than complaining.
Demand: more teams wants Jockey Club to attend their games. However, throwing the event takes a lot of time and work so for the execs it is tough managing our time to properly organize an event, with classes, part and full time jobs, girls, family, all that “life stuff”! Also, if you consider all the hours the executives put into the Jockey Club, they are done with no financial reward but to support our school and for the fun we have at the parties and respective games, it makes it a challenge to have as many events as we’d like.
Costs: Having the parties at bars makes it much more expensive and tougher to host, we’ve always ran the Jockey Club with a non-profit financial model in mind. Our goal is to support sports and raise school spirit at the same time. Things like pig roasts, renting a mechanical bull, or serving pancakes to a 1,000 people is tougher when everyone’s goal is to raise profits. Trying to find new ways to get sponsorship to keep the niche aspect that makes going to a Jockey Club event special is difficul. We’ve always tried to keep the cost low and still make sure everyone has a legendary time.
Finally, next year the Gee-Gee’s new football stadium will be completed with the perfect location, which creates a lot of possibilities for Jockey Club! For everyone returning next year, when attending Jockey Club events, the efforts and work put into these events are now known. Steven would also like to give a huge thanks to everyone who came and partied like there would be no hangover the next day, they are the reason he loves his job and will continue the good fight. A special thanks also goes out to the other Jockey Club executive members: Ted Banting, Stephen Borchuk, Jason Blenkarn, Marcus Mackay, Dan Hurst, Ryan Borchuk.
Photo credits:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150636635753754&set=o.5539291589&type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=540450466986&set=o.5539291589&type=3&theater