Untried Radcliffe Track Squad Gains Funding From Harvard

Radcliffe track is off and running, but on Harvard funds.

The Harvard Athletic Department is financing uniforms, equipment and transportation for the fledgling squad Athletic Director Robert B. Watson '37 said yesterday.

"There was no money in the budget for this," Watson said. "When we made it up a year ago, we hadn't heard of any interest in women's track."

Watson said when he became aware of the team's existence he got approval for the expenditures from Dean Rosovsky's office.

He estimates the office will spend "in the hundreds of dollars." If there is enough interest, Watson said, the sport may be elevated from a club sport to a varsity sport next year.

Head coach Don Jurivich '76 said yesterday he was "surprised" at the favorable reception the team has gotten from the Radcliffe and Harvard athletic offices.

Jurivich, a J.V. cross country runner, said the idea of organizing the team had been "in the back of my mind for a long time."

He said he began to symphathize with the plight of women's athletics after his younger sister was forced to stop running because of the distance of her training facilities from their house.

After a male friend formed a successful women's club at Brown, he said, he felt encouraged to try one at Harvard.

Assisting Jurivich are Steve Fisher '77 and Don Barfield, a tutor in Adams House.

"We're concerned with getting off the ground this year." Jurivich said, adding that he expects to form a "competitive" unit.

The 40 women on the team's roster range from "experienced athletes" to "potentially good runners" to some people "trying to get rid of spare tires," Jurivich said.

"We welcome anybody." Jurivich said. "But I like to think in terms of champions, of trying to be a winner."

"Several people have had no experience before, but are extremely enthuslastic," he said.

The turn-out at the hourly, five-days-a-week practices varies, he said, from 30 to 15 depending on the weather.

"The idea we're trying to get across is that you must have consistency," Jurivich explained. "You can't make up for not running yesterday, by running twice today."

Jurivich called the program "in troductory," and said the runners are now working to build wind and endurance. "There are some who've never seen a hurdle before," he said.

Since the team was started late in the year, its emphasis is on "quality practices," he said.

"Right now, it looks like we can fill every event there is," he continued.

Jurivich said inexperience accounts for the major difference between coaching a Radcliffe track team and a Harvard unit.

"By and large the women on the team are not that experienced," he said. "But usually, men who go out for track have already had four years of running in high school."

Jurivich attributed this situation to the lack of athletic opportunities for women.

Other difficulties Jurivich foresees are "typical of Harvard athletics." "I think there is tremendous talent here," he said. "It's just a matter of getting people to dedicate themselves to the sport. With the schedules people have at Harvard, it's hard to produce tremendous athletes."

Jurivich, said a tentative clash with Brown is set for late April, with the eventual hope of scheduling at least one meet a week, probably with clubs in the Boston area.

The club also might accompany the men's team on trips if the opponents field a female unit, Jurivich said.

So far the men's track team has responded "very, very positive" to the formation of the women's squad, he said by offering advice and giving demonstrations of various events. The teams will meet sometime this spring to discuss the lack of facilities and status of their relationship.